2026 Trade deadline

[Graterol]

But overall I really like how our rotation sets up next year with Valdez, Melton, Ryan, Jobe, Olson, Montero/Anderson/De Jesus. Most likely we sign a Scott Harris **** sandwich special (Maeda, Cobb, Verlander). I actually hope that is Flaherty for next year. Someone will get  hurt but that’s a solid group.

[KL2]

47 minutes ago, Graterol said:

Jobe had the 100mph fastball but very poor extension. He never had amazing results in the minors. He was hyped based on radar gun and draft status. I would be thrilled if he turned into a solid number 4 or 5 starter. I think Ryan can be a 2-3. Obviously both have injury risk.

His last substantial minor league time was a sub 2 era, 1 whip at 10 and 2 so:bb. All that while being four years younger than average for the league. 
 

Thats not amazing? 

Edited August 7 by KL2

[monkeytargets39]

Zyhir Hope just hit a tank for Erie to dead center

[Graterol]

5 minutes ago, KL2 said:

His last substantial minor league time was a sub 2 era, 1 whip at 10 and 2 so:bb. All that while being four years younger than average for the league. 
 

Thats not amazing? 

And solid but not amazing K rate. Good prospect but never had amazing underlying stats in line with a top 5-10 prospect. Thrilled he’s a Tiger just have moderate expectations. River Ryan had higher K rate, better K/BB in minors and I think those are more predictive. Obviously need to consider age but also limited experience Ryan had as a pitcher.

[papalawrence]

Ryan is 28. Jobe came out of high school. I believe Jobe was a top 10 overall prospect by age 20. All that doesn't matter to me at all. They're both Tigers and hope they both stay healthy and thrive

[chasfh]

13 hours ago, NorthWoods said:

The supposed Brewer offer....

https://www.si.com/mlb/brewers/tarik-skubal-trade-brewers-alternative-offer

A couple things here:

Whether you think what SI thinks is the better offer would hinge on your believing in Pipeline rankings over FanGraphs rankings. I don’t happen to, because Pipeline is employed by MLB which is an inherently politicized environment, so they have to find ways to keep constituents happy; FanGraphs works without favor or access, so they have no barriers to being strict data-driven. Pipeline has Peña 18; FanGraphs has Pena at 26, and a high risk of not delivering on his promise. They also have River Ryan at 25, one spot above Pena. Pipeline also has Williams at 76, 4th in the Brewers org, and Adamczewski at 87, 5th in the org. FanGraphs have them both way out of the top 114 and also 12th and 10th respectively in the Brewers org. By comparison, we received Ryan (25th), Hope (57th), and Smith (the lottery ticket). It doesn’t seem close, by FG standards.

Also, the package here was a shortstop and two outfielders, no pitchers. We didn’t need outfielders; we needed outfielder. Plus, we are pretty well set on shortstops at the moment. But Harris knew we need to shore up our pitching prospects, which is why we took two pitchers instead of two more position players. The SI fantasy package doesn’t take any of that into consideration, which is just one ore data point in support of the hypothesis that the national media don’t know anything about the Tigers.

Edited August 7 by chasfh

[SoCalTiger]

4 hours ago, monkeytargets39 said:

Zyhir Hope just hit a tank for Erie to dead center

And he made a great play in the outfield throwing out a runner trying for a double, which looked like a double off the bat, with a strong throw to second. Power and defense. Depaula does NOT make that play BTW.

[AlaskanTigersFan]

10 hours ago, NorthWoods said:

So Melton is our #5 starter at best?   Wow......the future IS bright.

I think Valdez is declining but I hope he keeps it together. Melton is doing great. I think the longer he goes, the higher his numbers will climb. There are a few, but not many pitchers with his numbers 22.5 K%. I really do hope he can keep it up though but it wouldn't surprise me if we see his ERA climb a little and his WHIP settle around 1.15(ish). 

Talent wise though, I think Jobe and Ryan are both ahead of Melton. I'd love for someone like @microline133 to chime in here with his thoughts. 

If we kept the same guys going into next year, I'd look at it as:

1. Jobe
2. Ryan
3. Melton
4. Valdez
5. FA (Perhaps Mize again)

Olson is a good person to have around but I think Harris will get at least one FA starter. They'll keep Valdez in the rotation until he proves he just can't make it next year. 4.50 ERA with a 1.40+ WHIP isn't going to last long in the Tigers rotation anymore.

The talent the Tigers will be able to put on the field next year and the following years I think will be much better than what we've seen. Pitchers as well..... Wouldn't be surprised to see Flukey up next year as well.... 

[Longgone]

8 hours ago, papalawrence said:

Ryan is 28. Jobe came out of high school. I believe Jobe was a top 10 overall prospect by age 20. All that doesn't matter to me at all. They're both Tigers and hope they both stay healthy and thrive

Ryan was a hitter until he was 24, and then lost nearly two years to tommy john.

[CaliforniaDreaming]

5 hours ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

If we kept the same guys going into next year, I'd look at it as:

1. Jobe
2. Ryan
3. Melton
4. Valdez
5. FA (Perhaps Mize again)

What more does Montero need to do to be considered a starter in the future? I'd much rather go with Montero at #5 than sign Mize.

[gehringer_2]

10 minutes ago, CaliforniaDreaming said:

What more does Montero need to do to be considered a starter in the future? I'd much rather go with Montero at #5 than sign Mize.

everyone is waiting for his BaBIP against to regress or his K rate to improve. If, during the rest of this season, the 1st doesn't happen or it does but the 2nd does also, then they might start believing in him.

Edited August 7 by gehringer_2

[Motor City Sonics]

In this version of baseball you need to go into the season with 8 starters

The 5 you expect to be starters

2 very viable minor league guys that you don't have any issue calling up

1 that you keep in your bullpen that can become a starter  with a little conditioning. 

 

For the next season (which I think will either start after June 2027 or won't happen until 2028)

Based on what is in the current system.........

The 5 they are counting on.....Melton, Valdez, Montero, Jobe, Olson.     

The minor leauge guys....Ryan, Gipson-Long

The reliever turned starter.......Madden

That's without any pending trades or Free Agents.    We really have no idea what Free Agency is going to look like after this season.  It will likely mostly be the same, but there could be some different wrinkles. 

I don't think the Tigers will spend big on a starting pitcher.   But that depends on how Jobe looks the rest of this year and if Olson can be close to what he used to be.     The Tigers will be probably spending big on bullpen arms.  At least 2, of not 3, and perhaps one of those guys is the guy who can toggle from pen to rotation like Montero, who was the biggest surprise of the season.     I apologize for mocking him before the year started,  dude's a solid pitcher.     I think the Tigers may be strongly considering Ryan to be their future closer.   The kind of heat he's capable of throwing and limiting his innings plays for that role.   

 

 

[Tenacious D]

I’d add Drew Anderson to the rotation depth mix for next year., especially if he performs well there the rest of the season. I wouldn’t count on Reese, but should also be in the mix.  I think they believe that Ryan is a starter and will be given that chance until he proves otherwise. 

I do think they will sign a Flaherty-type to round out this group.

[gehringer_2]

12 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

In this version of baseball you need to go into the season with 8 starters

The 5 you expect to be starters

2 very viable minor league guys that you don't have any issue calling up

1 that you keep in your bullpen that can become a starter  with a little conditioning. 

 

For the next season (which I think will either start after June 2027 or won't happen until 2028)

Based on what is in the current system.........

The 5 they are counting on.....Melton, Valdez, Montero, Jobe, Olson.     

The minor leauge guys....Ryan, Gipson-Long

The reliever turned starter.......Madden

That's without any pending trades or Free Agents.    We really have no idea what Free Agency is going to look like after this season.  It will likely mostly be the same, but there could be some different wrinkles. 

I don't think the Tigers will spend big on a starting pitcher.   But that depends on how Jobe looks the rest of this year and if Olson can be close to what he used to be.     The Tigers will be probably spending big on bullpen arms.  At least 2, of not 3, and perhaps one of those guys is the guy who can toggle from pen to rotation like Montero, who was the biggest surprise of the season.     I apologize for mocking him before the year started,  dude's a solid pitcher.     I think the Tigers may be strongly considering Ryan to be their future closer.   The kind of heat he's capable of throwing and limiting his innings plays for that role.   

 

 

The one I'd question would be SGL. Whatever it was that he had when he struck out 12 in 6IP one night at Toledo when he 1st came on the scene seems have been lost along the time and injury road.

[oblong]

Doesn't the value of two trade proposals depend on who would be getting those players and how they value them?  This isn't a video game.

I could look at the value of an RV or the value of a corvette and on paper the corvette might be higher but if I have a family and like to camp and live in a cold climate.... the RV has higher value to me.

 

[papalawrence]

3 hours ago, Longgone said:

Ryan was a hitter until he was 24, and then lost nearly two years to tommy john.

I don't disagree on Ryan's potential. Everyone, Skubal, Petry, Morris and all of the prospect sites raved about Jobe. "His stuff is different." Baseball America had Jobe #3 prospect overall prior to 2025. My disagreement is that Ryan isn't projected as being better than Jobe. They're both Tigers so it's all good for Detroit.

[kdog]

Quote

In the end, that the Los Angeles Dodgers emerged the winners came as little surprise. This is what they do. This is who they are. And as much as the Dodgers intellectually loathe the idea of big-ticket deadline dealing, they have become baseball's foremost practitioner of the craft -- from Yu Darvish to Manny Machado to Max Scherzer and Trea Turner -- because their abundant resources allow them to operate in a value-negative space without severe consequences. For all the minor league talent the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays possess, all the appetite the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs had to overpay for Skubal, no team matched the Dodgers' combination of talent that appealed to Detroit and a willingness to spend it.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49546569/mlb-trade-deadline-2026-tarik-skubal-trade-dodgers-tigers-brewers-negotiations

[Edman85]

42 minutes ago, kdog said:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49546569/mlb-trade-deadline-2026-tarik-skubal-trade-dodgers-tigers-brewers-negotiations

Pretty solid reporting. I second the recommendation to read this one.

[kdog]

Rays 2nd and 3rd prospects were catchers..Tigers went with a needs based approach and that's why the Dodgers won.

[KL2]

1 hour ago, oblong said:

Doesn't the value of two trade proposals depend on who would be getting those players and how they value them?  This isn't a video game.

I could look at the value of an RV or the value of a corvette and on paper the corvette might be higher but if I have a family and like to camp and live in a cold climate.... the RV has higher value to me.

 

Yes thats often forgotten. While baseball is a bit different than other sports (like in the NBA we need a point guard you trade for a poing guard, basbeall is more just take the best cause they are prospects) it does play a part. Harris valued SP for next year as part of the deal. All these about the brewers deal just ignore that. Getting A ball outfeilder doesn't help solve that prolem. 

[Graterol]

2 hours ago, Motor City Sonics said:

In this version of baseball you need to go into the season with 8 starters

The 5 you expect to be starters

2 very viable minor league guys that you don't have any issue calling up

1 that you keep in your bullpen that can become a starter  with a little conditioning. 

 

For the next season (which I think will either start after June 2027 or won't happen until 2028)

Based on what is in the current system.........

The 5 they are counting on.....Melton, Valdez, Montero, Jobe, Olson.     

The minor leauge guys....Ryan, Gipson-Long

The reliever turned starter.......Madden

That's without any pending trades or Free Agents.    We really have no idea what Free Agency is going to look like after this season.  It will likely mostly be the same, but there could be some different wrinkles. 

I don't think the Tigers will spend big on a starting pitcher.   But that depends on how Jobe looks the rest of this year and if Olson can be close to what he used to be.     The Tigers will be probably spending big on bullpen arms.  At least 2, of not 3, and perhaps one of those guys is the guy who can toggle from pen to rotation like Montero, who was the biggest surprise of the season.     I apologize for mocking him before the year started,  dude's a solid pitcher.     I think the Tigers may be strongly considering Ryan to be their future closer.   The kind of heat he's capable of throwing and limiting his innings plays for that role.   

 

 

I agree with the need for 8+ starters. But I think the plan is Valdez, Melton, Olson, Jobe, Ryan with Anderson and Montero two long relievers with starting potential. Madden/SGL in Toledo. And I still think we sign one FA starter on short term deal. I hope that’s Flaherty. In the unlikely case everyone is healthy, that’s good bullpen competition. I also think Jobe, Olson, and Ryan should start with innings limitations which makes Anderson/Montero (Hurter and De Jesus) more useful as MIRPs.

[Graterol]

1 hour ago, Edman85 said:

Pretty solid reporting. I second the recommendation to read this one.

Great article and really highlights how Ryan is viewed. He was arguably a bigger piece than Hope.

[AlaskanTigersFan]

47 minutes ago, Graterol said:

Great article and really highlights how Ryan is viewed. He was arguably a bigger piece than Hope.

That's what I'm saying!!!!! These two are studs. And Brady Smith is no slouch either! (I still think Hope is the best but an argument for sure can be made that Ryan is up there). 

[Edman85]

More of a hypothetical, but I am curious what people think.

Let's say the Tigers go on a run but lose the World Series in 7, Skubal just shoving and shutting them down twice in the series, then closing down Game 7 in relief.

In that same scenario, Hope and Ryan both have good to great careers with the Tigers... talking 3-5 WAR seasons their whole time, Hope signs an extension and is a Tiger for 10+ years and becomes an all time great. But the Tigers do not win a World Series in that time.

In summary, they narrowly lose a World Series you can argue they would not have lost if they didn't trade Skubal to the team they lost to, but the return provides tremendous value going forward, but without winning a World Series. Did they win the trade in this scenario?

[oblong]

Yes because the Tigers got tremendous value as it is and you don't know what would have happened if Skubal stayed on the team.  I'm also assuming Skubal doesn't stay.  I value a trade based on what each side got in terms of their own goals.  But I also believe both sides can win a trade.  The question to ask is whether either side would rather have not made the deal?  I don't think that scenario either team would have second guessed themselves.