The Detroit Tigers might have the best trade chip available across Major League Baseball if they decide they are willing to ship out their superstar pitcher Tarik Skubal in the midst of his AL Cy Young-contending season.
With multiple teams around the league desperate to land someone of their ace’s caliber, there’s a chance someone sends them an offer they can’t refuse.
Jeff Passan of ESPN doesn’t think that is very likely at this point, though, writing that “any hope of acquiring him would require the sort of overpay almost no one is willing to consider.”
As the Tigers creep closer to selling off some of their pieces to get more future assets back in return, they could turn their attention to shopping another one of their star pitchers who is having a resurgent year.
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Jack Flaherty was a steal of a signing for Detroit this offseason when they handed him a $14 million deal. His 3.13 ERA across 17 starts is the lowest its been since 2019 when he finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting with an ERA of 2.75.
The right-hander has also returned to being a swing-and-miss pitcher with his highest K/9 number (11.4) of his career.
That has turned Flaherty into a prime trade candidate and could net the Tigers what they are searching for as they continue to build towards the future.
Passan revealed what Detroit would be looking for in a trade package centered around the starter.
“The offer must be stronger than what the Tigers could get with a draft pick in the early 30s, which they’d get if Flaherty signs a large free agent deal as expected,” he writes.
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Whether they get back ready-made prospects or others who project to become stars down the line, whatever the offer is has to meet these requirements or it makes no sense for them to make this deal. Based on how the market is shaping up, that shouldn’t be an issue, especially if they take Skubal off the table.
It will be interesting to see what the Tigers do.
If they decide to trade away their ace, that will almost certainly prolong their rebuilding stage by a few years, but if they hold onto him and start “loading up this winter” like Passan suggests they might, then Detroit could be contenders soon.
Regardless of what happens on that front, it’s likely they will find a suitor for Flaherty and sell high on the right-hander who has performed well since joining the organization.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Guardians -179, Tigers +150; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians host the Detroit Tigers with a 2-1 series lead.
Cleveland has a 61-40 record overall and a 33-14 record at home. The Guardians have gone 45-6 in games when they scored five or more runs.
Detroit has a 50-53 record overall and a 26-29 record in road games. The Tigers have gone 23-4 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
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The teams match up Thursday for the 11th time this season. The season series is tied 5-5.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Naylor has 16 doubles, 22 home runs and 72 RBI while hitting .237 for the Guardians. Jose Ramirez is 10-for-40 with two doubles and a home run over the last 10 games.
Riley Greene has 21 doubles, five triples and 17 home runs for the Tigers. Matt Vierling is 13-for-40 with six doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Guardians: 4-6, .200 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored by 16 runs
INJURIES: Guardians: Sam Hentges: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Matthew Boyd: 15-Day IL (elbow), Shane Bieber: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Stephan: 60-Day IL (elbow), James Karinchak: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Tigers: Kerry Carpenter: 60-Day IL (spine), Reese Olson: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Parker Meadows: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Casey Mize: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Sawyer Gipson-Long: 60-Day IL (groin)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Detroit’s own Kimberly E. Mallory shares her deeply personal life story in the new movie ‘Silent Scream.’ The movie is based on her book, ‘There Is No Sound In My Scream: Truth, Drugs and Faith.’ You can catch the movie on Sunday, August 18th, at the Riveria Cinema on Grand River Avenue in Farmington Hills. For more, visit kimberlymallory.com.
The day has finally arrived. The Lions will take the Allen Park practice field for their first full practice of training camp on Wednesday.
With training camp comes a variety of intriguing position battles for Dan Campbell’s squad. Plus, as is the case with every camp, there are bound to be multiple under-the-radar players that catch the attention of fans and pundits alike.
With that said, let’s take a look at four of those types of players that have a chance to make an impact at camp this summer.
TE James Mitchell
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Prior to the beginning of last season, Mitchell – a 2022 fifth-round pick – looked like he had a chance to move up the Lions’ tight ends depth chart.
But then, last season came and went, and Mitchell emerged from it with just two catches. Meanwhile, Sam LaPorta took the league by storm, and set all kinds of rookie records, and Brock Wright firmly took control of the No. 2 TE job.
Fast-forward to this summer, and Mitchell will have to fight tooth and nail for a spot on Detroit’s 53-man roster. LaPorta and Wright are firmly entrenched as the team’s top two tight ends, but Mitchell – a third-year pro – does at least have a fighter’s shot to beat out Shane Zylstra for the No. 3 TE job. With a solid enough camp, I believe that Mitchell will do just that.
WR Daurice Fountain
Fountain, with a strong showing in training camp, could be in contention for a spot on the Lions’ 53-man roster.
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Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are locks to be Detroit’s No. 1 and No. 2 receivers. Meanwhile, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Kalif Raymond will battle it out in camp for the No. 3 receiver job. However, the Lions’ depth at receiver is a bit murky after that, which leaves the door open for Fountain.
Fountain, a big-bodied wideout at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, spent most of last season on Detroit’s practice squad. Yet, the former Colts and Chiefs receiver spent OTAs this spring practicing with the first-team offense, and caught the attention of several media members.
“He’s in the mix,” Campbell said of Fountain during OTAs. “I mean, we still have a spot open, I mean, we’ve got a couple of spots. We know what Saint (St. Brown) is, we know what Leaf (Raymond) can bring to the table, we like where Jamo (Jameson Williams) is going. But, I mean, there’s still — you go 11 personnel, we’ve got another spot over there.”
OT Connor Galvin
You can never have enough offensive line depth.
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It’s why Galvin, an undrafted rookie free-agent signing by Detroit in 2023, is a dark-horse candidate to make the Lions’ 53-man roster out of camp.
The second-year pro was a preseason standout for Detroit last summer, suiting up for all three exhibition games and recording a Pro Football Focus grade of 79.2. Then, at the end of last season, the front office rewarded his efforts on the team’s practice squad by inking him to a futures deal.
It’s a clear sign of the organization’s confidence in the 24-year-old. And although Colby Sorsdal and Dan Skipper appear to be ahead of him on the depth chart, Galvin should still have a chance to be one of the team’s primary backups at offensive tackle in 2024.
DT Kyle Peko
Peko has a chance to be a very nice depth piece along the interior of the Lions’ defensive line. A free-agent acquisition by Brad Holmes in early May, Peko brings with him 42 games of NFL playing experience. In his career, he’s produced 56 total tackles, including four tackles for loss, two sacks, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
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Most recently, he suited up for the Tennessee Titans, with whom he played in 13 games last year (including 10 starts). During Peko’s lone season in Tennessee, new Lions defensive line coach Terrell Williams was his position coach. With Peko being reunited with Williams in Motown, it should give the 31-year-old defensive lineman a legit shot to claim a roster spot out of camp.
