After the All-Star break in mid-July, the Detroit Tigers scuffled a little bit when they lost 13 of 16 games, and the bottom of their rotation and bullpen had let them down on many occasions.
Amid one of the best regular seasons in franchise history, the Tigers have their eyes on the Fall Classic in October. As July started to wind down, it became apparent that Detroit needed to add to its bullpen depth and another starting pitcher or two to the bottom of its rotation.
The Tigers could have used another infield bat, specifically on the left side, but they already have four All-Star position players. Now, on August 1st, their trade deadline grade has been revealed.
Tigers Receive a B for Their Deadline Efforts
Detroit certainly didnât make any huge splashes that some reporters and writers thought it might have, but Detroit had a sound trade deadline. They added two starting pitchers, Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton, and improved their bullpen depth with several additions.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic is the one who handed out the Tigersâ deadline grade, and here is the full collection of players:
âThe Tigers added two back-of-the-rotation starters in Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton. They picked up a group of veteran relievers to improve their bullpen depth, highlighted by former Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan, along with Paul Sewald (shoulder strain), who wonât be off the injured list until September, plus Rafael Montero, Codi Heuer and Randy Dobnak. However, they arguably didnât land an impact high-leverage reliever for October playoff games and failed to add the right-handed hitter they needed. The Tigers improved their pitching depth for the regular season, but I wonder if going for higher quality and less quantity would have been better.â
Analyzing Some of Detroitâs Additions
The decision to add Charlie Morton seems like one of the best Detroit had during Thursdayâs frenzy of deals. It happened during the final hour before the deadline, but Morton is the exact type of cheap starter that the Tigers could use during their final push towards the playoffs. His numbers certainly arenât going to wow anyone, but heâs a veteran presence who has found playoff success and has pitched much better as of late.
However, the best move for the Tigers was likely adding flamethrowing reliever Kyle Finnegan from the Washington Nationals. Finnegan has 20 saves this season in 39 innings pitched, with an ERA of 4.38. He isnât striking out batters at his usual rate and may not even unseat Will Vest as the Tigersâ closer, but Finnegan remains a strong late-inning option for manager AJ Hinch.
As for some of the rest of the additions, Chris Paddack has struggled (like Morton) as a starter this season with an inflated ERA, and they took a flyer on a couple of other relievers like Paul Sewald, who is injured and likely wonât return until at least September, but Detroit did not give up any of their top prospects in any of the deals, and they already had a pretty complete roster before the deadline.
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