{"id":124958,"date":"2025-06-12T21:25:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T21:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/124958\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T21:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T21:25:14","slug":"detroit-tigers-trade-deadline-outlook-buyers-with-a-plan-and-a-caveat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/124958\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Tigers Trade Deadline Outlook: Buyers With a Plan \u2014 and a Caveat"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the MLB trade deadline looming and the Detroit Tigers sitting atop the AL Central, fans in Detroit finally have something to dream about in July besides fireworks. But what exactly are Scott Harris <\/a>and the front office cooking up?<\/p>\n

\"Detroit<\/p>\n

Tigers in Position to Add at the Deadline<\/p>\n

Coming off a tough 10-1 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday night, the Detroit Tigers still find themselves in an enviable position: 44-25, with a 7-game cushion over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. For a franchise that has been treading water for years, this isn\u2019t just encouraging\u2014it\u2019s energizing.<\/p>\n

Speaking Wednesday morning on 97.1 The Ticket\u2019s Costa and Jansen show, Tigers president Scott Harris<\/a> made it clear: Detroit is planning to be buyers at the MLB trade deadline.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re 20 games over .500 and we\u2019re playing very well,\u201d Harris said as quoted by the Detroit News. <\/a>\u201cWe\u2019re preparing to add to the team in July but we have to keep playing well to put ourselves in position to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s cautious optimism, the kind that\u2019s fitting for a team that\u2019s almost all the way back\u2014but still a few pieces short.<\/p>\n

A \u201cPragmatic\u201d Approach to Building for October<\/p>\n

Harris isn\u2019t looking to buy just to buy. Instead, he\u2019s looking to make moves that are strategic, data-driven, and\u2014most of all\u2014targeted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still banged up,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe we\u2019re in the position we are and we\u2019ve still had so many injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a fair point. Injuries have forced Detroit to juggle its rotation and lineup throughout the first half. Tarik Skubal has been elite, but depth remains a concern behind him. Offensively, they\u2019ve had to lean heavily on Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter, while waiting for others to heat up.<\/p>\n

So before Harris starts writing checks or shipping prospects, he wants to see what this roster looks like when it\u2019s actually whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking a pragmatic approach,\u201d he noted. \u201cWe want to clearly identify what we need before we strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translation? The Tigers are willing to pounce\u2014but not blindfolded.<\/p>\n

\"Don<\/p>\n

What Could Be on the Shopping List?<\/p>\n

Though Harris didn\u2019t name specific trade targets (smart move), it\u2019s easy to speculate on a few likely needs:<\/p>\n

Starting Pitching Depth: Someone to slot in behind Skubal and give the bullpen a break.<\/p>\n

Right-Handed Power Bat: If the Tigers want to hang with the big boys in October, they\u2019ll need more punch in the lineup.<\/p>\n

High-Leverage Reliever: You can never have too many of these in a playoff race.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/p>\n

The Detroit Tigers are in position to buy. That\u2019s a sentence fans haven\u2019t heard in years, and it should feel pretty sweet. Scott Harris is playing it smart\u2014waiting until the team is healthy before identifying exact needs\u2014but the mindset is clear: add, not subtract.<\/p>\n

So long as they avoid a disastrous July, expect the Tigers to make a couple of key moves to prepare for a serious October run. Just don\u2019t expect Harris to act impulsively. Every trade chip will have to earn its way into Detroit\u2019s playoff blueprint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the MLB trade deadline looming and the Detroit Tigers sitting atop the AL Central, fans in Detroit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[146,113,12088,2506,7,147,6,30239],"class_list":{"0":"post-124958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-lions","10":"tag-detroit-tigers","11":"tag-detroitlions","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-lions","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-scott-harris"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114672509192354910","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}