The Detroit Tigers pulled themselves, at least briefly, out of a tailspin on Sunday when they snapped a six game losing streak by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays, them topping the Arizona Diamondbacks the following day. Before that, Detroit had lost all but one of their nine games since the All-Star break â after losing four straight heading into the hiatus.
According to a report by Nick Deeds of MLB Trade Rumors on Tuesday, the Tigers are looking to get a grip on their sputtering season by reinforcing their bullpen at the trade deadline, and they are one of two teams targeting the Pittsburgh Pirates’ closer to do it.
Tigers Mostly Dominated Until All-Star Break
The Bengals were one of the best teams, as well as best stories in baseball up to that point. The franchise that had not been in the postseason since 2014 â before their miracle, late-season run to the playoffs last year â appeared unstoppable, with the top winning percentage of any MLB team before the break.
Now, just 12 days since baseball resumed, Detroit has dropped to fifth overall, and second in the American League though they still hold a nine-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. Their trend line, however, is not good.
One of the major reasons for the Tigers tailspin â injuries. Detroit currently sports an injured list 11 players long. On Monday, their No. 2 starter behind Cy Young-winning ace Tarik Skubal, 25-year-old Reese Olson, was shelved for the remainder of the season with a strained shoulder.
Eight Pitchers Now on 60-Day Injured List
In fact, with Olson’s addition, the Tigers now have eight pitchers on the 60-day IL. They include Alex Cobb, Detroit’s $15 million offseason free agent signing, who has not thrown a single pitch for the Tigers, even in spring training â as well as rookie Jackson Jobe.
Jobe was the Tigers highest-rated pitching prospect , No. 3 overall in their farm system, heading into the season. But Jobe’s season ended with an elbow injury in late May, and Tommy John surgery less than two weeks later.
In other words, the Tigers are now missing three of the five pitchers they had planned to make their starting rotation.
Weakness in the rotation puts extra pressure on the bullpen and that is presumably why, according to Deeds, the Tigers are making a push to acquire Pirates closer David Bednar â and while the Texas Rangers are also reportedly in competition for the seven-year veteran playing on an expiring, $5.9 million, single-year contract, Detroit are “best positioned” to execute the deal.
Bednar Comes With Additional Year of Team Control
“Bednarâs team control window lines up with that of ace southpaw Tarik Skubal, so adding him to the fold would allow Detroit to maximize Skubalâs time with the organization,” Deeds noted â meaning that both Bednar and Skubal have one arbitration-eligible year remaining before they each hit free agency.
“The bullpen has emerged as a clear weak spot in an otherwise impressively deep organization, and Bednar closing out games with Will Vest and Tyler Holton setting him up would make for a much more imposing relief corps this October,” Deeds wrote, also noting that the Tigers have “a number of well-regarded position player prospects in the upper levels of the minors” who could be attractive to the tight-fisted Pirates.
From 35th-Round Draft Pick to NL Save Leader
Bednar was an unheralded prospect, picked in the 35th round by the San Diego Padres in 2016. But he fought his way to MLB and hit his stride after being dealt to the Pirates in 2021 .
He saved 19 games the following year, then led the National League in 2023 with 39. So far this season, Bednar has been perfect in 17 save chances .
Detroit’s No. 1 overall prospect, 20-year-old shortstop Kevin McGonicle could headline a trade package for Bednar, and may be considered tradeable by the Tigers simply because No. 3 prospect Bryce Rainer â the Tigers first-round draft pick, 11th overall , in 2024 â is also a shortstop and is only a year behind McGonicle in terms of his projected progress to the Majors.
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