Predicting Tigers’ next big trade before deadline

Riley Greene is probably the Tigers’ most dangerous hitter as he is slashing .292/.344/.545 with 21 home runs and 69 runs batted in. First baseman Spencer Torkelson has bashed 19 home runs while driving in 55 runs, and Kerry Carpenter has hit the ball out of the ballpark 16 times with 32 RBIs.

While those three have made the biggest impression, Gleyber Torres and Javier Baez have also made key contributions. Baez has bounced back dramatically from his brutal 2024 season and is an American League All-Star.

Tarik Skubal won the Cy Young Award in the American League last year, and he is on pace to win another this season. He has a 10-2 record, a 2.15 earned run average and has struck out 138 batters in 109.0 innings. Casey Mize has become the team’s No. 2 starter with an 8-2 record and a 2.86 ERA.

If the Tigers are going to sustain what they have done in the first half of the year and build on it, they may have to add to their starting pitching staff. Nearly any contending team is always looking to add to their staff of starters. Getting one quality starter can turn a good team into a great one.

The starter the Tigers may want to consider is Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates have not been a good team this season, but they have demonstrated they can pitch. That includes the 29-year-old Keller.

The right-hander has an unfortunate 3-10 record, but he has pitched in front of a team that has struggled to score runs all season. Keller has made a National League-leading 18 starts and has a very respectable 3.64 ERA. He is not a big-time strikeout pitcher, but he induces weak contact. Keller has fanned 84 batters in 106.1 innings.

Keller has shown he is a dependable pitcher. He pitched 194.1 innings in 2023 and followed up with 178.0 innings last year.

If the Tigers acquired Keller, Hinch could feel confident that he will be able to start every fifth game and give the team 5 or 6 innings on a regular basis.

Other areas for Tigers to consider

The Tigers have been a confident and clutch team to this point in the season. But teams that win regularly in May and June don’t always come through in August and September when the season is on the line.

If the Tigers want to maximize their chances, Harris should be looking at adding a right-handed batter as well as some relief pitching.

Greene and Carpenter are both left-handed hitters, so adding a right-handed bat — particularly one with power — would give the lineup a bit more bite. Perhaps Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals might be the correct addition to make to the lineup.

The Tigers’ bullpen has been fairly effective with Will Vest serving as the closer and veteran Tommy Kahnle getting quite a bit of action. Vest has 13 saves while Kahnle has 8 saves and has also gotten the job done in the eighth inning a number of times.

Adding another sharp relief pitcher could make the Detroit bullpen significantly better and more dangerous in the postseason.