Jul 24, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) celebrates after the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Tigers Potential Target Unavailable After Mets Pull Off Blockbuster Deal

Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 8:00 PM ET

The Detroit Tigers are expected to be active at the trade deadline to make some upgrades for the team, but so far, they have been quiet.

With the trade deadline less than 24 hours away, some of the top contenders are starting to get aggressive, and the bullpen market has been red hot.

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The Tigers figured to be a team in the mix for one of the available star closers, but so far, they haven’t made a splash. Recently, an ideal target from the St. Louis Cardinals was traded to the New York Mets, with Ryan Helsley joining a now stacked bullpen for New York, per outlets such as MLB.com.

BREAKING: The Mets are creating a super-bullpen. They're acquiring Ryan Helseley for Jesus Baez and two pitchers, per sources.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 30, 2025

Furthermore, the Philadelphia Phillies also recently traded for Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran, which means that two of the top closers expected to be available are now off the market.

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This isn’t good news for Detroit, who need some help for their bullpen. Last campaign, this was the unit that they leaned on heavily to take them as far as they went in the playoffs. However, this year it has been a bit of a weakness.

With two of the top options off the board, the Tigers might have missed out on chances to solidify an area of the team that needed it. While there are some other relief pitchers available, Helsley and Duran were two of the best.

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Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar will be the next name seemingly to watch, but competition for him still figures to be stiff.

The price-tag for Pirates closer David Bednar now rising with the Yankees, Tigers, Dodgers, Mariners all looking for bullpen help
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 30, 2025

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So far, it has been an uninspiring lead-up to the trade deadline for Detroit. While this is a very talented team, they do need to make some upgrades, as others are getting better around them.

For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.

This article first appeared on Detroit Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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