3 missed opportunities for Tigers at 2024 MLB trade deadline

The Detroit Tigers listened on Tarik Skubal and did the right thing by not trading him. Beyond that, though, their moves at the MLB trade deadline left much to be desired.

On the surface, the Tigers did what they set out to do; they sold off multiple veterans on expiring contracts and bolstered their minor league depth. But a closer analysis reveals that they probably could have – and should have – done more.

Let's take a look at three of the Tigers' biggest missed opportunities at the 2024 trade deadline.

Tigers could have gotten more for Jack Flaherty

Jack Flaherty was the best rental starter by a mile in a seller's market, and the Tigers let him walk to the Los Angeles Dodgers for practically nothing.

The Dodgers sent catcher/first baseman Thayron Liranzo (in High-A) and shortstop Trey Sweeney (Triple-A) to Detroit in exchange for Flaherty. Those two prospects, who now rank Nos. 5 and No. 24 in the Tigers' pipeline, respectively, would have been a great start ... except it wasn't a start. It was the whole trade.

The Dodgers have a huge surplus of catching prospects, so Liranzo isn't a big loss for them. Sweeney was a first-round pick three years ago and is closer to cracking the major-league roster, but he still doesn't profile as an everyday player in the big leagues.

If you look at this return side-by-side with the return that the Toronto Blue Jays got from the Houston Astros for a significantly worse pitcher in Yusei Kikuchi (two top-25 prospects and a major league outfielder), it's hard not to look at the Flaherty trade as a failure for the Tigers.

Tigers could have sold high on Shelby Miller

So many teams need bullpen depth at this time of year, and right-hander Shelby Miller could have been a great trade chip for the Tigers. He has been solid in a relief role for Detroit this season, holding opposing hitters to a .179 average. He did miss almost a full month due to injury, but he's healthy now and could've been of value to a contender seeking middle relief help.

Sure, Andrew Chafin was the more appealing option out of the Tigers' bullpen for a number of reasons. But Miller is making $3 million this year with a $4.25 club option, so he certainly would have been affordable rental option for any team looking to boost its bullpen and could probably have gotten Detroit a somewhat decent return.

Tigers could have planned better with hybrid acquisitions for 2025 and beyond

The Tigers shipped off a number of major-league veterans who will be free agents after this season and came away with eight new prospects. On the surface that feels like a success, but most of the prospects Detroit acquired at the deadline are still at least two years away from the major leagues, which doesn't exactly give a vote of confidence in the club's ability to compete next season. And don't expect to find any of those prospects on the MLB Top-100 list anytime soon, either.

We knew they weren't going to be all-out sellers this year, but it still feels like the Tigers could have been more aggressive and done more to help make them competitive as soon as 2025. Overall, we can't consider this deadline a complete failure by Scott Harris and Co., but we can't call it a complete success, either. It felt like a bare-minimum approach from a team that has been stuck in a seemingly never-ending rebuild since 2015.

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