Detroit Tigers: 3 reactions to the Mark Canha trade

Detroit Tigers acquire Mark Canha; how will it affect the roster?

The Detroit Tigers made their first off-season move when they went out and grabbed Mark Canha from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor-leaguer Blake Holub. The team was able to flip a 25-year-old reliever in exchange for the right-handed hitting outfielder as part of the simple trade.

It seems like a good trade for the Detroit Tigers, who are picking up a solid addition in the veteran outfielder Canha. He's more than just an outfielder as well, having experience playing corner infield as well, though it seems that Detroit is going to utilize him in a corner outfield spot.

Canha is a 34-year-old veteran of the big leagues who has bounced around over the last nine years after breaking into the league with the Oakland Athletics. He played seven seasons in Oakland before spending time with the New York Mets and then the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2023 season.

With the move to bring in Canha, the Tigers are picking up an $11.5 million bill for the 2024 season. He had a club option that the Brewers organization was not going to pick up, so Detroit was able to work out a deal and also come away picking up Canha's option.

While it looks like a solid move on paper, let's take a look at some of the reactions from the fanbase with regard to adding a new outfielder. There were some good and some bad, and some from Brewers fans concerned about their organization's future, but let's talk Tigers.

Reaction #2: Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews)

The next reaction comes from Justin Spiro, who makes a good point with what he says about Canha being underrated. While Canha may not be someone who breaks the bank or garners a ton of attention, he's a proven veteran who will be helpful for the Detroit Tigers organization in 2024.

The team's outfield room is full of left-handed bats, and bringing in a right-handed bat who churns out quality at-bats will be worth taking a flier on. In the tweet, Spiro says Canha is a tough out, which only helps as the Tigers are trying to build a more competitive team. Adding in someone who will take competitive at-bats is a step in the right direction.

This trade may not be the end-all-be-all, but it will impact them positively. Detroit came away on the right side of this deal. Plus, the whole "he's got good traits" and "he's a good addition to the clubhouse" narrative is working for him as well. It's not meant to be a slight to Canha, as he is a good clubhouse guy, and the veteran experience will serve a purpose in a room that will be on the younger side of things.

The Tigers were right in this move. I'm grabbing the veteran guy to help with a crop of younger outfielders who are still finding their footing in the big league, for the most part.

Reaction #3: Jack Stern (@ByJackStern)

For the last reaction, I chose to flip the script and go look at a Brewers fan. Jack Stern tweeted out his thoughts about the deal, sending Canha to Detroit, and it provides a much different viewpoint than that of the ones being held by the Tigers fans. But it's good to compare and contrast, so Tigers fans, let's hear it out.

Stern mentions that he's concerned about Canha's age, albeit he is 34 years old and not getting any younger. But that's also a price to pay for a veteran player, especially when he will play a role with this team's outfield group, so the age should not be as concerning as it seems on the front.

The second point that Stern makes is that he is concerned that his age is going to lead to a real downward trend in performance. On top of that, he believes that Canha will be a below-average hitter moving forward or regress to that level. For the Tigers, it should not be something of concern with this deal.

Canha may be on the wrong side of the age range and experience a regression, but the Tigers are not expecting him to churn out success over 500+ at-bats. He will be a player they plug in as needed, and they're not expecting 162 games of pure success.