Tigers call up pitchers you've never heard of after trade deadline exodus

The Tigers' trades of Jack Flaherty, Andrew Chafin, and Carson Kelly at the deadline sort of had to be done, but they didn't leave the team in a great spot considering the hit the active roster took. All three (joined by Mark Canha at the final buzzer) were in walk years, and this squad is not one that's making a run at a Wild Card spot.

It was always the right call to part with expiring contracts and get a couple of prospects who can make the future look a little brighter. Nobody objected to that plan.

However, it left an already depleted-by-injury Tigers rotation one more man short, and it thinned out the shallow bullpen. After the moves were made, manager AJ Hinch said that they would just have to figure out how to fill those spaces internally.

Problem was (is) that there aren't very good candidates for either department down in Triple-A. In fact, the Mud Hens' pitching staff has the third worst collective ERA in the International League at 5.22, and a glance down that roster won't fill anyone with optimism.

Still, more arms had to come from somewhere, so the Tigers called up relievers Brenan Hanifee and Sean Guenther.

Tigers call up Brenan Hanifee, Sean Guenther after trade deadline shake ups

Who are Brenan Hanifee and Sean Guenther, you ask? Well, we don't really know either. Hanifee does have major league experience, but only five innings of it (all pitched last season when the Tigers called him up for a short spell and he gave up eight hits and three runs). Unsurprisingly, he hasn't been back since (until now), and he becomes even more of a dubious-looking choice when you notice that he hasn't started a single game in Triple-A this season (he started 13 last year) and has a 5.17 ERA through 47 innings.

Guenther is even more of a puzzle. The last time he pitched in the majors, it was 2021 and he was with the Marlins, and he threw 20 1/3 innings for an unbelievably bad 9.30 ERA. Otherwise, he's hopped up and down and up and down in the minor leagues. He was claimed off waivers by the Tigers in the 2022 offseason, a few months after he underwent Tommy John surgery. This year, he's pitched 44 1/3 innings and logged a decent 3.86 ERA for the Mud Hens.

Suffice to say that Hanifee and Guenther will probably not turn into overnight sensations, and unless they plan on making Hanifee a starter again, this still doesn't resolve the need for another rotation arm. We're in muddy, muddy waters now.