Tigers' trade deadline choices will only add to current rotation chaos

Let's do a quick Tigers rotation roll call. Casey Mize? Injured. Reese Olson? Injured. Keider Montero? Healthy, but not great. Jack Flaherty? Healthy, and very good! Definitely getting traded. Tarik Skubal? Healthy, having a Cy Young-winning season, might be getting traded.

The rotation picture is bleak for the Tigers, who might have to turn to the bullpen to start half of their next six games. They've had to do it twice this month already, once against the Reds and then again right before the All-Star break against the Dodgers. At the time, they were only seeking to make up for Kenta Maeda's demotion to the bullpen, but now that Olson has officially gone onto the IL, they have more concerns.

They'll be down one more as soon as Flaherty is traded, presumably for prospects, and they might be down two if they let go of Skubal in what would be one of the biggest trades of the deadline.

The Tigers are seemingly allergic to spending money, and buying up rentals just to make it through the season without the guarantee of a postseason appearance doesn't seem very practical anyway. So what are they going to do about the rotation?

Tigers rotation set to be in tatters after injuries and expected trade deadline moves

The Tigers do have Brant Hurter, Lael Lockhart, Ty Madden, and Matt Manning in the Triple-A rotation, but pretty much all of them have been struggling heavily this year and wouldn't be ideal candidates to help the Tigers chase a winning season. Manning would almost certainly be the first to get the call as their Triple-A starter with the most major league experience, but his ERA is 4.88 in the majors and only marginally better in the minors (4.53).

Looking a little further down, Jackson Jobe is one of the most exciting prospects in baseball and just threw a combined no-hitter with the Double-A SeaWolves. He could be a candidate for a rapid ascent if the Tigers act quickly and promote him to Triple-A, but they also seem pretty set on seeing how he can perform as he builds up innings on the year.

So we're left with a conundrum. The Tigers won't buy and probably won't get a starting pitcher back in any deal, even if it was for Skubal. Their Triple-A options are thin, and Jobe is still out of reach. Detroit has been doing very well so far through July, but that could end fast as the bullpen is asked to take on a heavier and heavier workload.