Tigers acquire pitcher from Braves-A's Matt Olson trade to fill out 40-man roster

The Tigers have made a few interesting bullpen moves already this season, calling up unexpected (and usually unranked) prospects like Chase Lee, Tyler Owens, and recently Dylan Smith to cover for injuries. They made a similar move on Friday afternoon, acquiring relief pitcher Ryan Cusick off of waivers from the Athletics to fill their 40-man roster.

Cusick, a first-round pick by the Braves in 2021, has yet to make his major league debut. He was traded to the Athletics as part of then-Oakland and Atlanta's 2022 blockbuster deal that sent Matt Olson to Georgia. The other pieces of that trade — Christian Pache, Shea Langeliers, and Joey Estes — have had varying levels of success in the majors, but Cusick hasn't been able to crack the big league roster.

Cusick slotted in at No. 9 in the Athletics' pipeline after the trade, but he was injured for a lot of 2022 and put up a 7.02 ERA when he was healthy and accordingly dropped down to No. 23 in 2023. He fell out of the top 30 entirely in 2025, and for good reason. This year, he has a 6.75 ERA over 14 2/3 innings.

Tigers claim pitcher Ryan Cusick off waivers from the Athletics, fill 40-man roster

In 2023, Cusick put up close to a 5.00 ERA in 24 starts. He was then demoted to the bullpen in 2024 after nine starts, a role he was generally more serviceable in. He's been hammered a few times this month and walks seem to be a consistent problem.

It's unclear exactly what the Tigers see in him, outside of the built-in potential that accompanies a former first-round pick, but it was also hard to determine what they saw in Lee or Owens, and both have done good work in the majors so far.

The Tigers' pitching staff is burnishing a reputation for developing arms, which was only reemphasized when they promoted Smith, who's been almost totally anonymous within the organization up until this point. They must still think that they're capable of getting more out of Cusick than what he's been able to show up until this point, even if his resumé so far isn't exactly impressive.