Tigers give up on viral knuckle puck pitcher with cash trade to desperate Mets

Scott Harris and the Tigers' scouting department like to cast a wide net. Apart from drafting and international signings, they love to keep an eye on independent leagues. Just last week, they signed righty pitcher Maddox Long of the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things.

Last year, they signed pitcher Kenny Serwa of the American Association's Chicago Dogs, who went viral for his 88 MPH knuckeball. The year before, Matt Seelinger of the Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks, who also went viral for his "knuckle puck," "a hybrid that blends characteristics of a curveball, screwball and splitter."

The Tigers have yet to see many of these fringe signings actually work out. On Monday, Detroit made a cash trade with the Mets to send Seelinger, who exercised his upward mobility clause, to New York.

The Mets are 37-53 (.411) and plum last in the NL East. The only NL team with a worse record is the Rockies, who are only half a game back. There's little to no chance that the Mets make it to the postseason and are widely expected to sell at the trade deadline. Seelinger has been nothing to write home about as a Tiger, but New York will still need someone to pitch if they deal the likes of Luke Weaver in a few weeks' time.

Tigers trade Matt Seelinger to Mets in exchange for cash after triggering upward mobility clause

The Tigers also traded former KBO, Padres, and Marlins pitcher Woo-Suk Go to the Twins on Sunday after he triggered his upward mobility clause.

Seelinger has posted respectable numbers since joining the Tigers organization. After signing a minor league deal in June 2024, he pitched 27 1/3 innings in Double-A Erie for a 1.65 ERA. In 2025, he bounced between Double- and Triple-A a bit, but ultimately finished the season with a strong 3.11 ERA in 46 1/3 innings in Toledo. This year, he has a 3.89 ERA in 39 1/3 innings.

He looks like the kind of guy the Tigers would've eventually given a shot in the majors, had he remained within the organization. Detroit's choice in relievers can be suspect — seriously, where did Jacob Waguespack even come from? — but Seelinger had a pretty decent track record.

The Mets will have to add Seelinger to their 40-man roster, given the upward mobility clause, which gives him a much clearer path to the majors than he ever had with the Tigers.

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