Tigers insiders are in agreement on trade deadline approach fans will hate

If there was ever a year for the Tigers to really go for it, fans would say that it's this one. The first team to 30, 40, 50, and 60 wins is quickly losing its grip on their dominant first-half record. So fans deserve a full-send at the trade deadline to put the franchise in its best position to win their first World Series since 1984, right?

That's not exactly how president of baseball operations Scott Harris thinks, perhaps. Harris seems like an incredibly patient operator who's willing to play the long game even if what fans want is a "go, go, go" mentality. He's the guy who chose not to trade Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize even when everyone else had long given up on them, and the person who promised that the team he'd put together would work out; fans just needed to give it time.

Tigers fans have to admit, no matter how begrudgingly, that he was right. The Tigers draft well, develop well, and they play the tortoise to teams like the Dodgers' hare.

But this year, Tigers fans have actually been able to really enjoy a full season of Tigers baseball for the first time in over a decade, and it's turned the desperation level up a few notches. Never mind that the Tigers will retain basically their entire team in 2026 — why not go for it now, when the odds are better than ever? What if everything changes next year and they miss their window?

Valid questions, but it seems that Harris is going to stick to his guns. Per both Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic and Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, very few (if any) stars will be wearing the Olde English D after July 31.

Tigers insiders expect a quiet trade deadline for Detroit despite fans' wishes

Both did dispel some rumors that Tigers fans were concerned about; they're not interested in Ke'Bryan Hayes or Ryan McMahon (who was traded to the Yankees on Friday). On the flip side, though, they almost certainly won't give up a haul of top prospects to the Diamondbacks for Eugenio Suárez, and the Twins might not want to hand over Jhoan Duran or Griffin Jax to a division rival — nor would the Tigers want to give top prospects to a division rival.

The Pirates' David Bednar is still a consideration, and he would provide the swing-and-miss that the bullpen needs. But forget about Suárez and direct your attention instead to the likes of Randal Grichuk (who got traded to the Royals) or Willi Castro.

Stavenhagen and Petzold also agreed: if the Tigers add, they're going to do it from within. They already started doing that when they gave Troy Melton his (rocky) MLB debut, and Hao-Yu Lee could be the next man up from Triple-A. They probably aren't going to add a starter, and more bullpen help will hopefully come in the form of Alex Lange and José Urquidy's returns from the IL.

It's not what Tigers fans want, but it vibes perfectly with Harris' preferred way of doing business. Maybe we should never have expected anything different.