Tigers' long trade deadline nightmare is over after Mariners' elimination

In reality, Scott Harris's handling of the trade deadline for the Detroit Tigers is nuanced. In comparison to front office leaders for other contenders, his play-it-safe approach felt lacking, and that was before every acquisition not named Kyle Finnegan laid an egg.

That said, while some names connected to the Tigers floundered down the stretch, it doesn't mean they would have done the same in Detroit. You can't simply succumb to the fallacy of the predetermined outcome. Nor can you simply write off a player for struggles in August and September once October rolls around.

Case in point, Eugenio Suarez. After posting 36 homers and an .897 OPS with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Suarez was one of the trade deadline's hottest names, and the slugger being reunited with the Tigers was heavily rumored at the time. He wound up in Seattle and struggled mightily down the stretch, seemingly vindicating Harris for passing. That is, until Game 5 of the ALCS arrived.

Tigers no longer need to kick themselves over Eugenio Suarez trade miss

Suarez showed Detroit what it missed out on with a truly clutch performance in what has been a back-and-forth ALCS. After taking Games 1 and 2 in Toronto, the Mariners returned home and dropped the next two contests to bring the series even. Entering Game 5 on Friday, they faced down the prospect of losing home-field advantage at a 3-2 deficit.

With Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman on the mound, Suarez kicked off the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom of the second. However, the Mariners' bats would fall silent for much of the game after that. Seattle would trail 2-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth, looking like their staring down the barrel of their third straight loss.

Cal Raleigh led off the inning with a game-tying homer, and two walks and a hit-by-pitch would follow, bringing Suarez back to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. He delivered. Big time. With a 2-2 count, Suarez took a 98 miles per hour fastball from Seranthony Dominguez and deposited it in the right field stands for an oppo-shot grand slam.

The Tigers, of course, were vanquished by the Mariners in heartbreaking fashion, going down in a winner-take-all ALDS Game 5 that ended up being a 15-inning affair. In that contest, Detroit's big bats in the middle of the order combined to go 0-23 with 10 strikeouts, failing to get the big hit when the pressure was on. In that moment, fans were full of regret. Some still might be, but Monday night's ALCS result lessens the sting.

The Mariners are going home after losing Game 7 in Toronto. They choked away a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh. Suarez struck out looking on a questionable call in the eighth when the M's badly needed to put a baserunner aboard. The night prior, he made an error in the second inning that contributed to the Jays scoring two runs in the Mariners' 6-2 loss.

Overall, he finished the postseason with a .213 average, .701 OPS and 18 strikeouts. His .275 on-base percentage was especially a killer. Maybe he would've delivered in some capacity for the Tigers, but those numbers on the whole are more of the same in regard to what Detroit's lineup has dealt with during their second-half struggles.

We think this conversation can be put to bed after seeing his postseason in its totality. Now go get an impact bat in the offseason, Mr. Harris.