Tigers make decision on Casey Mize option and trade pitcher to Phillies

The offseason is officially here and the Detroit Tigers are among the teams with a lot of eyes on them after their surprising 2024 run that featured an improbably late-season push to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade. They wasted no time on Monday getting ahead of some moves.

The Tigers declined their $3.1 million club option on pitcher Casey Mize – but that doesn't necessarily mean his days in the Motor City are coming to an end.

Given that Mize does not have the requisite six years of service time to become a free agent, he remains under team control via arbitration. MLB Trade Rumors projects him to earn just $2 million in arbitration in 2025, indicating that the club's decision to decline his option was likely nothing more than a cost-saving measure.

Mize made 22 appearances on the mound for the Tigers in 2024, turning in a 4.49 ERA with a 17.3% strikeout rate. The former No. 1 overall pick has been hampered by injuries, however, and still hasn’t developed into the pitcher the Tigers hoped he would be when they drafted him in 2018.

Still, despite his rather forgettable season, the Tigers seem likely to bring Mize back to compete for a spot at the back of their starting rotation. He will be eligible for arbitration one more time before reaching free agency after the 2026 season. The other option? This sours the relationship, Mize asks for an out, and the Tigers non-tender him before the deadline later this month.

Tigers trade Devin Sweet to Phillies for cash considerations

The Tigers also traded right-handed reliever Devin Sweet to the Philadelphia Phillies Monday in exchange for cash considerations. Sweet, 28, was set to become a minor-league free agent before the Phillies added him to their 40-man roster.

The Tigers claimed Sweet off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Jan. 18 and designated him for assignment 11 days later. He cleared waivers and stayed in the Tigers organization with Triple-A Toledo.

Sweet pitched to a 9-6 record and a 3.91 ERA in 52 Triple-A appearances this season. He averaged 13.1 SO/9.0 IP in 2024, which ranked third in the International League (min. 50 IP), and his 111 strikeouts led all Tigers minor league pitchers.

The right-hander pitched in seven MLB games for the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics in 2023 and went 1-0 with a 10.38 ERA (10 ER, 8.2 IP) but never got the call-up to Detroit's Major League roster.

This is only the beginning. Stay tuned for more moves as the GM meetings are set to begin Tuesday.

More Tigers content from Motor City Bengals