Tigers make waiver claim no one asked for in the middle of MLB draft

While everyone in baseball's attentions are turned to the MLB draft, the Tigers somehow found the time to make a minor transaction, picking up right handed pitcher Andre Granillo off of waivers from the Nationals. He was optioned to Triple-A, but his addition fills up Detroit's 40-man roster.

It's perhaps the most inconsequential thing the Tigers could do in the middle of a tentpole event of the season, but if we know the Tigers, there's every chance we'll see Granillo in the majors at some point this season, whether it's because of injury or because Scott Harris gets antsy about his bullpen later on in the season.

Granillo has pitched 9 1/3 major league innings for the Nationals this year, for a 9.64 ERA. His last appearance was a two-inning, four-run outing against the Twins on May 5. Unsurprisingly, he was optioned the next day and DFA'ed on July 4 for the Tigers to pick him up.

Tigers claim reliever and former Cardinals top prospect Andre Granillo from Nationals in the middle of MLB draft

Granillo, a 14th-round pick for the Cardinals in 2021, was St. Louis' No. 30 prospect in 2023 and No. 28 in 2024. He earned his MLB debut in June 2025 and pitched 21 innings between demotions back to the minors for a 4.71 ERA. The Cardinals traded him to the Nats in February of this year in exchange for pitcher George Soriano.

It's not hard to play armchair GM with this one. Granillo had a certain amount of potential not too long ago, and he hasn't gotten quite enough run in the majors for an executive like Harris to write him off entirely. He put up fantastic numbers in Triple-A last year while in the Cardinals' system — 1.29 ERA in 42 innings with 58 strikeouts — but lost something upon arrival to Washington (6.82 ERA in 31 2/3 innings).

So, who knows? There might be something here that the Tigers can unlock. They've already found a more unlikely standout this season in Jacob Waguespack, who never had the same top prospect pedigree that Granillo did.

Anyway, back to the draft.

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