Tigers might've lost a bullpen weapon to Giants in late-March roster shuffle

When the Tigers confirmed Kevin McGonigle would skip Triple-A and make the Opening Day roster, no one cared much about the corresponding move. The Tigers under Scott Harris are patient with their development; even baseball's former No. 1 pitching prospect Jackson Jobe had to spend a little time in Toledo before getting his major league debut. For McGonigle to follow in Justin Verlander's steps and leapfrog it meant the Tigers were absolutely sure he was something special.

And they were right, but the player they spurned with the corresponding move isn't looking so shabby himself. Dylan Smith was DFA'ed and then traded to the Giants for cash, a return that was surprising given Smith's status as a top-30 Tigers prospect.

He started the season in Triple-A Sacramento before coming up for all of one appearance in May. But since the Giants brought him back in June, he's become a fixture in their bullpen.

On Wednesday, he threw two scoreless innings against the Guardians to close out a 1-0 nail-biter. He gave up just one hit and struck out five batters four his third save of the season.

That's the kind of guy the Tigers might want pitching late innings for them this season, instead of, say, Kenley Jansen or Kyle Finnegan.

Former Tigers top prospect Dylan Smith is showing Detroit exactly what they're missing after March DFA

The Tigers' decision to get rid of Smith was curious from the start when there were players on the 40-man far more deserving of the bump. Even if Smith wasn't going to make the cut by Opening Day, they could've cleared a number of other pitchers from the 40-man and optioned Smith out of spring training. He hadn't been a poor performer for the Tigers — far from it, he had a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings and finished five games.

He's become a key late-inning guy for the Giants and has clearly moved up Tony Vitello's trust tree, largely getting the ball in the ninth this month. His two-inning feat on Wednesday should make it even easier for them to turn to him, especially after closer Caleb Kilian was traded to the Phillies as part of the Luis Arraez trade.

Smith has already become one of the most valuable relievers in San Francisco's pen by bWAR and, by that metric, is worth more than even starters Landon Roupp and Adrian Houser.

Harris definitely underestimated this guy when he let him go, and it's certainly not doing the Tigers any favors right now.

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