Tigers swiping pitcher from Dodgers also reminds Detroit of Jack Flaherty trade

It's been a chaotic 2026 season for right-hander Grant Holman. The 25-year-old, a sixth-round pick of the Athletics in 2021, was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers over the weekend. Prior to the transaction, Holman was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who claimed him off waivers on April 1 following his DFA by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-backs had previously claimed Holman off waivers five days following his DFA by the Athletics during spring training. Got all that?

Long story short, it's been four different organizations for Holman in a matter of a couple of months. And speaking of "chaos," that's exactly the type of vibe the current Tigers have been known to embrace when it comes to managing their bullpen, which often features a revolving door of arms traveling back and forth from the minors.

That's surely Detroit's plan of attack for Holman, who surprisingly has two option years remaining. He was promptly optioned by Detroit to the FCL upon being acquired.

The Holman move involved a Trey Sweeney wrinkle (Sweeney was sent to the 60-day IL to make room for Holman). Sweeney's name popping up reminded Tigers fans of the July 2024 Jack Flaherty trade that sent Flaherty to the Dodgers in exchange for Sweeney and Thayron Liranzo.

Tigers fans didn't know then that Flaherty would be returning to Detroit less than seven months later on a two-year, $35 million deal, the second year of which Flaherty surprisingly opted into.

Grant Holman is hoping that he can stick in Detroit

But back to Holman and his arrival. As aforementioned, he has a chance to factor into Detroit's 2026 bullpen, but he'll need to stay healthy. Rotator cuff tendinitis marred his 2025 season, limiting Holman to 32 1/3 innings across all levels (majors included).

Though his stuff has yet to translate successfully to MLB (4.66 ERA over 38 2/3 innings), Holman has shown a knack for swing-and-miss at the minor-league level, which is where all the intrigue stems from. The Athletics apparently grew less convinced of that intrigue, and Holman passed through Arizona and Los Angeles practically without getting a real chance to audition.

Hopefully, Holman will find better early luck as a Tiger than Sweeney, who hit under .200 last year and has yet to appear in 2026 due to shoulder issues. Holman is still a young arm, and he may have finally landed in the right culture to maximize his abilities. He's no stranger to being shuttled back and forth between Triple-A and the bigs, so that shouldn't impact his ability to potentially help the Tigers win some games this season out of the 'pen.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow