The Tigers announced that right-hander Matt Manning has been dealt to the Phillies in exchange for minor league outfielder Josueth Quinonez. Manning was designated for assignment by Detroit earlier today, and this trade was completed just under the wire before the 5pm CT trade deadline. Philadelphia designated right-hander Devin Sweet for assignment in a corresponding roster move.
Selected ninth overall by the Tigers in the 2016 draft, Manning’s time in the organization will officially end without the righty living up to his lofty potential as one of baseball’s top pitching prospects. Manning has a 4.43 ERA over 254 career big league innings from 2021-24, along with an uninspiring 16.4% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. Some injuries surely played a role along the way, and yet with Manning now in his last minor league option year, Detroit chose to just walk away from a pitcher that was once seen as a future cornerstone.
Despite Manning’s struggles in the majors, he is still only 27 years old, and it isn’t surprising that the Phillies quickly arranged a trade soon after Manning was DFA’ed. There’s little risk for the Phils in seeing if Manning can still be a post-hype breakout after a change of scenery, or at least turn himself into a decent contributor if not a star. In the immediate short term, Manning replenishes the rotation depth chart after the Phillies traded Mick Abel to the Twins as part of the Jhoan Duran swap.
Sweet is also a former Tiger, acquired by Philadelphia in a trade last November. Sweet’s lone bit of MLB experience came in the 2023 season when he tossed 8 2/3 innings over seven games with the Mariners and Athletics, and he has since been pitching at the Triple-A level. The results weren’t great this year in Lehigh Valley, as Sweet has a 5.50 ERA and six homers allowed over 37 2/3 innings, with a modest 20.3% strikeout rate.
Sweet has battled control issues for each of the last two seasons, and he’ll find himself back in DFA limbo. He has been outrighted before, so if the 28-year-old clears waivers, he can reject an outright assignment off the Phillies’ 40-man roster and instead opt for free agency.
Quinonez signed by the Phils during the 2024 international signing period, and the outfielder has played a lot of center and right field in the early stages of his pro career. Quinonez has hit .301/.397/.383 in 310 plate appearances with the Phillies’ Dominican Summer League teams, and he’ll now head to Detroit’s system as a long-term prospect.
Dang it, wanted the Orioles to get him
He would have never made it past the Rockies on the wire.
D.D. grabbing another ex-Tiger. Why not. Hope Manning can turn it around in Philly.
Horrible injuries. He once had a ball 110 exit velocity hit his foot & broke it during a quality start. He’s never figured out how to throw a good change up or curveball. He’s fastball & slider. I thought he should have learned the split fingered grip or the Vulcun Change up. Good guy!
Facts!
Good luck Matty… Sorry it didn’t work out
Not sure how the O’s missed this. We stink. Innings, innings, innings. If he can provide any of course.
MM strikes me as a classic change-of-scenery guy. No team ever wins every deal.
I hope you’re right. I wanted to like him. He just never progressed. He actually seems like he took a step back. Best of luck to him in Philly.
He has struggled mightly as a starter and reliever.
Unless he is a very late bloomer, the ship has sailed.
Now report the Kenley Jansen trade please
I feel like the Tigers have mismanaged Manning since the beginning and this is a steal for Philly.
No he’s just not good. Has two pitches, gives up too much hard contact and can’t get any swing and miss
He just couldn’t find a true out pitch. Maybe the change will help but he has been horrible at Toledo this yr.
What specifically have they done to mismanage him? They drafted him as a raw, ex-basketball player turned pitcher, made him into one of the top prospects in the game. Not all prospects become Skubal or Mize.
Let him throw that awesome fast ball, all the time, failed to assist in developing other pitches.
How exactly did they fail to assist manning?
With all of the success Detroit has had with pitching thanks to Baseball America’s Pitching Coach of the Year, why do you feel like he was mismanaged?
Hopefully the team with the best rotation in baseball and arguably the best pitching coach in baseball can help this youngster reach his potential.
Fetter is pitching coach of the year and he couldn’t do it. And part of what makes a pitching coach great is how he develops pitchers. Managing pitchers acquired via free agency doesn’t make you a great pitching coach. That’s just one facet of the role.
FWIW, Sanchez, Nola, Suarez, Luzardo; none of them were signed as FA.
Manning was drafted by the. Al Avila run front office.
Maybe he somehow got “lost in the shuffle” with the changes in the Front Office?
But, this is on Matt Manning too not just the Tigers.
He is a smart young man.
His Dad played in the NBA.
It is Matt Manning’s career.
If something was not working, then Matt should have been on his pitching coaches and Manager to help him figure it out and step his game up to the the next level that would help him succeed in the major leagues.
If Matt needed to learn a few new pitches to succeed in MLB, then he should have shown more initiative and asserted himself.
Coaches, Scouts and all the resources of the Tigers were there for him to take advantage of.
Hopefully, Matt Manning will learn from this and seek help and coaching from the Phillies coaching Staff to help him save his MLB career.
Good Luck to him.
He made it this far.
He has,talent and youth.
Tap into it now to reach his full potential.
If it doesn’t work, then he has already succeeded in pitching in the big leagues in Detroit and he is ahead of 90% of young ballplayers who spend years of their lives trying to advance to MLB.
Not everyone makes it
Good Luck and best Wishes to Matt Manning.
Manning has been mismanaged about as much as Spencer Turnbull.
Time to call it like it is about Manning now.
Spencer Turnbull covered up his condition until the Tigers demoted him for ineffectiveness. Then he confessed he was injured. He did it to himself.
Baseball is a fiercely competitive game.
Players will do whatever they can to reach and stay in the major leagues.
Many players, pitchers included, have continued to play when they thought they had minor injuries to help their teams and to help establish their careers in MLB.
Manning knew he was “on the bubble” and did what he could to stay in the majors. There were other Tigers on the farm in his rearview mirror and he was likely very concerned about losing his spot in the rotation, which is what happened anyway.
Problem was, Manning needed to work on a few more pitches.
MLB hitters will just sit on your pitches if you have just 1 or 2 and torch any pitcher if they get what they are looking for.
It might work in HS or college, but in the majors, a starter cannot succeed with just 2 pitches.
If he won’t/can’t learn a few more pitches, then maybe he is a 1 or 2 inning bullpen man?!
Incredibly inconsistent. He doesn’t have a swing & miss off speed pitch & he walks too many. He obviously didn’t accept his bullpen demotion with enthusiasm because he sees himself as a starter. He comes from an athletic family, father is a former basketball player & he signed for millions as a high school player in the top 10. Unless he finds an out pitch, he will get in trouble early and often. I hope he figures it out.
Mariners Legend Devin Sweet!
With all due respect to Matt Manning, he has seriously regressed. Frankly, if the Tiger pitching department can’t figure him out, I don’t know who can. I wish him all the best. I always liked him. He was a big, broad-shouldered kid. I saw a little Roger Clemens in him early on.
Obviously, this kid they got back from the Phillies is a total roll of the dice. Nevertheless, his early, low, low minor stats look decent.
I’m glad the Tigers got something for MM. I hope he figures it out.
Sometimes, it takes another set of eyes and another approach and something clicks and the athlete ” gets it” or he is more open to “learning it”.
Savvy underrated move by the Phillies FO, in my opinion.
Best move the Tigers made today
Tim and the writing crew, relaxing at home after the anarchy of the deadline drama this season.
imgflip.com/memetemplate/26230760/SCARFACE
Getting stuck in the minors with no end in sight i think killed his hopes. He wasnt god awful with my tigs in the bigs just wasnt good enough to not be optioned. I was always hoping he could turn into a wade davis type in the pen cause hed always get lit third time around like wade as a starter. Good luck to him still young enough to make a career for himself in some role
He had the same shot as everyone else to make the starting rotation in ST and couldn’t do it. They had multiple instance this year when they needed an extra arm, and he never got the call….they moved him to the bullpen, and he seemed to get worse. He had a 52:37 K to walk ratio along with a 6.04ERA. I like Manning as a person, but those aren’t numbers indicative of a successful MLB pitcher. Heck, those aren’t numbers indicative of a successful AAA pitcher…
Sure hope this works out, and restores my faith after; Walker, Romano, Nola, Hays, Kepler.
After outfielder musings of Mullins, Kwan, Roberts we are left with Harrison Bader???
Bader is going to be a big help to that outfield…. and we didn’t give up Painter and Crawford. Solid trade deadline for the front office
The New Front Office kind of gave up on Matt Manning and did not give him the opportunities to pitch on the major league ballclub over the last year or 2.
The Tigers signed some free agents for a lot more money who produced very high ERAs, but buries some of these young prospects in the minors?!
Dombrowski and his staff will try to unlock more value from this former first round draft pick.
His Dad played in the NBA.
Teach him a new pitch or 2
Can’ sustain an MLB career with only 2 pitches.
Maybe, he is a bullpen guy??!
Youre def right on all points! I root for him cause just feels he was weirdly overlooked by new regime being a former first rounder, legit wouldnt be shocked if he ends up having success
They moved him to the bullpen in AAA and his numbers got worse. Face he Manning regressed this year.
Hes been and was hurt so ill give him some grace on that. Hes a career like 3.50 in the minors if memory serves me so his short stretch this yr is a outlier
Injuries have hurt him tOo and guys leap frogged him at times from getting back up when tugs needed to recall him and he was available. Timing is everything type of thing
This is the kind of guy who should be on a team like the White Sox or the A’s where he takes the ball every 5 days and works on getting his game up to par and learning some new pitches too.
Maybe, he has an ERA in the 4’s or low 5’s while he figures it out and it eventually clicks for him.
Some 2nd Division club that will let him work on things and eat innings for them and hopes to catch “lightening in a bottle” with Manning.
Not sure that he will get much work on the big club with the Phillies.