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Tigers Interested In Merrill Kelly, But Prioritizing Relief Pitching

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A once-dominant season for the Tigers has sprung some leaks, as the club has lost 13 of its last 16 games.  Detroit still has a nine-game lead in the AL Central so it’s far from panic mode just yet, but some help is clearly needed at the deadline, as evidenced by yesterday’s trade that brought Chris Paddack to the rotation in place of the injured Reese Olson.

Another rotation upgrade could be under consideration, as John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix writes that “the Tigers like Merrill Kelly.”  The Diamondbacks right-hander is seen as likely to be moved by the deadline since Arizona has started moving other impending free agents like Josh Naylor, though it remains to be seen if the Tigers could emerge as an ardent suitor.  Gambadoro notes that the Tigers are primarily focused on adding relief pitching, which tracks with recent reports linking Detroit to such bullpen arms as Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and David Bednar.

This isn’t to say that president of baseball operations Scott Harris isn’t exploring plenty of options, as the Tigers are also reportedly showing interest in third basemen like Ke’Bryan Hayes and another big Arizona trade chip (and former Tiger) Eugenio Suarez.  Detroit’s rotation also needed help even before Olson went down, as there’s still uncertainty over the fifth starter’s role behind Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, and now Paddack.

Adding Kelly would be a nice way to solidify the starting pitching situation, which in turn would indirectly also make things a little easier on Detroit’s struggling relief corps.  Kelly has bounced back well from an injury-shortened 2024 season by posting a 3.22 ERA over 128 2/3 innings for the D’Backs this year.  His 23.5% strikeout rate, 45% groundball rate, and 7.4% walk rate are all above league average, though a .247 BABIP has helped Kelly get away with allowing a lot of hard contact.

His higher 3.78 SIERA reflects that batted-ball luck, though Kelly has continued the good form he has shown for almost all of his seven-season run with the Diamondbacks.  Kelly also posted good numbers during Arizona’s NL pennant run in 2023, and this postseason experience would be helpful to a Tigers squad that surely has designs on making a deeper playoff run this October.  Only around $2.31MM remains on Kelly’s $7MM salary, making him an affordable fit for pretty much any contender.

Kelly discussed his situation with the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and other reporters on Saturday, following what could be the right-hander’s final start in a D’Backs uniform in 2025, but perhaps not ever.  Even if he is dealt before Thursday’s deadline, Kelly said he and his agent have both expressed interest in a reunion in free agency this winter.

“Obviously, I understand the nature of the beast and the business aspect of it,” Kelly said.  “The idea of, if I do get traded and if I do go somewhere…the chance to win is obviously in the forefront of my mind.  That all being said, I love being here. I have always loved being here. I would always be open to being a Snake moving forward.”

Rangers, Tigers Interested In David Bednar

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With this year’s trade deadline just a matter of days away, the Pirates could be one of the more active sellers over the next few days. According to a report from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pirates GM Ben Cherington is “looking to sell high” on closer David Bednar as he fields inquiries from multiple contenders regarding the 30-year-old. The Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, and Cubs have all previously been connected to Bednar this summer. Hiles reiterates the Phillies’ interest in the righty and adds two additional suitors to the pile: the Rangers and the Tigers. What’s more, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports this morning that Pittsburgh has discussed the possibility of a deal with the Blue Jays that would send a reliever to Toronto, although it’s unclear whether that relief arm would be Bednar or another piece like Dennis Santana.

It’s hardly a shock that any of these newly-reported clubs would be interested in Bednar’s services. The two-time All-Star has been one of the league’s best closers for years now. Dating back to the 2021 season, Bednar has a 3.01 ERA and 101 saves in 275 1/3 innings of work. He’s struck out 29.4% of his opponents and has a 2.94 FIP. Those are already very impressive numbers, but they become all the more significant when one considers that Bednar struggled badly last year with a 5.77 ERA and 4.80 FIP across 62 appearances.

That his overall numbers remain that strong despite his brutal 2024 shows how utterly dominant Bednar has been the rest of the time, and 2025 is no exception. This year, he’s pitched to a 2.37 ERA with 17 saves and a 33.1% strikeout rate to go with a 1.96 FIP in 38 innings of work. He surrendered his first run since May 23 during last night’s save against the Giants and sports an eye-popping 1.70 ERA and 1.47 FIP dating back to April 19. That’s the day Bednar returned to the majors after three rough outings in Pittsburgh’s first four games of the season convinced the Pirates to option him to Triple-A for the reset. To say that reset has worked out would be an understatement, as Bednar’s elite play since his return has made him perhaps the club’s most valuable trade chip this summer.

Bednar’s value has risen enough that Hiles writes the Pirates are asking potential suitors to include one prospect within their organization’s top five in the return package for his services. The Pirates are known to be targeting upper-level hitting prospects and big league ready offensive talent this summer as they look to build a stronger position player corps to support Paul Skenes and the rest of their vaunted pitching core in 2026 and beyond. That makes some clubs a difficult fit for the Pirates’ needs. The Rangers, for example, surely wouldn’t consider parting with top prospect Sebastian Walcott in this sort of deal but have few other highly-rated, upper-level positional prospects in their system. Likewise, six of the Blue Jays’ top seven prospects according to MLB Pipeline are pitchers. By contrast, teams like the Tigers, Cubs, and Dodgers have a bevy of positional talent, some of which is in Double- and Triple-A already, from which they could deal if so inclined.

A club not being a perfect fit for the Pirates’s preferred return doesn’t necessarily mean a deal can’t be made as long as the buying club is sufficiently motivated, however. The Rangers seem like a particularly strong fit for Bednar. They enter trade season pressed up against the luxury tax with minimal room to take on salary barring a sudden change of heart from ownership, and taking on the final two months of Bednar’s $5.9MM salary for the season would be an extremely light financial burden for a player of Bednar’s caliber. Additionally, their recent struggles with putting together a quality bullpen could make someone controlled beyond the 2025 season like Bednar (who will reach free agency after 2026) an especially attractive option.

Speculatively speaking, perhaps there’s a deal to be made between the Rangers and Pirates involving a big league hitter like Adolis Garcia supported by lower-level prospects from Texas’s system. Likewise, the Blue Jays have a number of young position players who have graduated from prospect status who they could consider trading in the right deal, whether that’s for Bednar or another reliever like Santana or Caleb Ferguson. Toronto’s bullpen could certainly use the boost Bednar would provide given that incumbent closer Jeff Hoffman’s season has come off the rails after an elite month of April, and with players like George Springer and Kevin Gausman getting older as they approach the end of their contracts there’s plenty of urgency to make a deep postseason run.

The Tigers might be best positioned to make a deal for Bednar of this trio of teams, however. Bednar’s team control window lines up with that of ace southpaw Tarik Skubal, so adding him to the fold would allow Detroit to maximize Skubal’s time with the organization. The bullpen has emerged as a clear weak spot in an otherwise impressively deep organization, and Bednar closing out games with Will Vest and Tyler Holton setting him up would make for a much more imposing relief corps this October. What’s more, the Tigers have a number of well-regarded position player prospects in the upper levels of the minors, to say nothing of pieces with big league experience like Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney. It’s unclear just how much the Tigers would really be willing to part with in order to acquire Bednar, but they certainly have the sort of deep group of positional talent that could make them a very enticing trade partner for the Pirates.

Tigers Acquire Chris Paddack

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The Tigers turned to a division rival for rotation help on Monday afternoon. Detroit acquired righty Chris Paddack and took on the contract of minor league pitcher Randy Dobnak in a deal that sent catching prospect Enrique Jimenez to the Twins. Detroit placed Reese Olson on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain, shedding some extra light on their decision to acquire a back-end starter.

Paddack, 29, has had an up-and-down career and has been inconsistent this year as well. He debuted with the Padres back in 2019 and had arguably his best season that year. He tossed 140 2/3 innings with a 3.33 earned run average, 26.9% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. In the next two seasons, his strikeout rate fell to 23.7% and then 21.6%. His ERA climbed to 4.73 and then 5.07. He was traded to the Twins but then Tommy John surgery in May of 2022 wiped out most of that year and the following season.

He was back on the mound last year but made multiple trips to the injured list due to ongoing issues with his throwing arm. He logged 88 1/3 innings over 17 starts with a 4.99 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate.

This year, Paddack has at least avoided the IL. Though as mentioned, his results have been wobbly. Overall, he has a 4.95 ERA in 111 innings over 21 starts, with a 17.6% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. He got out to an atrocious start, allowing nine earned runs to the White Sox in his first outing, lasting just three and a third innings. His second start wasn’t much better, allowing three earned runs in four innings against the Astros. He had a 14.73 ERA after those two starts.

From there, he got in a nice groove. Over his next 11 starts, Paddack tossed 64 innings with a 2.25 ERA. His 19.2% strikeout rate in that time was still subpar, but he limited walks to a 6.4% clip. He got a little help from a .218 batting average on balls in play and 84% strand rate, so his 3.60 FIP and 4.28 SIERA were a bit skeptical of his ERA in that span. He then allowed eight earned runs in a start against the Astros last month. Since then, he has a 6.31 ERA in seven starts, though the most recent one was great. He allowed one run over six innings against the mighty Dodgers, striking out eight.

The results haven’t been outstanding but Paddack seemingly got a decent amount of interest. Jon Heyman of The New York Post says the Rays were involved while Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Yankees pursued him as well.

That might be a reflection of the league-wide conditions. Very few teams are clearly out of contention in the expanded playoffs. Some of the clubs that are buried in the standings don’t have much to sell. It all adds up to a seller’s market. Paddack isn’t an ace but he’s been healthy and has decent control. He’s also affordable, making just $7.5MM this year while many other reliable vets are making double or almost triple that. There’s only $2.5MM of Paddack’s salary left to be paid out in the remainder of the season. That seems to be enough to get several teams on the phone.

For the Tigers, adding some starting depth is a sensible move. Alex Cobb has been on the IL all year due to hip issues and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to contribute anything. Jackson Jobe had Tommy John surgery. José Urquidy is still trying to return from last year’s Tommy John and hasn’t yet started a rehab assignment. Sawyer Gipson-Long and Ty Madden are also on the shelf.

The Detroit rotation currently consists of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize. Olson was the arguable #2 starter behind Skubal before his injury. They recently called up Troy Melton but he allowed six earned runs in his first big league start. Adding Paddack could perhaps allow the Tigers to send Melton back down to the minors. Paddack might not be in the club’s playoff rotation if the postseason started today, but he fills in some depth that has been lost to injuries and could step up if further injuries arise over the remainder of the season.

Dobnak’s inclusion is presumably about his contract. He signed an early-career extension with the Twins which hasn’t panned out. Since the end of the 2021 season, he has mostly been in the minors, with less than 15 big league innings on his ledger. In 60 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 7.12 ERA.

As part of that aforementioned extension, he is making a $3MM salary this year, leaving about $1MM left to be paid out. There’s also a $1MM buyout on a $6MM 2026 club option. Presumably, the Tigers are taking on the remaining $2MM commitment in exchange for a lighter prospect return than Paddack would have otherwise required.

Jimenez, 19, is an intriguing prospect but he’s a long-term play. He’s only 19 years old. The Tigers signed him out of Venezuela in the 2023 international signing period, giving him a $1.25MM bonus. A switch-hitter, he has appeared in 137 minor league games thus far, having slashed .255/.363/.413 for a 114 wRC+. Baseball America lists him as the #17 prospect in the Tigers’ system with a 50 grade on the 20-80 scale, but he’s characterized as an extreme risk. FanGraphs ranked him #28 in the system back in March, noting that his small stature and poor blocking skills are areas of concern.

For the Twins, this is likely the first of a few sell-side moves. They have fallen to 50-55, which puts them 5.5 games back of a playoff spot. FanGraphs only gives them an 11% chance of cracking the postseason. It was reported about a week ago that they were more seriously considering trades of rental players. Paddack is the first go, but Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Christian Vázquez could follow. The larger question is if they will move interesting controllable pieces such as Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax or Joe Ryan. All reports have suggested the asking prices on those three are high, so the Twins would have to be blown away for a trade to come together.

Dobnak’s inclusion in this deal perhaps suggests the Twins could look to cut costs in the coming days. They didn’t appear to have a huge budget to work with in the winter, limiting themselves to modest one-year deals for Bader, Coulombe and France. The franchise is actively for sale, with an ownership change expected in the coming months. Perhaps they will look to have other clubs absorb as much of the money owed to their impending free agents as possible, even though eating some of the money would lead to a greater prospect return. It’s possible the Pohlad family, which still owns the club for now, will look to save themselves a few million bucks in the coming days.

Time will tell on that. For now, the Twins have already saved a few million and added a young catching prospect to their system. The Tigers, meanwhile, have added some rotation depth as they hope to cruise to a division title. Despite a recent rough patch, they have an eight-game lead over the Guardians in the Central.

Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic first reported the Tigers were nearing an acquisition of Paddack for a prospect. Rosenthal was first to note a Paddack trade was in place. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Twins were receiving Jimenez in return. ESPN’s Jeff Passan had Dobnak’s inclusion.

Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Matt Krohn and Tom Vizer, Imagn Images

Tigers To Place Reese Olson On 60-Day IL With Shoulder Strain

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The Tigers are placing right-hander Reese Olson on the 60-day injured list due to a shoulder strain. Jason Beck of MLB.com was among those to relay the news. That will open up a 40-man roster spot for Chris Paddack, who is reportedly being acquired from the Twins. Beck adds that outfielder Parker Meadows has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a quad strain. Infielder/outfielders Andy Ibáñez and Ryan Kreidler have been recalled to take the active roster spots of Olson and Meadows.

The news on Olson sheds more light on the club’s decision to acquire Paddack. Olson had started against the Blue Jays on Thursday and gone 5 2/3 innings. Per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, Olson first felt discomfort on Saturday during a bullpen session.

That meant that, coming into today, the Detroit rotation was down to Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty. They recently called up prospect Troy Melton, but he allowed six earned runs in his first big league start. Keider Montero was recently optioned to the minors.

Paddack isn’t an ace but he’s a strike-throwing veteran who lengthens the overall group. The Tigers also have Alex Cobb, Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden, Jose Urquidy and Sawyer Gipson-Long on the IL. Adding Olson to that pile seemingly prompted them to go out and add Paddack.

What’s still unclear is if Olson will be available for the postseason. Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the door is still open for that, though it depends on how things develop between now and then. Perhaps the Tigers will look to make another rotation addition in the coming days, depending on how things develop with Olson.

There’s also a bit of a position player shuffle today, with Meadows hitting the IL again. He missed the first couple of months of the season due to issues in the musculocutaneous nerve in his right arm. Since coming off the IL, he has hit just .200/.270/.296. Now his frustrating season continues with another injury setback, though it’s unclear how long he’ll be out.

Matt Vierling has also been playing some center field lately and could take over for Meadows, though he’s not having a great season either, currently sporting a .210/.306/.226 line. Javier Báez played some center earlier this year but has retaken the shortstop job more recently. If Báez were to go back out to the grass, Zach McKinstry could move from third to short, with guys like Ibáñez and Kreidler helping to fill in at the hot corner. Kreidler can also play a bit of center. Once Paddack reports to the team, the Tigers will need an active roster spot, so one of Ibáñez or Kreidler will probably be going right back down.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images

Tigers Sign Luke Jackson, Designate Geoff Hartlieb

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The Tigers have signed Luke Jackson to a one-year, Major League contract, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.  Jackson signed a one-year, $1.35MM deal with the Rangers last winter and Texas is still responsible for most of the remaining salary still owed to the right-hander, with Detroit covering just the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.  Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment in the corresponding moves on the 26-man and 40-man rosters.  (The transactions were first noted earlier today by MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery and other members of the Tigers beat, who noted that Jackson had a locker and Hartlieb didn’t in the Detroit clubhouse.)

The Rangers just released Jackson yesterday following a two-day DFA period, so the righty not only quickly landed a new contract, but Jackson will get the opportunity to carve a niche for himself on a Tigers team in sore need of bullpen help.  Detroit has lost 11 of its last 12 games, and the relief corps’ 7.04 ERA over that stretch has been a lead cause in what has become a major slump.  Relief pitching is a clear priority heading into the deadline, and Jackson may be one of several bullpen additions that could be coming to Motown before July 31.

Jackson posted a 4.11 ERA and 53.8% grounder rate over 35 innings with Texas this season.  That excellent grounder rate, some decent batted-ball luck (.272 BABIP), and an above-average 7.5% barrel rate helped Jackson limit the damage despite strikeout (15.8%) and walk (12.5%) rates that ranked near the bottom of the league.  Control has long been an issue for Jackson, but the lack of whiffs is a surprise, as he had a 27.1 K% over 289 2/3 innings during the 2018-24 seasons.  His overall effectiveness has tended to hinge on the success of his slider, and Jackson’s primary offering has only a -1 in Statcast’s Pitch Value metric this season.

While Jackson hasn’t looked very sharp, groundball specialists tend to have an even wider range of variance than most relievers.  It was just in 2023 that Jackson had a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for the Giants, and his 1.98 ERA over 63 2/3 innings for the 2021 Braves played a key role in Atlanta’s path to the World Series.  At the cost of essentially nothing, there’s little risk for the Tigers in taking a flier on Jackson to see if a change of scenery can help him get on track.

Hartlieb signed a minor league deal with Detroit two weeks ago, and he had a 9.00 ERA over two appearances and two innings with the Tigers at the MLB level when his contract was selected two days ago.  A frequent visitor to DFA limbo, Hartlieb has been designated three times just within the last month — today’s move off the Tigers’ roster, and two previous instances when pitching with the Yankees.

Hartlieb declined outright assignments after clearing waivers in each of those two earlier DFAs and elected free agency, which is his right as a player who has been previously outrighted in his career.  Chances are he’ll elect free agency again, and perhaps either re-sign with the Tigers on another minors deal or look elsewhere for another landing spot.  Since Hartlieb is out of minor league options, he might well face more DFAs unless he can pitch consistently well enough to pitch in a big league bullpen.

Hartlieb has an ungainly 21.60 ERA in 3 1/3 total innings with New York and Detroit this season, boosting his career ERA to 7.95 over 82 2/3 innings with six different Major League clubs.  His 3.13 ERA over 37 1/3 Triple-A innings this year is much more palatable, and it could get Hartlieb another look from a team as at least minor league depth.

Phillies Acquire Brewer Hicklen, Designate Ryan Cusick

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The Phillies announced a trade with the Tigers that will see outfielder Brewer Hicklen head to Philadelphia in exchange for cash considerations.  In the corresponding roster move, the Phils designated right-hander Ryan Cusick for assignment.

Hicklen was designated for assignment by Detroit earlier this week, and he’ll now head to the Phillies for the second time in his career.  Philadelphia previously acquired Hicklen back in August 2023 in a trade with the Royals, and the outfielder didn’t get any MLB playing time before becoming a minor league agent following the season.  Hicklen signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee in November 2023, and the novelty of Brewer playing for the Brewers lasted until this past March, when the Brewers designated him for assignment and the Tigers acquired Hicklen in another cash trade off the waiver wire.

Hicklen has appeared in 10 MLB games (with 17 plate appearances) over parts of three seasons, including a single game with Detroit this year.  He has a .242/.351/.466 slash line over 1598 career PA at the Triple-A level, though his output at Triple-A Toledo (.227/.335/.394 in 254 PA) has been more modest in 2025.  A heavy dose of strikeouts has limited Hicklen’s offensive output over his career, though speed is his primary calling card, with 118 steals to show for 129 attempts in the minors.

Between that baserunning prowess and his ability to play all three outfield positions, Hicklen is an interesting depth piece for the Phillies to stash at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  He has appeal as a pinch-running bench specialist for the stretch run or during the playoffs, and Hicklen could be a replacement in Lehigh Valley if top prospect Justin Crawford gets the call to the majors in the near future.  The Phillies are known to be looking for outfield help at the trade deadline, but they could address that need from within by giving Crawford his first crack at the Show.

Cusick has now been designated four times in the last two months, and the three previous trips to DFA limbo resulted in Cusick changing teams on waiver claims.  Beginning the season on the Athletics’ roster, Cusick went from the A’s to the Tigers to the White Sox to the Phillies, with the right-hander’s arrival in Philadelphia coming in early June.  Through it all, Cusick has a 7.99 ERA over 23 2/3 combined minor league innings in 2025, so his frequent roster changes might well be having an impact on his performance.

Selected 24th overall by the Braves in the 2021 draft, Cusick went to the A’s as part of the Matt Olson trade package.  He is still awaiting his MLB debut after amassing a 5.40 ERA over 246 2/3 minor league innings, as Cusick has been hampered by some severe control issues.  Past history suggests he could again get claimed by another team looking for bullpen depth, and Cusick’s first-round pedigree is recent enough that he might still have some late-bloomer appeal.

Tigers Designate Carlos Hernández For Assignment, Select Geoff Hartlieb

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The Tigers announced that they have selected the contact of right-hander Geoff Hartlieb. Fellow righty Carlos Hernández has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Members of the Detroit beat, including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, noticed earlier today that Hernández didn’t have a locker in the clubhouse.

Hernández, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Phillies just over a month ago. He got into 11 games for the Tigers but allowed 12 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings. There was surely some small sample weirdness in there. His .412 batting average on balls in play and 35% strand rate were both far to the unfortunate side. He didn’t help himself by walking 11.3% of batters faced but his 24.5% strikeout rate was solid.

Ultimately, it’s not a lot to go on, but the Tigers decided to make a change. Hernández pitched in each of the past two games and may not have been available tonight, so they’ve swapped him out for a fresh arm.

He’s likely to end up on waivers again in the next few days. He has shown promise at times in his career but has been inconsistent. He averages in the upper-90s with his fastball and sinker while also featuring a splitter, slider and knuckle curve. He posted a 25.7% strikeout rate with the Royals in 2023 but that dropped to 20.9% last year and is at 20.5% here in 2025. Though as mentioned, his strikeout rate spiked a bit with Detroit more recently.

Kansas City burned his final option year in 2024 and put him on waivers just ahead of Opening Day this year. The Phils grabbed him but he posted a 5.26 ERA before getting put back on waivers in June, which is when the Tigers grabbed him.

Though his 6.69 ERA on the year isn’t attractive, teams might be attracted by the stuff. He’s making a modest $1.16MM this year and can be retained via arbitration for another two seasons after this one. Perhaps a club selling bullpen pieces ahead of the deadline might grab him for the stretch run, though he’s out of options and can’t be easily sent to the minors.

Hartlieb, 31, just signed a minor league deal with the Tigers less than two weeks ago. He has made two appearances for the Yankees this year but allowed three earned runs in each of them. He currently has a 40.50 ERA in 1 1/3 innings. Around those appearances, he’s been pretty good in Triple-A this year. He has 37 1/3 innings pitched at that level with a 3.13 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 42.1% ground ball rate.

Like Hernández, Hartlieb is out of options and likely has a tenuous hold on a roster spot. But for now, he’ll give them a fresh arm for a key four-game series against the Blue Jays which kicks off tonight. Those two clubs and the Astros are leading the three American League divisions and are currently neck-and-neck for the league lead. The Jays and Astros are both 60-42 with the Tigers half a game back at 60-43.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Tigers Designate Brewer Hicklen For Assignment

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The Tigers announced Wednesday that they’ve designated outfielder Brewer Hicklen for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-handed pitching prospect Troy Melton, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Toledo (as was previously reported). In order to open a 26-man roster spot for Melton, ace Tarik Skubal was placed on the paternity list. Skubal can be absent for up to 72 hours.

Detroit picked up Hicklen in a March 28 trade sending cash back to the Brewers. He’s appeared in just one game for the Tigers in 2025, going 2-for-3 with a walk in that lone appearance. The bulk of Hicklen’s season has come in Triple-A, where he’s carrying a .227/.335/.394 batting line (99 wRC+) with eight home runs and 14 stolen bases. He’s walked at a strong 11.4% clip but also fanned in more than 30% of his plate appearances.

The 29-year-old Hicklen has just 13 major league plate appearances under his belt. The two hits he collected with Tigers were the first of his major league career. Hicklen has played in parts of four Triple-A seasons and has a .242/.351/.466 slash through 1598 plate appearances. He’s played all three outfield spots in his career and has good speed to go along with a solid track record in Triple-A (contact issues notwithstanding). He’s in the second of three minor league option years.

The Tigers will trade Hicklen or place him on waivers within the next five days. If he’s placed on waivers, that’ll be another 48-hour process. His DFA will be resolved within a week’s time. He hasn’t been outrighted to this point in his career and doesn’t have three years of big league service, so if he clears waivers Hicklen will stick with the Tigers as a depth option who’s no longer on the 40-man roster.

Tigers To Promote Troy Melton

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The Tigers are going to promote pitching prospect Troy Melton, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com. Melton will start for the club on Wednesday, making his major league debut. The club will need to open a spot for him on both the 40-man and active rosters.

Melton, now 24, was the Tigers’ fourth-round pick in 2022. Since then, he has climbed the minor league ladder, putting up strong numbers along the way. Overall, he has thrown 273 minor league innings over 66 games. 63 of those were officially starts, with the other three technically being long relief outings. In that time, he has allowed 3.63 earned runs per nine with a 28.1% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate.

That includes his 75 1/3 innings this year, split between Double-A and Triple-A. He has a combined 2.99 ERA on the season. His 6.4% walk rate is still good and he has nudged his strikeout rate up to 32.4%.

Coming into 2025, many evaluators put Melton in the middle of the Tigers’ top 30 lists but Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs was especially bullish. He gave Melton the #80 spot on his preseason top 100 list. Longenhagen notes that Melton sits in the upper 90s with his fastball with a slider and “splinker-style” changeup.

It’s unclear if Melton will be getting a rotation gig for a while or if this is just a spot start. The Tigers are three games into a stretch of playing 13 straight right after their pitchers where thrown off their normal routines by the All-Star break, so perhaps this is just to give everyone else a breather. Since this is his first major league call, he has a full slate of options and could be sent back down to the minors after his debut.

As of now, the Tigers have a rotation consisting of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson, Casey Mize and Keider Montero. The first four aren’t going anywhere but Montero’s not cemented in there. He’s been optioned to the minors and moved to the bullpen at times this year, so that could perhaps happen again if the Tigers want Melton to get more than just a spot start.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images.

Notable Draft Signings: July 18-19th, 2025

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Here’s a roundup of players from the recent draft who were signed or agreed to terms in the past two days. For an arbitrary cutoff, this post will focus on players taken before the second round or any later picks who signed a bonus of $2MM or more. Pre-draft rankings and scouting reports are provided by Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America, FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.

  • The Cubs have signed outfielder Ethan Conrad to a bonus of $3,563,100, per Jim Callis of MLB.com. Conrad was selected 17th overall, a pick that comes with a $4,750,800 slot. Since the Cubs are saving over a million on their first-round pick, they should have lots of leeway to lock up the remaining players in their class.
  • The Tigers have signed shortstop Jordan Yost with a $3.25MM bonus, per Callis. Yost went 24th overall, a pick that comes with a slot value of $3,726,300. Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Detroit has also agreed to terms with their second pick, catcher Michael Oliveto. Selected in the competitive balance A round, 34th overall, his $2.45MM signing bonus is below his $2,827,300 slot value. Between Yost and Oliveto, the Tigers have saved close to a million bucks, which can be redirected to the other guys they drafted.
  • The Orioles have signed catcher Caden Bodine with a $3,113,300 bonus, per Callis. Callis also relays that shortstop Wehiwa Aloy has signed for $3,042,800. Bodine and Aloy were taken 30th and 31st respectively, with the compensation picks the O’s received for Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander rejecting qualifying offers and signing elsewhere. Both bonuses were full slot value for their respective picks. The O’s also signed first-rounder Ike Irish to a bonus right around slot value, so they’ve played things pretty straight-up with their top three picks.
  • The Brewers announced that they have signed shortstop Brady Ebel, the son of Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel. The younger Ebel was selected 32nd overall, the pick the Brewers received for Willy Adames rejecting a qualifying offer and signing elsewhere. That pick comes with a $2.97MM slot value. The signing bonus has not yet been publicly reported. [UPDATE: Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo reports that Ebel signed for a below-slot $2.75MM bonus.]
  • The Mariners have agreed to terms with 19 of their draft picks, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Top pick Kade Anderson’s bonus was previously reported. The M’s also gave catcher Luke Stevenson a bonus of $2.8MM and shortstop Nick Becker $2.75MM. Stevenson was taken in the competitive balance A round, 33rd overall. This bonus comes in just barely above the $2.76MM slot for that pick. Becker was selected in the second round 57th overall, a pick that comes with a slot of $1.64MM. Anderson’s bonus was about $700K under slot and it seems the M’s redirected those savings to get Becker to sign. Callis reported the Stevenson bonus earlier today.
  • The Yankees have signed shortstop Dax Kilby to a $2.8MM bonus, per Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. Kilby was selected 39th overall, though that was actually the club’s top pick. Their first-rounder was pushed back ten spots because they went over the third competitive balance tax threshold last year. Slot for the pick was $2,509,500, so they went a bit over to get him to sign.
  • The Rays signed outfielder Brendan Summerhill to a $1,997,500 bonus, per Callis. He was selected 42nd overall, in competitive balance round A. Slot value for that pick was $2,331,000, so the Rays saved a bit on this one. The Rays also went below-slot to sign first-round Daniel Pierce, so they have lots of extra powder for the rest of their class.
  • The Cardinals signed shortstop Ryan Mitchell to a $2.25MM bonus, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. Mitchell was taken in the second round, 55th overall. The slot for that pick is $1,720,300, so the Cards went about half a million above to get this one done. They saved close to a million when signing first-rounder Liam Doyle, so it seems some of those savings were used to ink Mitchell.

Photo courtesy of Dylan Widger, Imagn Images

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