After a hot start in the first month of the season, the Detroit Tigers have returned to mediocrity. Detroit was 18-13 on May 1, and its mark of five games above .500 was its best since the final day of the 2016 season. The team then won just five of 19 games over the next three weeks and has not carried a winning record since.
The Tigers find themselves 15 games back in a surprisingly competitive AL Central and on pace for their eighth consecutive losing season. As frustration grows in Detroit, the team will again be in “seller” mode as the MLB trade deadline approaches. As the Tigers deesperately try to build a winning baseball team, these four players will be on the trade block ahead of the 2024 deadline.
Mark Canha (Outfielder/Designated Hitter/First Base)
Outfielder Mark Canha is another veteran the Tigers brought in on a one-year deal this season who has impressed at Comerica Park. Canha's 29 RBIs are second on the team, while his .353 on-base percentage is second on the club. The 35-year-old also has posted his best hard-hit rate since 2019. Could Canha find himself traded for the third time in less than a year?
With his dependable bat and positional versatility, Mark Canha is a prime candidate ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
Jack Flaherty (Starting Pitcher)
Jack Flaherty had a rough second half of the year in 2023. After the St. Louis Cardinals dealt him to the Baltimore Orioles, the right-hander had a 6.75 ERA across 34.2 innings for the Orioles — hardly the impact they hoped for from their trade-deadline acquisition.
Despite his late-season struggles, Flaherty's career ERA of 3.75 earned him a one-year, $14 million deal with a rising Detroit Tigers club. The 28-year-old has been worth every penny of that $14 million and much more in 2024. Flaherty has a 2.92 ERA on the year with a career-best 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
His expected stats are even more promising. The veteran carries an expected ERA of 2.71 — putting him in the 92nd percentile among MLB pitchers — while his whiff rate and strikeout rate are both in the 95th percentile. With his great start, Jack Flaherty is highly coveted by World Series contenders this summer.
Andrew Chafin (Relief Pitcher)
Like Mark Canha, Andrew Chafin is another experienced player who could end up in another trade deadline deal. Chafin's numbers are not fantastic this year — a 4.32 ERA and three blown saves — but his underlying stats suggest a second-half rebound.
Lefties are batting just .233 against the veteran, including .059 against his slider. Chafin also carries a 34.8% chase rate, putting him in the 94th percentile among MLB pitchers and a whiff rate that is in the 89th percentile in MLB. Once his .375 batting average on the ball in play evens out, Chafin will start producing the successful performances his advanced analytics suggest.
Kenta Maeda (Starting Pitcher)
While the one-year deal the Tigers gave to Jack Flaherty has paid off handsomely, the signing of Kenta Maeda on a two-year contract has not gone as well. The Japanese hurler's ERA sits at 6.00 through 12 starts, and he has failed to pitch five full innings in half of them. The 36-year-old is also striking out a career-low 6.8 batters per nine innings.
There is hope for a turnaround. Maeda's expected ERA is 4.85, and he ranks in the 78th percentile among MLB pitchers regarding hard-hit rate. This summer's market for starting pitchers is hot, and Kenta Maeda will be an affordable trade target for numerous MLB clubs.
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