Exploring Trade Partners For Devin Williams: Detroit Tigers

Why They Need Him
By the end of July, it seemed quite likely that the Tigers would spend their October at home. They had a record of 52-57, 10th-best in the American League, and there wasn’t a whole lot of hope for what seemed to be an average roster outside of Tarik Skubal and Riley Greene. As a result, they sold off their most valuable short-term player, Jack Flaherty, to the Dodgers in exchange for two prospects. But just when everyone began writing off their season completely, something really kooky happened. 

From Aug. 1 through the rest of the season, the Detroit Tigers had the second-best record in baseball, at 34-19. Winning 64% of their games in the final two months of the season allowed them to punch their ticket to the big dance, bumping the division rival Twins out of the picture on the way. The team’s OPS over this span was still just .696, painfully average, but the pitching staff combined for a 2.91 ERA, second-best in MLB. The bullpen was particularly effective, averaging just a 2.71 ERA over the final 286 innings of the year, spread out between several talented arms including Tyler Holton, Sean Guenther, and their closer Jason Foley. 

Foley has actually been great since his major-league debut in 2021, and will remain under team control until 2028. This will be his first year of arbitration eligibility, so the Tigers could place their faith in him entirely to continue filling the most crucial reliever role. However, if they do decide to more seriously contend for the World Series, Foley likely won’t be the high-leverage guy to get them there. While his 3.15 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 28 saves were solid in 2024, his chase rate (25.4%), whiff rate (22.3%), and strikeout rate (18.4%) were all in the bottom quartile of qualified pitchers. He mostly earned his outs through soft contact and had a decent ground ball rate of 47.8% but it’s not consistent enough to compensate for his weaknesses. Furthermore, there are signs that the team lost trust in him, as he made just one appearance in the postseason, giving up three hits and a run in the first game against the Astros.

The aforementioned Tyler Holton could be another candidate to take his place, but with just two seasons of work and most of it spent in innings 6-8, he’s unproven in high leverage and still has average whiff and strikeout rates. Thus, it seems like the team is interested in exploring a more impressive option at the back of the bullpen.

What They Have to Offer
Since they were supposed to be on the cusp of a rebuild, the Tigers have a great farm system with five Top 100 prospects including Max Clark (#7 MLB prospect) and Jackson Jobe (#8)—the latter of whom made his debut this past year and even pitched in the postseason. The front office would likely be hesitant to part with their top talent, but there are plenty of other fair options to choose from.

Someone who might be on the cusp of being too pricey (but is still worth a discussion) is Jaden Hamm. Currently the seventh-ranked Tigers prospect, Hamm is a righty starter who made 23 starts with High-A West Michigan and posted a 2.64 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP and 11.1 K/9. He has a good fastball with 20 inches of induced vertical break, which pairs well with his curveball and a developing changeup. He has also been working to introduce a slider into his arsenal, potentially giving him an extremely potent toolkit. He’d be a great addition to the Brewers system, but would only be on the trade table if Detroit is very much intent on making a deep postseason run in 2025.

A cheaper alternative could be left-handed starter Lael Lockhart, the 26th-ranked Tigers prospect. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Toledo and posted a somewhat unsightly 5.32 ERA over 93 innings, but he also had 10.5 K/9. Things were much better over the 28 innings he had in Double-A where he managed a 1.93 ERA. The biggest obstacle seems to be his non-competitive fastball, a pitch that sits in the high 80s and doesn’t miss a lot of bats. He does have an impressive splitter with just 761 rpm on average, along with a decent curveball, but the rest of his arsenal will need refining—a task perfect for the Brewers. They do a great job of helping hurlers find an extra tick or two via mechanical adjustments, too.

If Milwaukee wants to pursue a position player prospect, they could take a closer look at Gage Workman, Detroit’s 30th-ranked prospect. He had good numbers at the plate in 2024, slashing .280/.366/.476 with 29 doubles, six triples, and 18 home runs over 556 plate appearances with Triple-A Erie. The big improvement came from abandoning his switch-hitting dreams; he has chosen to bat left-handed exclusively. He split time between third base and shortstop, but with great speed and strong fielding abilities, he seems capable of fulfilling either position, a perfect complement to Joey Ortiz’s similar flexibility in the majors.

Let’s face it: the Tigers are not going to fill all their needs in free agency. Since the teardown of their powerhouse early 2010s roster was completed, they’ve slipped lower and lower down the payroll rankings. In 2024, they had a total payroll of just $104 million (per FanGraphs), barely enough to cover today’s marquee free agents. Instead, they’ll seek to develop their roster through trades, and if they do want to shore up their closer role, there isn’t a better trade target out there than Devin Williams.