The 2025 MLB trade deadline has come and gone, so now is the time to analyze the moves that contending teams didn’t make. On Friday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale circled the Detroit Tigers as a team he wanted to see make a more splashy move.
Detroit focused on strengthening its pitching at the trade deadline, bringing in closer Kyle Finnegan from the Washington Nationals, right-hander Codi Heuer from the Texas Rangers, and veteran Charlie Morton from the Baltimore Orioles.
However, could the Tigers have done more and made a statement trade that they are all in to win the World Series this year? Nightengale believes Detroit should have gone all out to sign former Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suárez.
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“The asking price for Suárez was low,” Nightengale said Friday on “Foul Territory.” “They should have grabbed Suárez. He would've been perfect there. I think too many teams are worried about Suárez's batting average. He can be a streaky hitter, and his defense isn’t the best. But still, to have a power hitter like that, 36 home runs, 87 RBIs, it’s a rare opportunity.”
The Seattle Mariners came out on top in the Suárez sweepstakes, landing the veteran power hitter who was the best bat available at this year’s trade deadline. In return, the Mariners sent first baseman Tyler Locklear and right-handed minor league relievers Hunter Cranton and Juan Burgos back to Arizona.
Perhaps Detroit didn’t want to give up the prospect capital on Suárez and use it for a bigger move in the offseason. Nonetheless, if the Tigers fail to win the World Series this year, not going after the 34-year-old will be questioned and criticized.