The Detroit Tigers have stumbled a little bit as of late. They came into the second half of the 2025 season with the best record in Major League Baseball, but have since slipped to the third-best record in the American League.
While still in a good spot, the Tigers need to stop the bleeding, and they will need to make a move or two to improve their roster at the trade deadline. Bullpen help is seemingly at the top of their list, according to Evan Petzhold of the Detroit Free Press.
The deadline is now less than a week away, and moves are starting to be made. The Tigers were sellers last year, but will operate much differently this year.
Brendan Strieker of FanSided proposed the idea of Detroit targeting St. Louis Cardinals reliever Phil Maton in a trade.
"The Tigers' bullpen ranks 21st in baseball with a 4.06 ERA, and their FIP (coincidentally enough) is also 4.06 and is the 18th-best mark in the league. Additionally, they have the 3rd-worst bullpen K% in all of baseball. They lack swing-and-miss in their pen, and Maton can help fix that issue," Strieker wrote.
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Maton is 1-3 with a 2.41 ERA this season. He was the lone free agent signing for the Cardinals.
St. Louis is likely to take a similar path to what the Tigers took last year, selling off expiring contracts to enhance the future and farm system. Maton could give Detroit's bullpen the boost it needs down the stretch.
The Tigers' weakness has been their bullpen this season, but a high-leverage option such as Maton should help if they decide to make this potential trade. It could give them a chance to get back to the top of the Junior Circuit after some recent struggles.
St. Louis will likely want a notable prospect or two. Fortunately, Detroit has one of the deepest farm systems in baseball and could stomach giving up a key prospect.
It will be interesting to see if the Tigers decide to give the Cardinals a call.
More MLB: Tigers expected to acquire at least one reliever by MLB trade deadline