The Padres obtained the second-best pitcher traded by the Tigers on the deadline.
On Monday, Casey Mize was traded from Detroit to San Diego in change for pitching prospects Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf. The Padres additionally obtained minor league infielder Gage Workman within the deal.
Mize has been distinctive in 2026… when wholesome. He’s posted a 2.70 ERA and a pair of.58 FIP in 86 2/3 innings. His 2.9 WAR is already a profession greatest. He’s thrown strikes, missed bats, and saved the ball within the ballpark. He seems to be very very like the pitcher the Tigers have been hoping to get after they drafted him first general method again in 2018.
Sadly, Mize has additionally seemed just like the pitcher the Tigers finally obtained — or didn’t get — since his debut. He missed a couple of weeks in Might with an adductor pressure, and some extra weeks in June with adductor irritation. These journeys to the injured listing have been the fifth and sixth of his profession. He missed most of 2022 and all of 2023 whereas recovering from Tommy John surgical procedure, and missed time with much less vital hamstring accidents in 2024 and 2025. Mize exits Detroit having thrown simply 526 2/3 innings over 105 outings unfold throughout seven years; he’ll be a free agent this offseason.
Nonetheless, at simply 29 years outdated, the potential is clearly nonetheless there. The fastball, whereas all the way down to 93.5 mph in 2026 in comparison with the 95.5 mph he confirmed in 2024, is getting a bit extra vertical rise this yr. Batters are actually swinging beneath the pitch, whiffing on 26.2% of swings in comparison with 20.6% final yr. After they do make contact, their hard-hit price has dropped from 52.5% to 34.8%, and their popup price is 16.7% — the tenth highest price in opposition to a four-seamer this yr.
A step ahead may also be present in his secondaries. Mize’s splitter was a serious concern in 2025. It was of the ten least useful pitches within the majors on a price foundation, at -1.9 runs per 100 pitches. This yr, it’s been price +0.8 per 100 pitches, or an almost three-run swing in his favor. He’s thrown the pitch a couple of tick slower, with a bit extra spin and a bit much less depth. Batters have been much more more likely to discover themselves out in entrance of the pitch and unable to barrel it up. His slider tells the same story, with much less velocity, extra break, and higher outcomes.
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Once more, all this quantities to an distinctive season for Mize when he’s been wholesome. Actually, his 2.9 WAR is 18th within the majors, tying him for essentially the most by any pitcher moved on the deadline. And it simply so occurs the pitcher he’s tied with is Tarik Skubal, who the Tigers traded to the Dodgers on Saturday.
Now, I’ll get to the prospects and the Padres in a second, however that factlet alone makes this deal really feel not so sizzling for Tigers followers. Detroit has gone 32-20 since June 1, the third-best document within the majors behind solely the Purple Sox and Brewers. Their +102 run differential over that stretch is the very best by greater than 30 runs. Sure, they dug an enormous gap going 6-22 in Might, however they reached the deadline simply 2 1/2 video games out of the ultimate Wild Card spot. With Skubal and Mize and a red-hot lineup, the Tigers may have had the most effective rosters within the American League for the ultimate two months of the season.
That’s to not say there weren’t query marks. Jack Flaherty lately landed on the injured listing with a forearm pressure and is out for the foreseeable future, including additional doubt to the well being of the rotation given Skubal’s and Mize’s accidents. The bullpen additionally would have required some severe deadline additions to be aggressive within the postseason. With playoff odds already fairly low and useful commerce chips on expiring offers, the Tigers have been in a precarious place.
In fact, “precarious place” additionally utilized to the Padres, who noticed match to purchase on the deadline. Whereas their document is the inverse of the Tigers at 58-54, their playoff odds are solely marginally higher at 29.7%. Given the Dodgers’ standing as league juggernaut, San Diego’s solely shot on the postseason is in a aggressive Wild Card area, the place they’re presently a sport out.
Mize ought to assist. He immediately leaps to one of many high spots of their rotation, supplementing the excellent Michael King, the newly acquired Robbie Ray, and… properly, that’s form of the purpose. Their rotation has struggled mightily this yr, rating twenty fifth within the majors at 4.3 WAR.
If Mize and Ray can keep wholesome and productive, that would very properly symbolize the sting the Padres want. Their bullpen has been elite with Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, and Bradgley Rodriguez, amongst different sturdy performances. Their lineup has been higher of late whereas nonetheless holding potential for extra. They’re additionally one of many higher groups within the majors each defensively and on the bases. A reliable rotation would give the Padres one of many extra well-rounded rosters within the majors. And if Mize is that this model of himself, that’s not a nasty high starter to take right into a playoff sequence.
The fee for the Padres was Mayfield, who Brendan Gawlowski ranked second in a shallow San Diego system as a forty five+-FV prospect this listing cycle, and Wolf. Mayfield, 21, was a first-round choose in 2024 and has made it to Excessive-A this yr, with spectacular strikeout numbers and regarding stroll numbers — not unusual for pitching prospects moved this time of yr. He stands out at 6-foot-4 and has a swish, low-maintenance supply from the left facet. Brendan wrote in late April that Mayfield has “lofty management and command projections.” Extra from his report:
“Atypically for a highschool first-rounder, Mayfield isn’t an particularly arduous thrower. He’s touched 97 at factors in his profession however tends to sit down within the low 90s. His fastball is efficient as a result of regardless that he’s tall, he will get down the mound properly and releases the ball low and on an almost flat airplane. Whereas he’s not exact together with his location, he nearly religiously avoids the underside half of the zone with it, and generates loads of whiffs, chases, and popups on fastballs up. The pitch additionally units up his plus change, a nasty fader that slinks to the glove facet on the final second. Getting a greater really feel for his sweeping slider is a developmental aim going ahead, because it’s not particularly sharp in its present kind; the best way Mayfield pronates suggests it’ll be an actual battle to get this pitch any higher than common. Studying find out how to persistently hit the again door and the again foot shall be key.”
In fact, the explanation the Padres wanted to purchase starters on the deadline is that they’ve typically struggled to develop them on their very own. Brendan famous after the deal that there’s some potential for Mayfield so as to add extra velocity. If the Tigers can develop it, he may leap up prospect rankings.
The Tigers additionally picked up Wolf within the deal. He’s one other lefty starter and stands even taller than Mayfield at 6-foot-7, however he throws even softer and has given up tons of homers and walks all through his minor league profession. He has a 7.05 ERA and 5.88 FIP in Triple-A this yr. Wolf was traded from the Padres to the Pirates in 2023 in a package deal for Wealthy Hill and Ji Man Choi, although he was later designated for project and reacquired by San Diego. He made it to the majors for a single begin in 2023 however hasn’t returned, nor has he returned to our prospect lists since receiving a 40 FV grade that season. Brendan famous after the deal that Wolf profiles as Triple-A depth, which suggests he may get some begins for the now almost-rotation-less Tigers sooner or later this yr.
Along with Mize, the Padres additionally obtained Gage “Tater” Workman. Excuse me. They obtained Gage Tater Workman — sure, that’s his actual center identify. Workman is a 26-year-old infielder with a 41 wRC+ in 55 plate appearances within the majors between final yr and this yr. However that doesn’t actually seize how a lot intrigue there may be in his profile. He has a uncommon mixture of energy and protection that offers a reasonably believable path to big-time WAR. Dan Szymborski named him considered one of ZiPS “growth” hitters forward of the 2025 season, as an illustration. The Cubs have been curious sufficient to take Workman within the Rule 5 Draft final yr, and the White Sox have been curious sufficient to take him from the Cubs after that didn’t work out. Workman ultimately returned to Detroit when that didn’t work out, both. He has a 128 wRC+ and 30% strikeout price in Triple-A this yr. Brendan and Eric Longenhagen ranked him twenty ninth with a 40 FV grade on this offseason’s Tigers listing:
Workman is a participant of extremes. His grooved uphill path produces above-average uncooked and actionable energy, however his tendency to swing and miss — notably on tender stuff, which continuously will get him off steadiness — has persistently led to bottom-of-the-scale contact charges and nearly untenable strikeout totals. In contrast to most giant guys with that form of offensive profile, although, Workman is an excellent defensive infielder, and his work at third particularly is only a notch under a number of the sport’s greatest defenders on the sizzling nook.
That makes this deal pretty thrilling for the Padres. They addressed their largest want with the most effective choices accessible on the deadline in Mize. And whereas Workman is pretty labeled as a long-shot, there’s extra upside than you’d anticipate for a prospect going to the “purchaser” within the deal. It appears a pleasant compromise for a staff angling for the playoffs in 2026.
For the Tigers, properly, the joy stage is inextricably linked to the choice to commerce Skubal. Once more, their odds weren’t unhealthy, however as soon as they selected to deal from the highest, Mize was immediately a rental arm with tenuous well being on a staff with poor odds. These are usually the gamers who get dealt on the deadline. Mayfield is an thrilling prospect who may attain the majors in time to assist the present younger core sooner or later, assuming they’re nonetheless related after they get there.
