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Detroit — Tigers president Scott Harris said he "hated" the week-and-a-half leading up to the trade deadline, when he decided he needed to trade away two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and rotation mate Casey Mize.
Harris made a cameo on the Tigers' broadcast on Detroit SportsNet on Tuesday night, during the first game of a pivotal series between the Tigers and Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park.
"Honestly, I hated the last 10 days," Harris said in the broadcast booth, speaking of the buildup to baseball's Aug. 3 trade deadline. "We dug ourselves a pretty deep hole in May. We found ourselves with a pretty difficult hand to play at the deadline, and you never want to be in a situation in my chair where you have to trade Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. I really felt that, but heading into that deadline, given how we were playing, given the hole that we dug for ourselves, I just couldn't really pass on the opportunity to inject that much potential impact young talent into this organization."
With the Tigers at 52-58, Harris dealt Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a trio of prospects, including outfielder Zyhir Hope, a top-100 prospect who now is at Double-A Erie. Then, two days later, Harris traded Mize to the San Diego Padres for two pitchers, including left-handed prospect Kash Mayfield, who is at High-A West Michigan.
Skubal and Mize are free agents at the end of the season.
More: Scott Harris: Tigers' case to keep Skubal, Mize not strong enough
Harris, though, opted not to deal everyone on a short-term deal who was believed to have trade some value, including second baseman Gleyber Torres, relievers Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan, and starter Jack Flaherty.
Of course, the Tigers then went 7-2 on the West Coast road trip sandwiched around the deadline, to claw back to two games under .500 (58-60) for the first time since May 6. They began Tuesday one game out of the wild-card race and in second place in the American League Central, 3½ games back of the first-place Chicago White Sox. The Tigers moved ahead of the Guardians.
The Tigers this week play six games against the Guardians and White Sox in the biggest homestand of the year.
"There's a lot to like about this team right now," Harris said on Detroit SportsNet on Tuesday. "Trying to hold those two thoughts in my head (selling Skubal and Mize vs. not giving up on the season), it was a really difficult decision, but, you know, we're not conceding anything down the stretch.
"We got a real chance in this thing."
The Tigers went 6-22 in May and were 16 games under .500 (22-38) but have slowly clawed their way back by posting the second-best record in the AL since June 1, behind only the Boston Red Sox.
Harris has said he decided he had to trade Skubal and Mize after the July 29 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park. In that game, Skubal's last as a Tiger, the Tigers led, 7-0, before losing in extra innings to fall to 51-58 and six games back in the division. It was Detroit's fourth loss in five games to close the homestand.
[email protected]
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers president: I 'hated' trading away Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize
Continue reading...
Harris made a cameo on the Tigers' broadcast on Detroit SportsNet on Tuesday night, during the first game of a pivotal series between the Tigers and Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park.
"Honestly, I hated the last 10 days," Harris said in the broadcast booth, speaking of the buildup to baseball's Aug. 3 trade deadline. "We dug ourselves a pretty deep hole in May. We found ourselves with a pretty difficult hand to play at the deadline, and you never want to be in a situation in my chair where you have to trade Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. I really felt that, but heading into that deadline, given how we were playing, given the hole that we dug for ourselves, I just couldn't really pass on the opportunity to inject that much potential impact young talent into this organization."
With the Tigers at 52-58, Harris dealt Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a trio of prospects, including outfielder Zyhir Hope, a top-100 prospect who now is at Double-A Erie. Then, two days later, Harris traded Mize to the San Diego Padres for two pitchers, including left-handed prospect Kash Mayfield, who is at High-A West Michigan.
Skubal and Mize are free agents at the end of the season.
More: Scott Harris: Tigers' case to keep Skubal, Mize not strong enough
Harris, though, opted not to deal everyone on a short-term deal who was believed to have trade some value, including second baseman Gleyber Torres, relievers Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan, and starter Jack Flaherty.
Of course, the Tigers then went 7-2 on the West Coast road trip sandwiched around the deadline, to claw back to two games under .500 (58-60) for the first time since May 6. They began Tuesday one game out of the wild-card race and in second place in the American League Central, 3½ games back of the first-place Chicago White Sox. The Tigers moved ahead of the Guardians.
The Tigers this week play six games against the Guardians and White Sox in the biggest homestand of the year.
"There's a lot to like about this team right now," Harris said on Detroit SportsNet on Tuesday. "Trying to hold those two thoughts in my head (selling Skubal and Mize vs. not giving up on the season), it was a really difficult decision, but, you know, we're not conceding anything down the stretch.
"We got a real chance in this thing."
The Tigers went 6-22 in May and were 16 games under .500 (22-38) but have slowly clawed their way back by posting the second-best record in the AL since June 1, behind only the Boston Red Sox.
Harris has said he decided he had to trade Skubal and Mize after the July 29 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park. In that game, Skubal's last as a Tiger, the Tigers led, 7-0, before losing in extra innings to fall to 51-58 and six games back in the division. It was Detroit's fourth loss in five games to close the homestand.
[email protected]
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers president: I 'hated' trading away Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize
Continue reading...
