Tigers' returns for Flaherty paying big dividends

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck's Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The question posed to Tigers president Scott Harris after last July’s Trade Deadline was to the point: Given how well Jack Flaherty had pitched for Detroit and the prospect talent the Astros sent to Toronto for Yusei Kikuchi, was the two-prospect return from the Dodgers for Flaherty a little less?

“I completely reject the premise,” Harris said that night. “These players we got are really good. We had opportunities to make different deals with different teams. This is the deal we chose for a reason. We think these players have a chance to impact us on both sides of the ball at premium positions.”

Six months later, those two prospects -- shortstop Trey Sweeney and catcher Thayron Liranzo -- have put the deal in a different light, in much the same way that the Tigers’ late-season surge changed the organization’s outlook from the Deadline. After Sweeney stepped in at shortstop for an injured Javier Báez and played a big role in the 31-11 tear that helped the Tigers crash the playoffs, Liranzo followed up a strong finish at High-A West Michigan (1.032 OPS in 26 games) with an eye-opening performance in the Arizona Fall League (1.158 OPS in 15 games for Scottsdale).

Hindsight being 20-20, it’s not automatic to say the Tigers would have kept Flaherty had they known they had that late-season run in them. And as the Tigers head into 2025 with lofty expectations to build on their incredible run, both prospects play a big role in the organization’s outlook -- Sweeney right now, Liranzo for the future.

“Our collective opinion of the shortstop position has improved because we added Trey Sweeney,” Harris said at his season wrap-up news conference in October. “It’s really hard to find those left-handed true shortstops. We are really glad that he’s here.”

Sweeney compiled an 0.7 bWAR in just 36 regular-season games for Detroit after being promoted on Aug. 16. Defensively, he was worth two Outs Above Average according to Statcast, and three Defensive Runs Saved according to FanGraphs. His defensive presence brought stability to a position that could have been in flux down the stretch following Báez’s season-ending hip surgery. He also contributed one of the highlight catches of the Tigers’ season with his tumbling grab in short left field at Baltimore, holding on to the ball as he backpedaled into a sliding Riley Greene.

With Báez coming back from his surgery, Sweeney will have a chance in Spring Training to stake a claim to at least a share of starts at shortstop, the strong side of a platoon with Báez or maybe the bulk of at-bats, period. Developing a disciplined plate approach to go with his reliable glovework would go a long way.

While Sweeney checked in as Detroit’s No. 18 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s late-season rankings, Liranzo sat at No. 6. Liranzo could easily rise another spot or two coming off his AFL dominance, though he’s unlikely to break up the trio of Jackson Jobe, Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle at the top.

More important than rankings, however, is development. And if the 21-year-old Liranzo continues to improve and develop at the rate he did following the trade, the switch-hitting backstop has a chance to make a case as one of the top catching prospects in baseball this season. He already shows the combination of plate discipline and power the Tigers preach to their prospects; he had more walks than strikeouts at West Michigan and in the AFL, and 21 of his 46 hits between the two stops went for extra bases. The key will be defense, from holding the running game to stopping balls in the dirt. He already shows ownership of a pitching staff in his game-calling.

“My goal is to stay as a catcher,” Liranzo said shortly after the Fall League season on a Zoom call through translation from Tigers Spanish broadcasting manager Carlos Guillen. “I want to improve for my manager, my teammates and my pitchers.”

If Liranzo can stay behind the plate as he advances up the system, he has the potential to become the best two-way catcher to advance through the Tigers' system since Alex Avila, who was an All-Star in his second full season in Detroit in 2011. Avila’s .895 OPS that year trails only Rudy York (.995 in 1938) and Mickey Cochrane (.902 in 1935) for highest by a primary catcher in Tigers history, according to Baseball Reference.

That progress requires patience, especially with catchers and the workload involved, which is why Liranzo isn’t likely to knock on the door of the big leagues until at least 2026. Still, combine his long-term potential with Sweeney’s immediate impact, and it’s quite a return for two-plus months of a starting pitcher on the verge of free agency.