There’s nothing to suggest that the Detroit Tigers are considering going after Miami Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera. So this isn’t a rumor piece, just a suggestion.
As we approach the trade deadline, the Tigers obviously need some pitching help to fortify them for a strong run down the stretch and through the postseason. Adding Chris Paddack in trade helps their depth with Reese Olson now out for the regular season at least. It doesn’t address their need for another really good pitcher to help them get
over the hump this October. And Scott Harris and Jeff Greenberg are not the type of team runners to think short-term or do the convention thing. If they want to improve the Tigers pitching staff both for 2025 and beyond, I think checking in on the 27-year-old Cabrera is an interesting idea.
When considering trades, the immediate tendency is to look for one-to-one moves. The Tigers need a top shelf setup man who can also close games, so the focus is on the top relief aces likely available in trade. The best ones get bid up and ultimately cost unreasonable amounts in terms of prospect returns, and Harris and Greenberg are just not the type to go outbidding the top teams even when money is not the currency at issue.
The Dodgers and Yankees can afford to burn through their farm systems, because they have the money to solve a lot of roster issues from year-to-year. The Tigers don’t have that luxury, and so the idea of them giving up one of their six best prospects, all top 100 guys in the game, seems highly unlikely. Particularly if we’re talking a short-term rental.
Where they might be more open to trading for their clutch of top prospects, is for a player that fulfills a need both now and for several years to come, and who the Tigers believe they can improve along the way.
With the Tigers struggling some with both their rotation and bullpen, adding a talented starting pitcher with team control might be the best way to address both. Adding a good starting pitcher like Edward Cabrera would open up a lot better options for the pitching staff.
Obviously the main purpose is to add a major upgrade to a rotation that is rapidly getting depleted by injuries and inconsistency from guys like Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize. They would be able to move a backend starter or two to the bullpen. That might be the most efficient way to build up a bullpen that has faded from a good unit in April, May, and early June, into a bottom third unit over the last 30 days, and just as importantly it would give the Tigers a much better number two or three starting pitcher in the postseason. All while addressing the rotation for years to come.
Edward Cabrera is a fine arm talent having the best season of his career, but there’s a pretty good argument that he’s still far from tapping into his maximum potential. He’s also trapped into that circle of hell known as the Miami Marlins, who have seemingly been rebuilding since their 2003 World Series title with only brief surges of success and a multitude of different names running the show over the past two decades.
The 27-year-old right-hander currently holds a 3.35 ERA and a 3.68 FIP through 94 innings of work. He had a 4.24 ERA/4.43 FIP in 2023, and a 4.95 ERA/4.68 FIP last year, so he’s currently having the best season since 2022, when he posted a 3.01 ERA but was bound to regress based on his 4.59 FIP. He has three full years of team control remaining beyond 2025, and he will be arbitration eligible next year.
Cabrera throws his sinker an average of 96.6 mph with pretty average extension and will use a fourseamer up or to try and jam left-handers. One of the major changes he’s made this year is using his sinker as the primary fastball rather than the fourseamer.
What makes Cabrera pretty intriguing to me is the fact that, despite the velocity and his success this year, he’s still got some fastball issues. Hitters hold a .423 wOBA against the sinker, and a .413 wOBA against the fourseamer. All that despite using the two fastballs combined for just 36 percent of his pitches. That also illustrates how dominant his other three offerings have been this year.
The solution Cabrera and the Marlins have moved towards is throwing less and less fastballs, but with the velo and movement he gets on the sinker in particular, there’s got to be a way to help him with this. Chris Fetter and his staff are pretty good at tweaking things to help bad fastball pitchers. Casey Mize, Reese Olson, Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, among others have benefited from the tweaks in movement, usage patterns, and location the Fetter-led pitching group has recommended after seeing their heaters get whacked too hard and too often.
Cabrera throws his changeup and curveball both about 23 percent of the time, as much as his sinker. He also uses his slider 17.3 percent of the time. He’s mixing five pitches well, with the fourseamer as a lesser used option. All three secondary pitches have been very effective this season. The power curveball and the slider have been nearly unhittable, while the changeup has been good too.
So we have a 27-year-old right-hander with a big arm, good secondary stuff, and a sinker that could use a little work despite the velocity. He’s already having a good year, but I suspect there’s more here for the Tigers to unlock.
Hey, the last time the Tigers traded for a notable Marlin it worked out pretty well...yes I mean Anibal Sanchez. Who else could you have been thinking of?
In discussing a lot of the top relief arms available, we continue to hear that teams are holding out for a top five prospect in a system, or a top 100 guy overall. That’s a lot to give up even for a reliever with a bit of team control remaining like David Bednar.
If the Tigers are willing to actually pony up a Thayron Liranzo or one of their other non-McGonigle/Clark top ranked guys, and more, they might as well go get Cabrera instead of a short term reliever. Not only would Cabrera address the rotation for 2026 and beyond, but that extra good arm allows for much more flexibility in the postseason.
Beyond Tark Skubal and Jack Flaherty, it’s hard to feel confident about the Tigers other starting pitchers. Troy Melton has potential, but he’s a rookie and may also be innings limited. Casey Mize has been a mess. Sawyer Gipson-Long is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery and currently rehabbing a neck strain. Chris Paddack is a depth starter at most, and Keider Montero just can’t seem to avoid a meltdown inning. Alex Cobb and Jose Urquidy probably aren’t coming to rescue anyone.
With another good starter like Cabrera in hand, the Tigers’ would have a lot more flexibility to move some of their lesser starters into a relief role, particularly in October.
Do I expect a trade like this to happen? No, there isn’t even a rumor of this being considered. Still the theory is pretty sound and Cabrera has the kind of potential that an organization with much better pitching development than the Marlins could unlock. For a front office that likes to think longer term and is presumably loathe to deal a top prospect for a reliever, pursuing a starting pitcher may be the better way to spend prospects in the current trade environment.
With little more than 24 hours to go, the Tigers are probably already locked in on their options. I don’t expect a deal like this to happen. But I do think pursuing someone like this makes more sense than just paying through the nose for a closer.
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