The Detroit Tigers have dealt away a former No. 1 overall pick.
The Tigers traded right-hander Casey Mize to the San Diego Padres on Monday, Aug. 3, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York
Post.
The deal also included infielder Gage Workman, a 2020 Tigers draft pick who spent most of this season in the minors. In return In return, the Tigers got left-hander Kash Mayfield – San Diego's No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and 27-year-old left-hander Jackson Wolf.
The deal comes after the Tigers traded two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three prospects on Saturday night.
Mize had been one of the Tigers' most consistent starters over the past two seasons, seeing his first All-Star selection in 2025 while going 14-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 149 innings. Mize improved significantly on a per-inning basis in 2026, sporting a career-best 2.79 ERA over 14 starts before the All-Star Break and setting a career-high in FanGraphs WAR at 2.6.
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But in his last year of team control, and with the Tigers' playoff odds sinking after a 6-22 May record, Detroit decided to trade the righty instead of potentially losing him to free agency ahead of the 2027 season.
Casey Mize trade ends up-and-down run with Tigers
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft made his debut for the Tigers in 2020 but took a while to get going, as Mize went 0-3 with a 6.99 ERA over 28⅓ innings in the COVID-shortened season. He showed flashes of his first-round talent in his first full season in 2021, going 7-9 with a 3.71 ERA over 150⅓ innings in manager A.J. Hinch's first year at the helm.
He quickly ran into injury trouble in 2022, however, making only two April starts before undergoing Tommy John surgery, which knocked him out of both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The righty made the Opening Day roster in 2024 but had another injury-plagued season, going 2-6 over 20 starts before being left off the roster for the team's American League Division Series matchup against the Cleveland Guardians.
But just when it seemed Mize wouldn't live up to the expectations of a No. 1 overall pick, he started to show his top-end talent.
Mize made the Opening Day roster in 2025 and came out on fire, winning six of his first seven starts and sporting a 3.15 ERA over 88⅔ innings before the All-Star break. He was named to the AL All-Star team and made two postseason starts, in Game 2 of the AL wild-card series against the Guardians and Game 4 of the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners.
The emergence of lefty ace Tarik Skubal meant that Mize no longer had to live up to a top-of-the-rotation billing, but Mize has arguably been Detroit's best pitcher in 2026, even ahead of Skubal. Heading into the All-Star break, Mize led all Tigers pitchers with 2.6 fWAR and 2.69 FIP despite spending spending two separate stints on the injured list with a groin strain. He was a key part of a highly productive Tigers rotation, but with the Tigers so far down in the AL Wild Card standings, Detroit decided to sell high on a valuable trade target.
Mize is set to be a free agent in 2027, which means he could return to the Tigers on a free agent deal (like Jack Flaherty did in 2025 after the Tigers traded him ahead of the 2024 deadline). But as Mize has found his stride over the last two seasons, he may have plenty of suitors outside of Detroit lining up for his services next season.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers trade SP Casey Mize to San Diego Padres at buzzer
