The Detroit Tigers find themselves at the center of trade deadline speculation, with Tarik Skubal drawing most of the attention. But there’s another arm worth watching: Casey Mize, the former No. 1 overall pick who’s finally putting together the season everyone expected when he entered the league.
Mize has been excellent when healthy throughout his career. The problem? He hasn’t been healthy nearly enough.
Had the former Auburn star avoided the injury bug, we’d probably be talking about one of the more reliable starters in baseball right now. Instead, he’s been stuck in that frustrating cycle of flashing potential before landing back on the injured list.
This year feels different though. Mize is healthy and pitching like the pitcher Detroit thought they were getting when they selected him first overall. According to MLB.com, he’s currently viewed as the Tigers’ most likely trade candidate heading into the deadline.
That could create some interesting ripple effects for the New York Mets.
“Yeah, we get it, Tarik Skubal will be the biggest name in baseball around the Deadline. But if the Tigers indeed end up becoming sellers, Mize is a sneaky name to watch. The former No. 1 overall pick is off to the best start of his career, even better than his All-Star campaign last year.”
Jason Beck laid out just how good Mize has been this season, even after missing time with an adductor strain. He entered Sunday ranked seventh in bWAR among AL pitchers at 2.2. His splitter is back to being a legitimate out pitch, helping him post a career-best 26.5% strikeout rate.
And like Skubal, Mize hits free agency after this season.
Now, Mize certainly isn’t in the same tier as someone like Freddy Peralta when you look at their career bodies of work. But what he’s doing right now? That’s going to turn heads.
Here’s where it gets interesting for the Mets. If they’re serious about moving Peralta and want a significant return, other quality starters hitting the market could complicate things. Teams shopping for rotation help might prefer to target Mize simply because he’ll cost far less in trade compensation.
It’s one of those situations where the Mets might find themselves competing against a player they’re not directly connected to. The way I see it, Mize’s availability could push some teams away from making aggressive offers for Peralta, especially if they view the Tigers’ asking price as more reasonable.
All things considered, this deadline is shaping up to have more quality starting pitching available than usual. That’s great news for buyers but potentially problematic for sellers like the Mets who are hoping to maximize their return.
