“You don’t go pursue Justin Verlander?” - Ben Verlander warns Tigers’ AL lead at risk over executive’s trade deadline inaction

The Cleveland Guardians have tied the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central standings after their 5-2 win over them. The Tigers, who were the best team in the AL Central by a margin before the trade deadline, have blown off a big lead with only five games remaining in the regular season.

The Tigers are 1-9 in their last 10 games, while the Guardians have been completely opposite. Because of this, the Guardians now hold an advantage in the postseason seeding over the Tigers, since they hold the tiebreaker advantage.

On Tuesday, before the game, MLB analyst and Justin Verlander's brother Ben Verlander said if the Tigers don't win the AL Central, it will be the biggest collapse in the history of the game. The analyst questioned the Tigers' approach at the trade deadline, calling it a big reason why they have been in a slump in the second half.

"If the Detroit Tigers do not win the AL Central, it will be the biggest collapse in history," Verlander said. "You have the best pitcher on the planet, and Tarik Skubal. And Scott Harris didn't put this team in a position to win. You didn't give this team any leeway. And I was screaming into the abyss, it seemed, early in the season. These are not the trade pieces that tell me that the front office is fully all in on this roster. "This offense has always been missing a piece. And I don't care if, at the end of the year, there's still a top-five offense in runs scored. For the playoffs, to win the World Series, I think the Detroit Tigers needed to add another bat.

Before the trade deadline, Verlander said that the Tigers were in a good postseason to set up for success in the 2025 postseason. However, president of baseball operations Scott Harris seems to have not done enough to improve the team, despite the club being the best team in AL. Ben particulary said that he wanted Detroit to bring back their old ace, Justin Verlander.

"I look at this lineup and I knew something was missing," Verlander added. "Then comes the trade deadline. It was perfect timing... Scott Harris completely blew the trade deadline. "I can't wrap my head around knowing you need rotation depth and that you wanted an older veteran to pair in the rotation and you are the general manager of the Detroit Tigers and you don't go pursue Justin Verlander. I can't fathom it. And, to me, that's secondary to not getting offense. It's all still in front of you."

What Tigers purchased at trade deadline?

The Tigers acquired right-handed reliever Paul Sewald from the Guardians. Prior to the trade, Sewald had a 4.70 ERA with two saves in 18 games. The club traded for veteran reliever Rafael Montero, who had a 5.40 ERA in 38.1 innings with Houston and Atlanta.

The Tigers acquired closer Kyle Finnegan from the Nationals to address their late inning relief need. Moreover, Detroit traded catcher/first baseman Enrique Jimenez to the Twins for right-hander Chris Paddack, to add rotational depth.

However, none of this pieces have turned out any good, and it seems the trade deadline moves appeared to be more focused on only one side of the plate. The Tigers needed a All-Star calibre batter and it seems they focused on only one side and are now facing the downside of it.

Edited by Krutik Jain