DETROIT, MI – JUNE 11: Michael Fulmer #32 of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park on June 11, 2022, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
The Detroit Tigers have traded relief pitcher Michael Fulmer to the division rival Minnesota Twins with just minutes remaining at the deadline.
Fulmer is a good back-end relief pitcher, and despite his injury issues, should be able to succeed in Minnesota with a very familiar foe.
With Detroit playing in Minneapolis to start the week, all Fulmer has to do is walk across the locker room. Fulmer has a 3.20 ERA and 3.22 FIP so far this season in Detroit, where he helps set up Gregory Soto, along with Andrew Chafin, who was also a trade candidate. His 23.1 percent strikeout rate and 11.5 percent swinging strike only help matters.
Pitching prospect Sawyer Gipson-Long is headed back Detroit’s way.
Michael Fulmer trade details
Gipson-Long was a former sixth-round selection. He could be a decent pitching prospect, however he doesn’t rank highly in Minnesota’s system.
Al Avila could very well be on his way out of Detroit, and moves like this in a walk year won’t help him. Avila oversaw the majority of the Tigers rebuild and for what? Relief pitchers like Fulmer, who is on a contract year, ought to bring back at least a top-30 prospect.
As for Minnesota, Fulmer should slide right into the back end of their bullpen, just as he was in MoTown. The Twins’ pen remains a weakness, but with Fulmer in tow, an active Minnesota trade deadline ends with another useful piece being added to the clubhouse.