Tigers Bolster Bullpen, Rotation With Flurry of Deadline Trades For Pitchers

The Detroit Tigers seem to be setting themselves up to potentially go back to what manager A.J. Hinch calls pitching chaos.

Detroit bolstered its bullpen, and options in games without a traditional starting pitcher, with a series of moves to add a trio of right-handers in the hours before the trade deadline on Thursday. The Tigers acquired Washington's Kyle Finnegan, Cleveland's Paul Sewald and Texas minor leaguer Codi Heuer for prospects and cash.

Detroit made the trades — and one earlier this week — hoping to increase its chances of winning a World Series for the first time in more than four decades.

The AL Central-leading Tigers won their fourth straight game with newly acquired starting pitcher Chris Paddack on Wednesday, two days after he was added in a trade with the Minnesota Twins. 

The hope with Paddack is that he can perform closer to his adjusted run averages, rather than his ERA. Wednesday's outing was a step in the right direction, with Paddack throwing six innings with one run allowed against the Diamondbacks.

Detroit has nearly a double-digit game lead in a division suddenly filled with rebuilding teams, including the defending AL Central-champion Guardians, and is vying with Toronto and Houston for the best record in the league.

The Tigers, trying to take advantage of ace Tarik Skubal and a balanced lineup, are aiming for their first World Series title since 1984, and a deeper push than last summer's surprise postseason squad.

Detroit earned a spot in the playoffs last year for the first time in the decade after a late-season surge, using Hinch's unconventional approach to using relievers to start and pitch in games for an inning or two – the aforementioned pitching chaos.

The 33-year-old Finnegan was an