DETROIT – The Tigers’ first big move of the offseason is the kind of trade that president of baseball operations Scott Harris has been hinting at for some time, using their organizational pitching depth to address their offense. Detroit acquired veteran outfielder Mark Canha from Milwaukee on Saturday in exchange for backup candidate Blake Holub.
Canha, a nine-year veteran who also spent time with the A’s and Mets, fits the Tigers’ offensive profile as he provides double-digit home run power while dominating the strike zone. Since 2018, he owns a .364 on-base percentage and an OPS+ of 120. Last season between New York and Milwaukee, he batted .262 with 25 doubles, 11 home runs, 62 RBIs, a .355 on-base percentage and an OPS+ of 108 .
“Mark is a machine on base,” Harris said in a conference call with reporters. “He goes to work with a plan. He masters the bats. He never gives in to pitchers. He makes a lot of contacts. He’s been one of the biggest on-base threats in our game over the last four or five years. That’s why I think he immediately makes us better.”
Canha is a bit older compared to the rest of the Tigers roster; he will be 35 years old in February. But the Tigers hope to use this experience as an advantage for the rest of their club.
“We’re really pleased with what he’s going to add to our clubhouse,” Harris said. “It’s no secret that we will have a very young team next year. Adding Mark, a high-character guy who brings grit and toughness to our team, as a veteran who has seen a lot in this game, will only help our young guys acclimate to the big leagues quicker. I also think adding this type of hitter with this approach at the plate can only help the young players. I hope many of our young batsmen emulate this approach when they see him every day.”
In return, Canha allows the Tigers to fill an offensive need without signing a long-term deal or testing a thin free-agent market. His contract includes an $11.5 million club option for next season, which the Brewers likely wouldn’t exercise but the Tigers would.
The Tigers took advantage of the situation by trading him for Holub, a 15th-round draft pick in 2021 who emerged as a reliever this year and helped Double-A Erie to its first-ever Eastern League title. The 6-foot-6 right-hander posted a 3.03 ERA and eight saves in 48 games between Erie and High-A West Michigan, striking out 76 batters in 65 1/3 innings. With Tyler Mattison and RJ Petit, two other big, hard-throwing righties at the same level, the Tigers felt they had the depth to make a deal.
“I didn’t want to trade Blake. “He is a talented young reliever who has a chance to play in a major league bullpen in the future,” Harris said. “But in this game you have to give something up to get something. I think our player development group deserves a lot of credit here. They helped Blake take a big step forward this year. [Vice president of player development] Ryan Garko and his staff helped him get into the zone, his skills improved and he had a really good year that made him a valuable trade asset for us to acquire Mark.”
The Tigers will insert Canha into a predominantly left-handed outfield group that includes Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows and Akil Baddoo. Another left-handed hitting outfielder, Austin Meadows, has one more year of control with the team but could be a non-tender candidate. The Canha transfer could also allow Matt Vierling, another right-handed outfielder, to focus more on third base, where he played much of the summer.
“I think it’s a little too early in the offseason to really predict playing time. “We still have a lot of time in the offseason to transform our team,” Harris said. “I see my job as doing something [manager A.J. Hinch’s] Life becomes more difficult and he tries to make his decisions much more difficult. I think we made it harder today and I plan to continue to do that and we’ll let AJ put all the pieces together. He’s pretty good at that.”