The Detroit Tigers may have lost two big pieces at the trade deadline, but Colt Keith isn’t talking like a player on a team that’s folding. After Tuesday’s 8-0 shutout of the Seattle Mariners, Keith made it clear the mood inside the clubhouse hasn’t changed, even with Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize gone from the starting rotation.
“Losing Skub and Casey was a big blow for us, especially on the pitching side, but we're just going to be resilient and continue to go out there and win ball games," Keith said. "I still think there's a winning team in there and we just gotta prove it the rest of the way. We've got a ton of talent.”
Keith helped back up that confidence with a three-hit night in the series opener, one of the reasons Detroit has now won four straight and moved to the outskirts of the final AL Wild Card spot with August and September still ahead.
The young infielder is starting to look more like a steady force for the Tigers, even if the power numbers have dipped a bit from his first two seasons. He entered game two against Seattle hitting .273 with eight home runs, 29 RBIs and a .749 OPS. His line still includes 13 doubles and four triples, which gives Detroit some extra-base pop around the edges.
Keith said his approach is centered on timing up fastballs.
"Being on time for the fastball, for me, that's my approach against most pitchers, to go out there and be on time and I felt that way today."
The recent results back that up. Keith hit .322 in July with three home runs and eight RBIs, then opened August hot as well, going 5-for-8 for a .625 average before game two against Bryan Woo and the Mariners. If he keeps making that kind of contact, Detroit’s young lineup could become a problem every night.
In Other News...
Tarik Skubal Talks Reveal The Tigers Price Milwaukee Wouldn't Meet
The Tarik Skubal talks at the trade deadline turned into a familiar kind of front-office stalemate, with Milwaukee circling one of the best arms available while Detroit listened. ESPNs Jeff Passan reported the Brewers had interest in landing the Tigers ace, but the sides never found a package that bridged the gap, a reminder that even a premium pitcher can be hard to pry loose when the asking price starts with the kind of young talent Milwaukee values so highly.
At the center of the impasse was the Brewers decision to keep their most prized prospects out of the discussion, a stance that speaks to how they view their long-term pipeline. For Detroit, that kind of resistance meant the market never quite got where it needed to go, and for a team weighing immediate help against future control, the Skubal pursuit ended with the Brewers holding onto the pieces they were least willing to move. [Read more 🡒]
Tarik Skubal Just Reopened A Huge Tigers Question
Tarik Skubals move to the Dodgers closed one chapter for Detroit, but it also kept an old question hanging in the air about just how long the Tigers would be part of his future. In a recent podcast interview, the left-hander spoke about how hard it was to leave the Tigers after the Aug. 1 trade and reflected on what the organization meant to him, even as he turned his attention to chasing a World Series in Los Angeles.
What makes the conversation linger for Tigers fans is the hint that this may not be the final word on his Detroit story. Skubal said there could be room for talks to pick back up after the postseason, which leaves open a path, however narrow, for the kind of reunion teams and players almost never talk about once a trade like this has gone through. For now, the Tigers are left with the emotional reminder of what they gave up, and the possibility that the biggest question around Skubal is still sitting there for later. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Smith Is Giving Tigers Fans A Reason To Revisit That Trade
Brady Smith is starting to look like the kind of arm that can make a trade haul feel a little more intriguing with time. The 21-year-old right-hander came to Detroit in the Tarik Skubal deal, and after missing time with Tommy John surgery, he is putting together his first healthy pro season with real signs of progress. His command has sharpened, his secondary pitches are playing better, and Baseball America already has him sitting as the Tigers No. 15 prospect.
Smiths next step is a move to high Single-A West Michigan, where the challenge gets a little more serious and the eyes on him will only get more interested. For Detroit, the appeal is obvious: a young pitcher with a live arm, improving control and a track record that suggests there may still be another level to reach. It is the sort of development path that can quietly alter how a trade is remembered, especially when the player in question is still just getting started. [Read more 🡒]