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The Detroit Tigers have started their offseason, acquiring infielder Tsung-Che Cheng from the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations. The front office is showing its intentions early this offseason: add to the middle of the infield while participating in free agency.
That said, the Tigers could be a team that makes a handful of trades this offseason. With more than 40 men on the roster and a handful of non-tender candidates, Detroit's phones could be ringing off the hook, especially before the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on Dec. 1.
With the Red Sox and Tigers already emerging as trade partners, let's go through each MLB franchise and how many times they've made deals with Detroit, according to Baseball Reference.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have been a Major League franchise since 1998, yet the Tigers have made double-digit trades with the franchise on the West Coast.
Notable trades:
1. J.D. Martinez for Jose King (minors), Sergio Alcántara, and Dawel Lugo.
2. The Diamonds, New York Yankees, and Tigers have made two three-team trades since 2009.
The Athletics and Tigers know each other very well. In recent memory, Detroit has eliminated the Athletics from the playoffs, even being on the receiving end of Magglio Ordonez's walk-off home run that sent the Tigers to the World Series for the first time since 1984.
However, the two franchises haven't made a trade since 2018, when Mike Fiers was traded to the Athletics for Nolan Blackwood and Logan Shore.
The Atlanta Braves and Tigers have come to each other with trade offers several times throughout the years and have completed 38 deals. The most recent trade between the franchises saw Detroit trade Jim Jarvis to the Atlanta Braves for Rafael Montero as part of the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline.
Notable trade:
1. The Atlanta Braves traded Doyle Alexander to the Detroit Tigers for John Smoltz (Hall of Famer)
The Tigers and the Birds from the AL East have completed 51 trades in franchise history, most recently when Detroit traded long-time catcher Jake Rogers to Baltimore for Zane Barnhart earlier this season.
Notable trades:
1. The Detroit Tigers traded Brett Jacobson (minors) to the Baltimore Orioles for Aubrey Huff.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Micah Ashman (minors) to the Baltimore Orioles for Charlie Morton
The Red Sox and Tigers make frequent trades with one another, sending Cheng to Detroit as of a few days ago, Jahmai Jones to Boston earlier this season, among others. Since 2020, the two have completed three trades, but have made big deals in the past.
Notable trades:
1. The Detroit Tigers traded Rick Porcello to the Boston Red Sox for Yoenis Céspedes, Gabe Speier and Alex Wilson.
2. The Boston Red Sox sent Jose Iglesias to the Detroit Tigers, The Detroit Tigers sent Brayan Villarreal to the Boston Red Sox.
The Tigers and Chicago Cubs may not get a ton of deals done, but the deals they've finalized have worked in both franchises' favor. Most recently, the two franchises made a deal that sent Zach McKinstry to Detroit, trading away Carlos Guzman in the process. That was in 2023.
Notable trades:
1. The Detroit Tigers traded Nick Castellanos and cash to the Chicago Cubs for Paul Richan (minors) and Alex Lange.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Alex Avila and Justin Wilson to the Chicago Cubs for Jeimer Candelario, Isaac Paredes and cash.
The Tigers' AL Central rival has struck deals with Detroit in the past. Most recently, the Tigers purchased the contract of Jake Marisnick from the Chicago White Sox in May of 2023. Fans shouldn't expect these two teams to be trade partners this offseason.
Notable trade:
1. The Tigers traded Avisaíl García to the White Sox in July 2013.
Back to the National League, Detroit and the Reds have completed 32 trades in franchise history, but aren't frequent trade partners. The last trade between the franchises saw the Tigers acquire catcher Tucker Barnhart from Cincinnati for Nick Quintana, occurring in 2021.
Notable trades:
1. The Cincinnati Reds traded Alfredo Simón to the Detroit Tigers for Jonathon Crawford (minors) and Eugenio Suárez.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Juan Encarnación and Luis Pineda to the Cincinnati Reds for Dmitri Young
Funny enough, the Tigers' biggest rival, the Cleveland Guardians, are frequent trade partners. While it shouldn't be looked at too closely - granted, these two franchises likely won't make a deal this offseason - there are a few familiar trades that stand out.
Notable trades:
1. The Cleveland Indians traded Jhonny Peralta and cash to the Detroit Tigers for Giovanni Soto.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Kyle Dowdy and Leonys Martín to the Cleveland Indians for Willi Castro.
The Colorado Rockies haven't been the biggest business partners with the Tigers since joining Major League Baseball, completing just seven trades. Of the seven trades, the most recent came in 2024, when Detroit purchased PJ Poulin from Colorado.
Tigers fans will remember one of the biggest trades in franchise history, which involved the Houston Astros gaining Justin Verlander in 2017. In exchange for the former Cy Young/MVP, Detroit received Franklin Pérez (minors), Daz Cameron, and Jake Rogers; none of whom are with the franchise anymore.
Since 2023, Detroit and Houston haven't completed a trade.
Another division opponent of the Tigers, the Kansas City Royals, don't typically make deals with Detroit because of a conflict of interest, playing in the same division and all. The two franchises haven't completed a trade since 2012.
The Los Angeles Angels were one team that pounced on the Tigers' sale of veteran players back in 2017, kickstarting their rebuild. Over time, the Angels and Tigers have completed 24 trades, with the most recent coming in 2017.
Notable trades:
1. The Detroit Tigers traded Justin Upton and Grayson Long to the Angels in exchange for Elvin Rodriguez.
2. The California Angels traded Gary Pettis to the Detroit Tigers for Dan Petry.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit are frequent trade partners and could be on the phone with each other this offseason as well. The most recent trade between the franchises was Detroit sending Tarik Skubal to LA for three prospects: Zyhir Hope, River Ryan, and Brady Smith.
Notable trade:
1. The Los Angeles Dodgers traded Thayron Liranzo (minors) and Trey Sweeney to the Detroit Tigers for Jack Flaherty.
Another National League franchise the Tigers don't make many trades with is the Miami Marlins. The Marlins continue to hover around .500 and could be a piece away from fighting for the playoffs, and Detroit could be a franchise they look into this offseason. The two haven't completed a trade since 2023.
Notable trade:
1. The Miami Marlins traded Omar Infante and Aníbal Sánchez to the Detroit Tigers for Rob Brantly, Brian Flynn and Jacob Turner
The New World Series champions and Detroit have made deals in the past, but haven't made anything too significant. Skubal was potentially headed to Milwaukee from the Tigers this season, but instead, the two-time Cy Young went to Los Angeles.
Notable trades:
1. The Milwaukee Brewers traded Jacob Waguespack to the Detroit Tigers for unknown compensation.
2. The Milwaukee Brewers traded Reese Olson to the Detroit Tigers for Daniel Norris.
Despite playing in the same division, the Tigers and Minnesota Twins love trading with one another. While both are looking for improvement this offseason, they shouldn't be major league trade partners, but they could be interested in swaps of minor league players.
Notable trades:
1. The Minnesota Twins traded Sawyer Gipson-Long to the Detroit Tigers for Michael Fulmer.
2. The Minnesota Twins traded Mark Redman to the Detroit Tigers for Todd Jones.
The Tigers and New York Mets are business partners here and there, most recently completing a trade in July 2026, which saw Matt Seelinger head to Queens. That was the first deal the two have done since 2015.
Notable trade:
1. The Detroit Tigers traded Yoenis Céspedes to the New York Mets for Luis Cessa and Michael Fulmer.
The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers haven't completed a trade since 2015, which saw Detroit acquire Justin Wilson and New York acquire Luis Cessa and Chad Green.
Notable trades:
1. The New York Yankees sent Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to the Detroit Tigers. The Detroit Tigers sent Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Iván Rodríguez to the New York Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth.
Dave Dombroski used to work for the Tigers during their 2006 and 2012 World Series runs, but became the Philadelphia Phillies' President of Baseball Operations, making the two franchises frequent trade partners recently. A trade hasn't been completed between the two since 2025.
Notable trades:
1. The Philadelphia Phillies traded Hao-Yu Lee to the Detroit Tigers for Michael Lorenzen.
2. The Philadelphia Phillies traded Nick Maton, Donny Sands and Matt Vierling to the Detroit Tigers for Kody Clemens and Gregory Soto.
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit haven't completed a trade since 2019, but have been trade partners more than 30 times in their history.
Notable trades:
1. The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Sean Casey to the Detroit Tigers for Brian Rogers.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Joakim Soria to the Pittsburgh Pirates for JaCoby Jones.
The San Diego Padres and Tigers finalized a deal this past season that sent Casey Mize to the Padres in exchange for Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf. Before that trade, the two made a trade in 2024, and before then, they hadn't made a trade since 2009.
Notable trades:
1. The San Diego Padres traded Blake Dickerson (minors) to the Detroit Tigers for international bonus pool money.
The franchise that swept the Tigers in the 2012 World Series, the San Francisco Giants, have completed 24 trades with Detroit over the years. With Scott Harris, formerly of the Giants organization, trades between the front offices have increased since the early 2020s.
Notable trades:
1. The San Francisco Giants traded Eric Silva (minors) to the Detroit Tigers for Mark Canha.
2. The San Francisco Giants traded Tracy Jones to the Detroit Tigers for Pat Sheridan.
The Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers have recent playoff history with one another, but the last trade between the two franchises came back in 2014, when the Tigers traded Austin Jackson (who was removed mid-game) in a three-team trade that saw Detroit receive David Price.
Notable trades:
1. The Seattle Mariners traded Doug Fister and David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers for Francisco Martinez (minors), Charlie Furbush, and Casper Wells.
2. The Seattle Mariners traded Carlos Guillén to the Detroit Tigers for Juan Gonzalez (minors) and Ramón Santiago.
These two franchises aren't modern-day trade partners, having completed only one deal in the 2020s. After the 2006 World Series loss, the Tigers have stayed clear of St. Louis players, with one trade back in 2007.
Notable trade:
1. The Detroit Tigers traded Mike Laga and Ken Hill to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Heath.
Recency remains the word for the Tigers and their trade partners, and the Tampa Bay Rays haven't been a name that sticks out too much. Since joining MLB, the two have completed 12 trades, with the biggest being David Price joining Detroit's rotation in 2014 and 2015.
Notable trades:
1. The Tampa Bay Rays traded Drew Sommers to the Detroit Tigers for Mason Englert.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Isaac Paredes to the Tampa Bay Rays for Austin Meadows.
3. The Tampa Bay Rays traded Edwin Jackson to the Detroit Tigers for Matt Joyce.
Since 2000, the Tigers and Texas Rangers have completed 12 trades, 27 trades in total throughout the years. These franchises were frequent trade partners in the 1970s and 80s, but could spark a reunion this offseason if a player stands out.
Notable trades:
1. The Texas Rangers traded Liam Hicks and Tyler Owens to the Detroit Tigers for Carson Kelly.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Prince Fielder and cash to the Texas Rangers for Ian Kinsler.
Despite being closer than other franchises in the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays and Tigers haven't been frequent trade partners. However, they've connected a couple of times in recent years to make some moves, so fans should watch for this AL East team's name connected to Detroit.
Notable trades:
1. The Toronto Blue Jays traded Johan Simon (minors) to the Detroit Tigers for Chase Lee.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays for Matthew Boyd, Jairo Labourt and Daniel Norris.
The Washington Nationals and Detroit have made two trades per decade since the 2010s, but they could break that trend this offseason if a player catches the franchise's eye. The most recent trade saw the Tigers acquire Zack Short back in May of this season.
Notable trades:
1. The Detroit Tigers traded Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals for Ian Krol, Steve Lombardozzi and Robbie Ray.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded Josh Randall (minors) and R.J. Sales (minors) to the Washington Nationals for Kyle Finnegan.
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