Six years to the day after they acquired Daniel Norris at the MLB trade deadline, the Tigers shipped the lefthander out of town. In their only move of the day, Detroit sent Norris to the Milwaukee Brewers, runaway leaders of the NL Central. In exchange, the Tigers received right-handed pitching prospect Reese Olson.
Norris, 28, had an up-and-down career with the Tigers, though most of the downs were injury-related. He logged 460 2⁄3 innings in a Detroit uniform, and managed a 4.59 ERA while logging just under a strikeout per inning. He wowed Tigers fans with a sparkling 7 1⁄3 inning debut after he was acquired in 2015, and pitched well when called upon in 2016 — after beating thyroid cancer the previous offseason, no less — nearly carrying the Tigers back to the postseason.
Like many of the prospect returns at this year’s trade deadline, Olson seems to be a nice get for the Tigers. The 21-year-old righthander is a former 13th round pick, but has taken meaningful steps forward in his progression since entering the professional ranks. FanGraphs rated him the No. 6 prospect in the Brewers’ system prior to the 2021 season, with three potential plus pitches (fastball/slider/changeup). The money quote from their write-up? “Were the 21-year-old Olson at a Big 10 or ACC school, he’d be in the mid-to-late first round mix.”
To replace Norris on the active roster, the Tigers recalled lefty reliever Ian Krol from DFA limbo.
Poll
Did the Tigers do enough at this year’s trade deadline?
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71%
Yes
(32 votes)
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28%
No
(13 votes)
45 votes total
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