The Tigers were swamped by the Mariners over the weekend, allowing 35 runs over three games. Their bullpen was badly exposed. They limp into the All-Star break with their first four-game skid of the season.
Jim Costa makes the case that it was "a blessing in disguise," a few weeks before the July 31 trade deadline: "This happening, when it happened, the way it happened, as emphatic as it happened, adds urgency and desperation ahead of the trade deadline. I know Scott Harris is aware of his bullpen -- but to this degree, it’s undeniable. And it begs an additional amount of resources be spent on the bullpen."
Costa says that if Harris might have been eyeing a middle-innings reliever who could add some diversity to the bullpen, now it's painfully clear that "you need a backend guy, you need a swing-and-miss guy. When you’re 30th in swing-and-miss out of your bullpen and it’s as ugly as it was this weekend, you might need two arms. I think this rearing its ugly head now, as opposed to a month from now, increases the urgency and desperation for Scott Harris."
What might have been a "6-out-of-10 problem" for the Tigers, says Costa, is "more like an 8-or a 9-out-of-10 problem now.
"Does that increase the caliber of arms you add? The number of arms you add? Making a move before the deadline and then on the deadline? Does this create more urgency for Scott Harris? If it causes him to add even more than he would have originally because the problems are deeper than they appeared, that’s a good thing. Figuring that out now, way better than figuring it out then."