Catcher Carson Kelly had a short but productive stint with the Tigers. On Sunday, the club traded him to the Rangers for prospects Tyler Owens and Liam Hicks.
It's the Tigers' first move ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, where they're prepared to sell.
Kelly, 30, constitutes a win for the Scott Harris regime. The Tigers signed him late last season after he'd been released by the Diamondbacks and turned him into a tradable asset within a year. Kelly has an .824 OPS since the middle of May, while splitting duties behind the plate with Jake Rogers.
That was worth two prospects to the Rangers, the reigning champs who are trying to mount a push in the AL wild card race. Owens is the headliner of the return, a 23-year-old right-handed reliever with a 2.80 ERA in Double-A this season. He has 35 strikeouts to nine walks in 35 1/3 innings.
Hicks is a 25-year-old catcher also in Double-A, where he's hitting .260 with a .717 OPS this season.
Trading Kelly opens the door for the Tigers to call up their top catching prospect Dillon Dingler, who's mashing in Triple-A Toledo. The 25-year-old is hitting .308 with 17 homers and a .938 OPS. He has earned a look in Detroit.
At 52-55 and 5.5 games back in the wild card race, the Tigers are prepared to move more vets ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. deadline. Pitcher Jack Flaherty is expected to draw the biggest return, with hitters Mark Canha, Gio Urshela and Andy Ibañez also potentially on the move.
A Tarik Skubal trade remains possible but highly unlikely.