Tigers' recent trade with Rangers opens door for team to call up top prospect

Seeing the Detroit Tigers make a trade on Sunday gave MLB fans all sorts of hope that it'd be a big one. Even if a Tarik Skubal trade is unlikely, the Tigers have arguably the best rental available, Jack Flaherty, squarely on the block. Chances are, he's going to be dealt by Tuesday's deadline.

Unfortunately, the Tigers' trade was not a big one. In fact, it can be seen as mostly irrelevant. Catcher Carson Kelly was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for a pair of prospects. It's a solid deal for both sides as the Rangers improved their catching depth and the Tigers got a somewhat decent return for a backup catcher.

As exciting as trades are, the point of this trade from Detroit's perspective wasn't even to get the prospects for Kelly. By making this deal, they have opened a spot for one of their top prospects, Dillon Dingler, who Jon Morosi of MLB Network says will be promoted to the majors immediately.

Tigers set to promote exciting prospect following recent trade

The Tigers entered this season with Jake Rogers expected to be their primary catcher, and it was hard to blame them. Rogers hit 21 home runs and had a respectable .730 OSP in just 107 games last season in what could be seen as a breakout year. Unfortunately, Rogers has taken a major step back this season, which is what led to Kelly receiving enough playing time to even be desirable in a trade.

Now, with Kelly gone and Rogers struggling, the opportunity is there for Dingler, Detroit's No. 11 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, to not only get the call-up, but to earn regular playing time behind the dish.

Dingler has been an exciting prospect in the Tigers' system since he was taken in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft, but injuries in particular have slowed his development. This season has seen him break out, though, as the 25-year-old is slashing .308/.379/.559 with 17 home runs and 52 RBI in 71 games played.

He's gone from a player who used to strike out a lot to one who has fanned just 61 times in 301 plate appearances. Putting the ball into the field of play more has resulted in Dingler shattering his career-high in average, and he has been able to hit for more contact without sacrificing his power as evidenced by his 17 home runs this season (another career-high).

This has been Dingler's best professional season by far, and the fact that he has done all of his damage at the Triple-A level suggests that he might be ready to take the reigns behind the plate in Detroit. The Tigers are a team in major need of an offensive boost, and if they can get that from behind the dish that'd be an awesome bonus.