What the Tigers Got in Trade for Mark Canha

The Brewers opted not to hang on to Mark Canha, but Milwaukee did get an asset for him thanks to the Tigers. The Tigers, a team that was among the league’s worst in on-base percentage, picked up Canha in a trade that will send the veteran outfielder to Detroit. Here’s a look at what the Tigers got in the trade for OF Mark Canha.

A Look at Canha

Outfielder Mark Canha‘s long been an interesting figure in the Majors.

Canha emerged as a regular in 2015 with the A’s and hit a career-high 26 home runs in Oakland during the wild 2019 campaign. After 2021, Canha signed a multi-year deal with the Mets and proceeded to hit .259/.359/.395 with 19 home runs and 59 extra-base hits over 229 games.

The Mets dealt Canha at the Trade Deadline to Milwaukee, and the veteran outfielder proved to be a shot in the arm for a team in need of an offensive jolt. Canha hit .287/.373/.427 with five home runs, 15 extra-base hits, and 33 RBI over 50 games and helped Milwaukee hold on in the NL Central.

Mark Canha hard hit map 2023 — Canha didn’t have a high Hard Hit%, but he did clear damage against pitches over the heart of the plate and didn’t chase or miss much.

The new Tiger’s proven to be a good fastball throughout his career. In that breakout year in 2019, Canha hit .326 with 21 home runs off heaters. This past, Canha hit a respectable .300 with nine home runs.

The 34-year-old is also well-known for his penchant to get beaned. Canha led MLB in hit by pitches in both 2021 (27) and 2022 (28), something that he credits to being able to “make it a habit just to not move when the ball comes in close to me.”

That asset has proved to be invaluable, as that’s been able to boost his on-base percentage and get in position to score.

Defensively, Canha’s seen time at first base, left, and right field and projects better as a left field. He doesn’t have outstanding speed or an above-average arm. Statcast ranked Canha’s arm strength in the 39th percentile.

Mark Canha had a $11.5M club option for 2024 prior to his trade to the Tigers, which was picked up by Detroit. In return, the Tigers have 25-year-old reliever Blake Holub. Holub struck out 76 over 65.1 IP between High-A and Double-A and owned a WHIP of 1.07.

A Look at the Tigers

As we noted in our Tigers season recap, Detroit’s offense wasn’t impressive. The Tigers finished 28th in the league in both runs scored (661) and OPS (.687).

And, Detroit didn’t have much in the way of depth in the lineup nor support for Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter, or Riley Greene.

While Canha hasn’t put up astounding numbers, the acquisition of the 34-year-old gives Detroit a steady presence who doesn’t chase much, can hit 10-15 home runs a season, and more importantly, can get on base.

That last part is critical. Detroit did use utilityman Zach McKinstry at the top of the Tigers lineup for much of the season thanks to his patience at the plate, but the 28-year-old only hit .231/.302/.351 in 2023.

Another layer to this trade is that Detroit also didn’t get much from OF Akil Baddoo, either. Detroit does have Parker Meadows, who showed flashes and hit three home runs and nine extra-base hits over 37 games.

But, Canha does give Detroit some much-needed depth and he should be an upgrade for the top of the Tigers lineup should Detroit elect to use him there.