Tigers Add First Baseman in Trade With Rays

The Detroit Tigers were left disappointed in their first 2023 MLB contest, falling 4-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day. While the loss surely left a sour taste in the Tigers' mouths, that didn't stop them from making a trade with the Rays on Friday.

Team insider Evan Petzold reports that the Tigers have acquired first baseman Dillon Paulson from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations. After the former 2018 13th-round spent the majority of the 2022 campaign on the sidelines, time will tell if he can make an impact in a new organization.

Tigers Roster News

Paulson split the 2022 baseball season between High-A and the Florida Complex league. Injuries held him to just 67 at-bats over 24 games, resulting in four home runs, 17 RBIs, 18 walks, and a .224/.382/.839 slash line.

Before tearing his ACL in 2021, Paulson showed some impressive hitting potential. He racked up 18 hits and 13 RBIs while batting .340 with Double-A Montgomery before disaster struck. He hasn't been the same since then, so hopefully, a change in scenery helps with his bounce-back journey.

Considering how Spencer Torkelson is the Tigers' first baseman of the present and future, it's clear that Paulson's arrival is a depth move. If he ends up returning to form, it's a win for Detroit. If not, there's no real loss since they only gave up cash considerations.

Nevertheless, it'll be interesting to see if and when Paulson makes his Tigers debut this season.

Tigers World Series Odds

Even if Paulson turns things around and eventually cracks the MLB roster, don't count on him being enough to help the Tigers win a championship. After all, Detroit's + 20000 odds to win the 2023 World Series are tied for fifth-worst in the Majors, as per FanDuel Sportsbook.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.