The trade deadline has passed and the Detroit Tigers are entering the final stretch of the 2025 season. What was a 14-game lead in the American League Central at the beginning of July has been cut down to 6.5 games entering Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox and the Tigers may have to rely on its organizational depth to clinch a playoff spot and make a deep run into October.
Of course, there’s always a way to add new talent to the roster. The free agent market is still open and Detroit could use another player to offset the loss of Parker Meadows or Matt Vierling to the injured list.
That’s the route another American League contender has taken as the regular season winds down and it has them calling upon a forgotten Tigers draft pick as they head down the final stretch.
The Yankees have made the following moves affecting SWB:
— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) August 12, 2025
• C Edinson Duran placed on the Development List
• C Rob Brantly signed to a Minor League contract by NY and assigned to SWB
Yankees Sign Former Tigers Draft Pick Rob Brantly to Minor League Deal
The New York Yankees Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has announced that they have signed catcher Rob Brantly for a minor league deal. Brantly is a 10-year major league veteran that has spent time with the Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and the Yankees but began his career as a third-round pick by Detroit in the 2010 MLB Draft.
Brantly didn’t last long enough to make his major league debut with the Tigers as he was traded to the Marlins along with Jacob Turner and Brian Flynn in exchange for Anibal Sánchez and Omar Infante. It appeared the Tigers made a mistake when Brantley hit .290/.372/.460 with three homers and eight RBI in 2022, but it proved to be a case of small sample size as he’s hit .266/.286/.323 with seven homers and 38 RBI over 140 career games.
With limited playing time in the majors, Brantly’s signing is a way to provide organizational depth at catcher. Austin Wells, J.C. Escarra and Ben Rice all have catching experience at the major league level, but New York traded prospects Rafael Flores and Jesus Rodriguez at the deadline to acquire David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Camilo Doval from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline.
It’s unlikely that Brantly will re-emerge at the major league level and have a revenge moment against the Tigers in October. But depth can be just as important as the players on the field, leading some teams to go deep into free agency to make a last-minute addition.