One area of weakness during Detroit Tigers general manager, Al Avila’s tenure has been the lack of good trades. Other than the 2015 deal that sent reliever Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila to the Chicago Cubs for Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes, the deals have either gone against the Tigers or were basically a wash. However, in July of 2021, Avila sent Daniel Norris to the Milwaukee Brewers for right-handed starter Reese Olson, and that trade has quickly come to look like one of his best.
There remains a good amount of relief risk in Olson, but his arsenal of pitches is among the best in the Tigers’ system.