Tuesday MLB Transactions: Verlander Heads Home, Civale, Sugano & More

More notable MLB transactions were made on Tuesday, so let's discuss those in this article.

We have five signings to go over, so let's get right to it.

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Verlander Headed to Familiar Place

Justin Verlander is headed home after signing a one-year deal with Detroit worth $13 million.

Verlander spent 13 seasons with the Tigers to kick off his MLB career. He has pitched 20 years, and he's still got at least one more year in him.

Verlander made 29 starts for San Francisco last season. He was just 4-11, but he had a 3.85 earned run average over 152 innings. Verlander had 137 strikeouts along the way.

Verlander is in a better fantasy spot in Detroit now, and he joins a suddenly deep starting rotation, as the Tigers are loading up for what is possibly Tarik Skubal's last season with the team.

Skubal, Verlander, Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize are the projected rotation now. Jackson Jobe and Reese Olson are other options, but might open the year on the injured list.

It's a good rotation, and should put the team in a good position to make the postseason, and maybe make a run too. Verlander will be a good veteran presence, and he should be in for a good fantasy season.

Verlander isn't on the average draft position list right now, but he could sneak onto it now that he has a home. He's probably a better deep-league fantasy asset to kick things off, but he has standard league streaming upside fresh off his strong 2025 season.

Definitely keep the veteran in mind for the 2026 season. He will be a good asset for many fantasy owners. 

Tigers Add a Hitter Too

Austin Slater also signed with the Tigers. He signed a one-year deal worth $2 million.

This is more a low-key signing, and Slater isn't even projected to make the roster to kick off the season. He's an option in the outfield.

Riley Greene is a locked-in outfielder for Detroit, while Wenceel Perez is another. Parker Meadows is part of a projected platoon, with Jahmai Jones and Matt Vierling as platoon options.

So Slater has a chance at playing time, but he'll need to play well in spring training to earn a starting spot.

Slater got in 65 MLB games for the White Sox and Yankees last season. He hit .216 and got on base at a .270 clip. 

Slater is more a depth outfield option than a legit fantasy asset, but I figured I'd at least mention him as he has a chance to contribute to the big league team.

Civale Lands with Athletics

Aaron Civale locked in with Athletics for $6 million over a year.

Civale has played in the big leagues for seven years. He was in Cleveland for five years, and was on the Rays for two years. He also spent time with the Brewers, White Sox and Cubs. Civale pitched for Milwaukee and both Chicago squads last year.

Civale only covered 102 innings last season, posting a 4.85 ERA. He went 4-9 and struck out 88 batters along the way.

Civale is projected to be the third starting pitcher for the Athletics, coming after Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs and before Jacob Lopez and Luis Morales.

Civale is just a deep-league fantasy asset to kick off the season, and he needs to pitch well to sneak into standard leagues. As long as he's in the starting rotation, he has fantasy upside to take advantage of, even if it's in just deeper leagues.

Civale isn't on the ADP list, and I'm not sure if he will be after he signed. He definitely is worth some deep-league streams, but will need to pitch well to remain a fantasy asset.

Sugano Signs with Colorado

Tomoyuki Sugano signed a one-year deal with the Rockies for $5.1 million.

Sugano is 36 years old and pitched in the big leagues for the first time in 2025. He made 30 starts for Baltimore, going 10-10 with a 4.64 ERA over 157 innings. Sugano struck out 106 batters in his time on the hill.

Sugano is the projected No. 4 starter for Colorado. Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, Chase Dollander and Ryan Feltner are the other projected starters.

Colorado is not a place for fantasy pitchers to thrive in, and with lower strikeout numbers, Sugano's fantasy outlook there isn't the best. He will need to really limit runs and hits in order to stand out in fantasy, especially with lower K numbers.

He will be a deep-league fantasy asset to kick off the season, and a standard league streaming option if he's got good matchups and is pitching somewhat well. Sugano would have to pitch really well to sneak into standard leagues.

Heim Joins Braves

Jonah Heim signed with Atlanta for $1.25 million over a year.

Heim has fallen off the past couple seasons. He hit .213 and got on base at a .271 clip over 124 games last year. His best season was in 2023, when he had a .258 average and .317 OBP.

He's projected to be the backup catcher in Atlanta to Drake Baldwin. Heim should still get a few starts, and could also get some starts at designated hitter, which is a spot that Jurickson Profar is slated to fill most days.

Heim is another deep-league only option, but if Baldwin or other Braves get hurt, Heim could sneak into some more fantasy leagues.

Heim will battle with Chadwick Tromp, Sandy Leon and Jair Camargo for the backup spot, but with more MLB experience, Heim should get the nod. We'll see if Heim ever plays himself into a bigger role to be a legit fantasy asset.