Detroit Tigers Reportedly Interested in Moving Mike Pelfrey

Detroit Tigers pitcher Mike Pelfrey struggled in his first season in the Motor City. Now, according to a tweet from the Detroit Free Press’ Anthony Fenech, the team is reportedly interested in moving him.

Detroit Tigers fans have seen the team begin to pare down the roster ahead of Opening Day.

The Tigers have already moved on from Mark Lowe, while also sending a number of players to minor league camp.

These included the likes of Joe Jimenez, Dominic Ficociello, Arcenio Leon, Ruben Alaniz and Anthony Gose.

While there’s still a good chance many of the players assigned to minor league camp appear in games for the Tigers at some point, the process of trimming the roster has begun.

According to the latest tweet from the Detroit Free Press’ Anthony Fenech, the team is reportedly interested in moving starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey.

Fenech tweeted on Tuesday night:

"“Also: The Tigers recently reached out to at least one team about Mike Pelfrey, willing to pay his entire $8 million salary, so.”"

Originally signed to fill in the back end of Detroit’s rotation, Pelfrey didn’t have the best debut season for Brad Ausmus’ club.

The former New York Mets starter allowed 160 hits and 46 walks in only 119 innings of work. He never pitched more than 6.2 innings in a start for the Tigers.

What’s more, Pelfrey had the highest WHIP (1.73) in the Majors of all starting pitchers with at least 100 innings.

Hypothetical Trade Partners

According to Spotrac, Pelfrey will make $8 million in 2017 before becoming a free agent at the end of the season.

Given his struggles, that number makes him somewhat difficult to move. However, there are plenty of teams in need of rotation help.

While Pelfrey’s contract is relatively large, it ends at the conclusion of the 2017 campaign. The short-term nature of it could conceivably make the pitcher easier to move.

In terms of hypothetical trade partners, a number of teams stand out as potential fits.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim could be a fit.

The American League West franchise spent the offseason making additions. Anaheim brought in the likes of Cameron Maybin, Danny Espinosa, Luis Valbuena and Jesse Chavez.

With a number of question marks in the rotation, Pelfrey could be a fit.

Other Clubs

Elsewhere, the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox are also speculative fits.

Next: Significance of a Bounce-Back Season From Jordan Zimmermann

It remains to be seen what the Tigers could get in a trade for Pelfrey, however if they end up paying for the starter’s salary, they could conceivably net some kind of prospect return.

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