Reports: Detroit Tigers in trade talks with Houston Astros for catcher

Update, 2:31 PM: Jason Beck reports the Tigers were in talks over Carlos Coproran. Major disappointment, though no further details at this time.

According to a tweet from Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Detroit Tigers could be in trade talks with the Houston Astros for a catcher.

The catchers Morosi mentioned in the tweet are Jason Castro, Carlos Corporan, and Hank Conger.

Of those three mentioned, Castro is the one that makes the most sense for the Tigers as he’s the only one that would be an improvement to Detroit’s current catching situation. Conger and Corporan wouldn’t be any sort of improvement at all. Besides, the Tigers have two backup catchers in youngster James McCann and Brian Holaday.

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Castro, 27, is Houston’s starting catcher and obviously the most talented of the three catchers. The owner a career .316 on base percentage, Castro is very versatile with a bat. After being an All Star in 2013, Castro’s numbers took a little bit of a dip down but are still more than respectable for a backstop.

2013 Stats: .276 BA, 18 HR, 56 RBI, 120 games

2014 Stats: .222 BA, 14 HR, 56 RBI, 126 games

Reports surfaced recently that Castro turned down a contract extension from Houston before the start of the 2014 season. Maybe the Astros know they won’t be able t0 sign him back and are attempting to trade him. The one thing that would be certain if Jason Castro came to Detroit is that Alex Avila would almost certainly be involved in the deal. It’s tough to make assumptions at this point as details are incredibly vague.

The Astros’ prized catching prospect Max Stassi could also be in the picture, though Morosi made no mention of him.

If Castro were to come to Detroit in a deal of any sort, his offense would be welcomed with open arms.