Detroit Tigers offseason priority should be finding young position players to build around

Future implications

Without Greene, who per Spotrac is controllable through the 2020 campaign, the Detroit Tigers would obviously lose an impact closer.

But the reality is that the Tigers might not be all that great next season, and the biggest luxury on a losing team is a closer.

If Greene departs, Alex Wilson can step in as closer. This would allow the likes of Jimenez, Garcia, Ecker and Labourt to ease into late inning options.

With two seasons of controllability left (according to Spotrac), Detroit can build Wilson’s trade value as a closer before moving him for additional prospects at next season’s trade deadline.

Young position players

In an ideal world, Detroit would be able to extract a young middle infielder with impact potential in a trade for Greene.

Those kinds of players don’t exactly grow on trees, but if the 2017 trade deadline taught us anything, it’s that pitchers are king in terms of trade value in today’s game.

Any kind of young position player would be a welcome addition to the Tigers, but the need up the middle stands out.

The only suitable replacement for Kinsler on the current roster is Dixon Machado.

The only suitable replacement for Kinsler’s double play partner, Jose Iglesias is—you guessed it—Dixon Machado.

Plugging in the slick-fielding Machado at either middle infield position is fine long term. However, he obviously can’t play two positions at once.