Detroit Tigers: Predicting Shane Greene’s trade market

St. Louis Cardinals

While the Cardinals bullpen ranked 12^th in the league in WAR and had the ninth-lowest WHIP in the league, it couldn’t help the team overcome the Chicago Cubs and upstart Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.

St. Louis finished nine games back of Chicago in the division and four back of the Colorado Rockies for the second Wild Card place.

The team also checked in three games behind division-rival Milwaukee.

While the bullpen was a strength for the Cardinals, especially down the stretch—a 3.51 September SIERA is certainly worth writing home about—St. Louis could suffer some losses in the offseason.

The National League Central franchise is already without closer Trevor Rosenthal, who is on the shelf due to Tommy John surgery.

With Kevin Siegrist already gone and Seung-Hwan Oh and Juan Nicasio potential free agents, the Cards could be in dire need of bullpen help at the end of games.

That’s where Greene could come in, serving as either the closer or a top setup option to Brett Cecil.

Trade fits for the Detroit Tigers

In terms of Cardinals players who could be a fit in Detroit, both Randal Grichuk and Aledmys Diaz could be fits.

Grichuk, who is controllable through 2020 (per Spotrac) is a plus defender in right field after turning in a 13.6 UZR/150 and a +2 DRS at the position in 2017.

Also capable of manning the other two outfield spots, the 26-year-old brings power (22 home runs and a .235 ISO in 442 plate appearances) and solid base running (3.0 BsR, six stolen bases) to the table.

Thanks to the emergence of Tommy Pham and Major League-ready prospects Harrison Bader, Magneuris Sierra and Tyler O’Neill either in or close to being in the bigs, Grichuk could be expendable.

The 26-year-old could form an intriguing outfield mix with Mikie Mahtook, Nicholas Castellanos, Mike Gerber, JaCoby Jones and Christin Stewart.

Aledmys Diaz

Elsewhere, Diaz could also be a fit.

Diaz broke out in 2016 with an .879 OPS, 48 extra-base hits, a 2.7 fWAR, a .210 ISO and a 133 wRC+.

Things weren’t nearly as productive in 2017 as the shortstop turned in a .682 OPS, 24 extra-base hits, a 0.2 fWAR, a .133 ISO and a 78 wRC+.

The 27-year-old was also passed by Paul DeJong on the shortstop depth chart, and is blocked by Kolten Wong at second base.

Detroit could use Diaz in the event that Iglesias and Kinsler are dealt.

Even if his production falls somewhere between his 2016 and 2017 numbers, Diaz would give the Tigers a promising middle infield alongside Machado.

It also doesn’t hurt that, according to Spotrac, the infielder is controllable through 2021.

Chicago Cubs

We move on to another National League Central franchise in the Chicago Cubs.

Yes, the Cubs acquired Justin Wilson at the trade deadline. Yes, Pedro Strop and Carl Edwards Jr. are under team control for next season.

But Chicago could also be in need of bullpen reinforcements.

Closer Wade Davis will become a free agent following the World Series, as will Brian Duensing and Koji Uehara.

It obviously remains to be seen what the Cubs will do in free agency. However, if all three depart, the team will need additional bullpen arms.

Trade fits for the Detroit Tigers

The only question becomes, does Chicago have enough prospect capital left?

Deals for Wilson, Avila and Jose Quintana sapped the Cubbies of much of their top-end prospect depth.

The Tigers could look to acquire Kyle Schwarber in a hypothetical swap.

That’s obviously speculative, but the slugger could be a fit in Detroit.

With Ian Happ, John Jay, Alberto Almora and Ben Zobrist on hand, the Cubs won’t be short of options in left field if the 24-year-old is dealt.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers could employ Schwarber at a number of positions.

He’s played left field and catcher so far in the Majors. While the Tigers could play him some in left field and occasionally at catcher, the team could also try him at first base.

Schwarber’s arrival would allow Miguel Cabrera to slide over to designated hitter, a move that should help extend the future Hall of Famer’s career.

Colorado Rockies

Back to the National League, this time to the West, where the Rockies will have plenty of financial flexibility this offseason.

Carlos Gonzalez’ $20.428 million contract (according to Spotrac) will come off the books this winter, as will deals for Jonathan Lucroy, Tyler Chatwood, Mark Reynolds and Ryan Hanigan—not to mention some previous salary commitments to Jose Reyes, Jason Motte and Chad Qualls.

Additionally, relievers Jake McGee and Pat Neshek will hit the open market.

Closer Greg Holland could join them if he turns down his $15 million player option (per Spotrac).

While the Rockies have internal options to replace the likes of Gonzalez and Chatwood, finding successors for Holland, McGee and Neshek might be slightly more difficult.

Despite playing half of their games in the launch pad that is Coors Field, the Rockies’ bullpen was excellent in 2017.

In fact, it was one of the main reasons Colorado made back into the playoffs.

Bud Black’s bullpen finished sixth in the league in WAR, ninth in FIP and 12^th in SIERA. They allowed the eighth-fewest home runs per nine innings in baseball.

If any of the aforementioned trio depart in the offseason, Greene could be an ideal replacement.

Trade fits for the Detroit Tigers

While he missed most of 2017 due to injury, outfielder David Dahl could be an intriguing option for the Tigers.

Even if Gonzalez leaves in the offseason, Colorado will enter 2018 with an outfield mix consisting of Charlie Blackmon, Ian Desmond, Gerardo Parra, Raimel Tapia and Mike Tauchman.

That could conceivably make Dahl easier to part with.

While he didn’t appear in the Majors in 2017, the outfielder flashed plenty of upside at the dish with a .315 batting average, a .359 on-base percentage, a .500 slugging percentage and a .859 OPS in 237 plate appearances as a rookie.

He also added a 1.3 fWAR, 23 extra-base hits, a 113 wRC+ and a .367 wOBA.

Dahl’ season was aided by a sky-high .404 BABIP, but overall, his offensive production was extremely encouraging.

What was also encouraging is the fact that Dahl performed away from Coors Field.

Again, BABIP plays a role here, but the outfielder did turn in a .291 average, a 120 wRC+, a .833 OPS and a .209 ISO in games not played in Colorado in 2016.

Next: Why Brewers are perfect trade fit if Ian Kinsler is dealt.

According to Spotrac, Dahl is controllable through 2022.