Detroit Tigers should make this trade with the Toronto Blue Jays

Detroit Tigers executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager Al Avila could conceivably make some trades this offseason. One potential trade partner is Toronto.

Detroit Tigers fans have seen many of the team’s impact performers from last season depart already.

In terms of fWAR, three of the top seven Tigers position players from last season have been traded in the past few months.

Those players, obviously, would be catcher Alex Avila as well as outfielders J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton.

This is all without mentioning ace starting pitcher Justin Verlander and shutdown closer Justin Wilson, both of whom were also dealt.

One other impact player who could be dealt is second baseman Ian Kinsler (2.4 fWAR).

According to the folks at Spotrac, the 35-year-old has just one year of controllability left before becoming a free agent at the conclusion of the 2018 campaign.

Taking his age and expiring contract into account, he isn’t a hand and glove fit for a rebuild.

While it remains to be seen if Kinsler will be moved, one conceivable trade partner is the Toronto Blue Jays.

This is all purely speculative mind you, but the American League East franchise could hypothetically match up with the Tigers in a mutually-beneficial deal.

Help needed

Given Toronto’s inability to find a consistent solution at the position—Travis has also been limited to 213 games and 868 plate appearances since the onset of the 2015 season—Kinsler would be a strong, stable fit with the Blue Jays.

The second baseman, who should win another Gold Glove this season, was baseball’s second best defensive player at his position where the Def metric is concerned.

Only Miami’s Dee Gordon (8.6) had a higher defensive runs above average number than Kinsler’s 8.1 figure.

Detroit’s second baseman also ranked in the top three in DRS (third) and UZR/150 (first).

Even in a down year at the plate, Kinsler was still among baseball’s best players offensively at his position.

The veteran ranked in the top 10 among all second baseman in walk percentage (fifth), ISO (eighth), runs scored (eighth) and home runs (ninth) despite a .244 BABIP that was well below the infielder’s usual number in the category.

The outfield

There’s also the matter of the outfield in Toronto.

Should Jose Bautista depart in the winter, it will leave the Jays with a mix of Kevin Pillar, Teoscar Hernandez, Steve Pearce and former Detroit Tigers player Ezequiel Carrera.

Top prospect Anthony Alford is also an option.

However, he’s played in just three Triple-A games and four Major League contests. Alford spent the bulk of the 2017 campaign with Double-A New Hampshire.

Jim Adduci obviously isn’t the be-all-end-all solution to Toronto’s outfield woes.

However, he would give the team another option in an outfield mix that is devoid of any surefire starters outside of Pillar.

Last season, Blue Jays outfielders finished 28^th in the league in fWAR, 26^th in wOBA and 27^th in wRC+.

The unit also checked in at 22^nd in DRS with a collective -14 sum. They also ranked 25^th in UZR/150 with a cumulative -2.8 stat.

Adding Adduci (.312 wOBA, 10.8% walk rate, 4.9 UZR/150, +3 DRS in right field) would give the Jays a dependable, all-around option to turn to.

This could be vital in the case that one or both of Hernandez and Alford struggle.

Detroit’s side of the (hypothetical) deal

In return for Kinsler and Adduci, the Detroit Tigers would receive the 35-year-old’s replacement at second base in Devon Travis.

A former Tigers prospect, Travis went to Toronto in the ill-fated Anthony Gose swap.

Hindsight is 20-20, but… well, let’s just say that trade wasn’t great and leave it at that.

While Travis has been limited in Toronto, there’s no denying his offensive upside.

He’s a lifetime .292 hitter with a .331 on-base percentage, a .462 slugging percentage and a .792 OPS.

The second baseman also owns a .340 wOBA, a 112 wRC+ and a .170 ISO in his time with the Blue Jays. His fWAR since entering the Majors? That would be 5.5.

The 26-year-old also has, per Spotrac, three years of controllability remaining.

At best, he’s a long-term piece for the Tigers at second base, providing above-average offensive production.

At worst, he’s a quality placeholder until prospects like Dawel Lugo or Isaac Paredes are ready to handle the position full time.

Travis’ inclusion in this hypothetical deal is essential seeing as outside of Lugo and perhaps Paredes, the franchise has little to no future middle infield depth.

There’s Kody Eaves, but he’s seen limited action with Triple-A Toledo and may be a year away. Elsewhere

Should Detroit trade Kinsler and Jose Iglesias, the team will be left with Dixon Machado up the middle for the next few years.

Considering Machado can’t play two positions at once, help is needed.

Danny Barnes

Also joining the Detroit Tigers in this hypothetical move is reliever Danny Barnes.

The 28-year-old spent the better part of two seasons dominating the upper minors in 2015 and 2016. He pitched to a 2.48 ERA and a 1.102 WHIP in 98 career Double-A frames.

In 31.2 lifetime innings at Triple-A, the right hander has allowed just three earned runs and two walks.

That spits out to a tidy 0.85 ERA and 0.6 walks per nine frames.

It also doesn’t hurt that the reliever has a struck out 430 batters in 326 lifetime minor league innings.

In his first significant taste of action in the Majors last season, Barnes looked the part of a dependable, big league, bullpen arm.

The Blue Jays pitcher appeared in 60 games, tallying 66 innings.

In those 66 frames, the Princeton product turned in a 4.15 SIERA, a 3.55 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.

He also missed bats at an encouraging rate, thanks to an 11.7 swinging strike percentage and 8.45 strikeouts per nine innings.

Hypothetical role with the Detroit Tigers

With two years remaining (according to Spotrac) before he enters arbitration—not to mention three more years of controllability after that—Barnes could be a long-term bullpen piece in the Motor City.

Despite the controllability, the reliever is somewhat buried in a Toronto bullpen that also features Roberto Osuna, Ryan Tepera, Dominic Leone and Aaron Loup.

Next season, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the likes of Tom Koehler and Joe Biagini see increased work in relief roles.

In Detroit

In this hypothetical scenario, he’d immediately slot in as one of Detroit’s late-inning bullpen options. Depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out in this, Barnes could be a closing candidate if Shane Greene and Alex Wilson are dealt.

Kevin Smith

Rounding out this hypothetical transaction is Kevin Smith.

A shortstop taken in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft, Smith currently checks in as Toronto’s 25^th-best prospect according to MLB.com’s MLB Pipeline rankings.

The same publication wrote the following about Smith:

“He has sneaky power that shows up in games, but while he is capable of driving the ball to all fields, he tends to get too pull-happy. While he is a below-average runner, Smith’s instincts and hands should allow him to stay at shortstop. His arm grades out as average, but he has a quick release and is always accurate.”

The shortstop is by no means a perfect prospect. However, his power potential at a position that is largely devoid of it makes him a worthy of a flier in this trade.

He would also give the Detroit Tigers another middle infield option to turn to down the line.

The Tigers currently have a mix of middle-infield options for the future that include the likes of Machado, Eaves, Lugo, Paredes, Sergio Alcantara, Jose King and Alvaro Gonzalez.

While Paredes and others show plenty of promise, you can never have too many options.

Next: The Tigers should also make this trade with the Cardinals

What’s more, if Smith can maintain his power, it would play at other positions, potentially lessening the blow of him moving elsewhere on the diamond if need be.