Detroit Tigers: Exploring a trade with the Angels

The Tigers have nine(!) players who logically look like candidates to be traded at the trade deadline. While not all of them are fits on the Angels, here is a quick glance at how Detroit’s trade chips have performed up to this point this season.

Mike Fiers

Fiers was signed to a one-year, $6 million dollar contract in the offseason. The intent was for Fiers to have a stellar first half so the Tigers could ship him to a contender and get a prospect or two in return. Fiers has held up his end of the bargain, going 5-3 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 12 starts this year. His strikeout numbers are down and his FIP is 4.89 however, so the Tigers better hope he can keep this up so they can get something good in return.

Michael Fulmer

At this point, a Fulmer trade doesn’t really make sense for Detroit anymore. He has not looked even remotely like himself lately, sporting a 4.40 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP on the year. Unless he completely catches fire over the next month, it’s unlikely the Tigers will find a trade partner willing to give up enough for them to part with their ace.

Shane Greene

Relievers, particularly those with closing experience, tend to fetch a big haul at the trade deadline. However, Greene has had a rough go of things lately, with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. At this point, since he won’t be a free agent until 2019, the Tigers will certainly be very selective with Greene. Brad Hand, Kelvin Herrera and Zach Britton could all be on the trade market as well, which would squash Greene’s value.

Blaine Hardy

A new addition to this list, Hardy has outperformed expectations this season, his first in the rotation. Only pitching on a one-year, $795,000 deal, the 31-year-old Hardy and his 3.66 ERA and 1.18 WHIP should command at least some attention at the deadline. The Tigers likely won’t bring back a reliever on the wrong side of 30 after this year, so anything they can get for Hardy would be a bonus.

Jose Iglesias

Detroit Tigers GM Al Avila all but guaranteed that shortstop Jose Iglesias would be dealt before the end of the 2018 season. Iggy has boosted his trade value lately, slashing .257/.305/.383 with two home runs and nine stolen bases. His defense has been excellent as always, but at this point he’s a very expensive ($6.28M) utility infielder. Teams likely won’t give up much for that.

Francisco Liriano

Liriano’s injury has really squashed his trade value, which is a bummer as he was looking like one of Detroit’s better trade chips. That could still happen however, as he is expected back in short order. Liriano has a 3.90 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 10 starts this season. He was traded at the deadline last year, netting the Blue Jays star outfielder Teoscar Hernandez. Perhaps the Tigers will be able to snag a quality position player prospect for Liriano once again this year.

Leonys Martin

Martin, like Liriano, has seen his trade value plummet thanks to an injury. His performance on the field has been excellent, over performing his modest $2 million dollar deal. He’s healthy now, so hopefully a strong six weeks or so nets him a job on a contending team and nets the Tigers some young talent.

Victor Martinez

The 39-year-old Martinez is in the last year of his gargantuan four-year, $68 million dollar contract. He is all but certain to retire at the end of this year, where he is owed a cool $18 million. Finding a trade partner for Martinez and his .244/.308/.348 slash line, especially at his cost, will be nearly impossible. If the Tigers have to eat a big chunk of the money to move him, they would consider it. Even that, however, seems unlikely considering his underwhelming performance and his lack of versatility.

James McCann

The Detroit Tigers control James McCann through 2020. Therefore, they don’t need to deal him anytime soon. However, he is not going to be Detroit’s catcher of the future, with some combination of Jake Rogers, Sam McMillan and Grayson Greiner likely to fill that role. Don’t expect him to be dealt at the deadline unless some desperate, catcher needy team comes looking.

Alex Wilson

Wilson is under team control through 2019. However, the Tigers should be looking to trade any of their veteran relievers at the trade deadline, when reliever prices are sky-high. A stint on the DL hasn’t helped Wilson’s value. Hopefully he can use the next few weeks to bring down his 4.29 ERA and boost his trade value for Al Avila and the Detroit Tigers.

The Angels outlook for this season will depend heavily on how long superstar pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is out for. If he ends up missing the rest of the season, they’ll be looking for rotation depth and potentially depth in the infield as well, with Albert Pujols likely to transition to full-time DH. Here are the players on Detroit that the Angels could target.

Starting Pitching: Mike Fiers and Francisco Liriano

The Angels have had an extremely successful rotation so far this season. Left-handers Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs have remained healthy and boast ERA’s of 3.08 and 3.26, respectively. Garrett Richards looks like the pitcher everyone hoped he could  be, sporting a 3.26 ERA and a 10.3 K/9.

Ohtani of course has been great. Rookie Jaime Barria has made seven starts this year, and has a 5-1 record and a 2.48 ERA. Nick Tropeano hasn’t looked quite himself, but he’s the only starter with an ERA above 3.26. So why do they need pitching?

Well, the injury history in this rotation is staggering. Each of them, with the exception of Barria, has missed boat loads of time on the shelf. Additionally, the depth behind this group is pretty ugly, with J.C. Ramirez and Matt Shoemaker each on the DL. Parker Bridwell is around, but he looked awful in his only appearance on the year.

The Angels could absolutely make a push for either Fiers or Liriano if they wanted to add some rotation depth. Unless someone else gets injured before the end of July (which is entirely possible) the Angels probably won’t want to give up too much for what would essentially be insurance. Still, an injury could open up a trade avenue between these two teams.

Relievers: Shane Greene and Blaine Hardy

For as good as LA’s rotation has been, their bullpen has struggled. Blake Parker has looked great, and left-hander Jose Alvarez has had a solid season. Otherwise, they have had very little success. Shane Greene in particular would be a really good target for the Angels. He has closing experience so he could take over the ninth inning if Parker were to struggle. Or, he could slide into an eighth inning role. Even with his up-and-down performance this season, he would be LA’s second best right-handed reliever.

Hardy is an option for the Angels as well, although with the left-handed Alvarez having such a good year he’d be more of a luxury than a necessity. As such, the Angels would likely offer very little for the 31-year-old.

Hitters: James McCann and Jose Iglesias

Neither of these are super feasible, but the Angels are lacking in catcher depth and infield depth. Zack Cozart, Andrelton Simmons and Ian Kinsler is an extremely solid infield, but all three have spent time on the disabled list this season. Their backup middle infield options are not good. Kaleb Cowart is the best of the bunch, but he’s on the DL as well. If the Angels are desperate to acquire a utility infielder, they could make an offer on Iglesias. However, his $6.2 million dollar contract makes a trade seem unlikely. Detroit would either have to eat a big chunk of money, or would get very, very little in return.

The Angels starting catcher is Martin Maldonado, who is hitting .255 with almost as many strikeouts (40) as he has hits (41). Still, the Angels love him for his defense, so they are unlikely to acquire McCann to be their starter. He would certainly be an improvement over the combination of Rene Rivera, Jose Briceno and Juan Graterol that they’ve had as backups this season – but it doesn’t make any sense for LA to deal prospects to acquire a part-time catcher like McCann.

The Angels have worked hard to re-stock their farm system, with a handful of highly talented players sitting near the top. While they likely won’t part with Jo Adell, Kevin Maitan or Jahmai Jones, the Detroit Tigers could still get their hands on some high quality prospects from LA. Here are a few options:

Griffin Canning

The Tigers would have to be excellent salesmen to get Canning for any of the Angels projected targets. The former second round pick sat out 2017 after a long collegiate season at UCLA. He’s looked very solid so far in 2018 however, already pitching at Double-A Mobile. He has a 2.25 ERA and a 43/18 K/BB ratio through 40 innings. Canning has the tools to be a big league No. 2 or 3 starter, and if the Tigers could get him they would further boost their already elite pitching farm system.

Taylor Ward

Ward was originally a catcher prospect who the Angels snagged at the end of the first round in 2015. He has converted to third base, and since then his hitting has taken off. He began the year at Double-A, where he slashed .345/.453/.520 with six home runs and eight stolen bases. Through eight games at Triple-A Ward is hitting .364 with one home run and two steals. His high on-base skills and burgeoning power could help him develop into an everyday third baseman. The Tigers are obviously set at third with Jeimer Candelario, but acquiring a bat like Ward’s is never a bad thing. The Tigers could always move either Ward or Candelario to first base in a year, allowing Miguel Cabrera to DH. Ward would be a great target in a Shane Greene trade.

Brennon Lund

Lund reminds me a lot of Tigers prospect Mike Gerber. A polished college bat who was taken in the 11th round, Lund has done nothing but hit at every minor league stop. He is currently at Double-A Mobile, slashing a clean .276/.367/.388 with three home runs and 14 stolen bases. Lund profiles more as a fourth outfielder in the big leagues, but at 23 years old he could be knocking on the door in a year or two.

He’s a plus runner and a plus defender. If he develops even average power, there’s a chance he could become a low-end big league regular. If the Tigers could pry Lund away in a deal for Hardy or Fiers, that would be a steal. Otherwise, he’d make a great secondary or third piece in a Shane Greene or Francisco Liriano deal.

Hector Yan

Yan is similar to Wilkel Hernandez, the right-handed pitcher the Tigers acquired for Ian Kinsler last year. A five-foot-eleven left-hander who gets his fastball into the mid-90’s, Yan still has a lot of development to do. That shouldn’t surprise anyone, as he’s just 19 years old. Still, he’s posted a 10.4 K/9 in his two professional summers, and profiles as an electric bullpen piece in the future. The Angels contention window may not last three or four more years, so it makes sense for them to trade Yan in a package for someone like Greene, who would help them right away. Meanwhile, Yan looks like he could be an outstanding bullpen piece for a Tigers team that is competing around 2022.

Next: Exploring a trade with the Seattle Mariners

The Detroit Tigers have a lot of trade pieces. The Los Angeles Angels have some holes they need to fill. Don’t be surprised to see these two teams involved in trade rumors for the next six weeks.