Detroit Tigers: Exploring Leonys Martin trade scenarios

Detroit Tigers’ veteran center fielder Leonys Martin has had an unexpectedly good season in the Motor City. What does the trade market hold for him?

The Detroit Tigers have a handful of trade pieces they will look to move before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Mike Fiers, Francisco Liriano and Jose Iglesias all seem likely to be shopped, as they will be free agents at the end of the year. Longer term assets like Michael Fulmer, Matthew Boyd and even Nicholas Castellanos could be shopped as well, although moving them seems less likely.

That brings us to Leonys Martin, who was signed to a one-year, $1.75 million dollar contract this offseason. However, Martin will not be a free agent at the end of the year, as he has one arbitration year remaining. So the Tigers will control him through 2019.

That means the Tigers can be pickier with trade offers on Martin, similar to the situation with Boyd. Also similar is the fact that both players are performing above expectations, which makes them more appealing trade candidates.

Trade Market

While the trade market for left-handed pitching is fairly clear, the market for speedy, defensive outfielders is much murkier. That’s the bad news, but the good news is that there are fewer teams shopping starting outfielders, so the Tigers will hopefully have more leverage.

Here are a few teams who could be looking for a player like Martin, along with what some potential returns could look like.

The Red Sox already have a left-handed hitting, excellent defensive center fielder in Jackie Bradley Jr. However, Bradley Jr. has been absolutely atrocious at the plate this season, slashing a miserable .199/.291/.323 with five home runs and eight stolen bases. While Martin likely wouldn’t take over the starting duties from JBJ, he would give the Red Sox much-needed depth in the outfield.

Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts round out Boston’s outfield. Both of them are elite, and both might be starting in next month’s all-star game. However, beyond those two and Bradley the team lacks depth in the outfield. The only other players to see the grass for Boston this season are J.D. Martinez (who is well past his prime defensively) Brock Holt, Sam Travis and Blake Swihart. Holt, Travis and Swihart each play a different primary position, and none of them are graded out as good defensive outfielders.

So to sum up: if Bradley Jr. gets hurt or needs a day off, the team has basically no one who can cover center field. The team also lacks speed off the bench, so Martin makes perfect sense as a defense-first fourth outfielder who can spell JBJ and pinch-run when necessary.

Potential Return?

The primary challenge here is that Boston likely doesn’t want to part with too much to acquire a bench bat. Martin will have plenty of value for Boston, but they don’t have the best farm system and may not want to mortgage premier talent to acquire Martin.

Bobby Dalbec (No. 8 by MLB Pipeline) is an intriguing corner infield prospect that the Tigers could shoot for if the Red Sox come calling. He has a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, but has blasted 14 home runs in just 70 games this season, along with a stellar 14.4% walk rate.

A few other names to keep in mind in Boston’s farm include 1B/OF Pedro Castellanos (no relation), 2B Brett Netzer, and left-hander Bobby Poyner.

This is probably the least like trade scenario, although the Indians are the most outfield needy team that is in contention. Bradley Zimmer, Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer are all playing quite a bit in Cleveland, with Rajai Davis and Greg Allen seeing the field as well. That’s not a great recipe for success in the outfield, and Cleveland could really use a steady outfield presence like Martin to patrol CF.

Still, the odds of the Tigers sending a useful piece to a division rival are extremely slim. Even slimmer are the odds that Cleveland will want to send any sort of prospect with potential to Detroit. Having to watch a player you once possessed perform well against you 20 times per season is not ideal, and is the reason inter-division trades are very rare.

That’s why the two teams have only connected on seven trades since 2000, with the only notable one being the Jhonny Peralta trade back in 2010.

Potential Return?

If the Indians and Tigers did decide to bury the hatchet and try to work out a deal, a few prospects the Tigers could consider include 17-year-old outfielder George Valera, 19-year-old shortstop Tyler Freeman and – if they are really feeling bold – former first overall pick Brady Aiken.

Next: Exploring Matthew Boyd Trade Scenarios

The Detroit Tigers are in an enviable trade situation with Martin. Although the need for outfielders around the league is slim, the Tigers could choose to hold Martin and either look to deal him in the offseason, or bring him back again next year. If a team were hit with an injury and needed an outfielder, Detroit would have leverage in any potential trades.

Martin is a nice bridge for the rebuild, so there’s no rush to trade him. If he can bring in a nice haul of prospects, even better.