Detroit Tigers: Examining potential trade scenarios as July begins

The Detroit Tigers are currently deep in the midst of a rebuild and most definitely are looking to sell off some of their most valuable assets by the end of July.

As the calendar flips to July, it means the Detroit Tigers have until the end of the month to decide which teams to strike deals with when it comes to shopping some valuable trade assets. With the Tigers rebuild train chugging along slowly, GM Al Avila is certainly on the lookout to continue acquiring young up-and-coming talent in exchange for players like Shane Greene and Matthew Boyd who could be of more valuable use to another club.

Greene was just elected as the Detroit Tigers’ only All-Star representative this year, and for good reason. The closer is tied for the American League lead in saves and has been lights out for Detroit coming out of the bullpen.

There were rumors in May that the Tigers were working on a deal to send Greene to Atlanta, but those turned out to be nothing substantial. Joe Giglio of NJ.com reported a couple of weeks ago that the Phillies may be interested in Greene or Boyd or even both, which could present an interesting scenario.

Closers can hold some pretty high value in the trade market, especially when teams are looking to add final pieces to their rosters for a playoff push. This is why places like Atlanta or Philly, who both have some strong prospects which Avila could ask for in return, maybe a couple of the most ideal partners for the Tigers in a deal for Shane Greene.

Regarding Matthew Boyd, some more interesting rumors have been surrounding the starter in the past few weeks. Along with the rumor about Philadelphia, teams such as the Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers have been linked to interest in the lefty.

In an interesting rumor last week, RJ Anderson of CBS Sports reported that Detroit wanted to make a deal to send Boyd to the Yankees in return for Gleyber Torres. At just 22-years-old, Torres has become one of the best young middle infielders in the game and was an All-Star selection in his rookie year last season, and therefore it would be tough for New York to part ways with him.

A somewhat more reasonable ask from the Yankees in return for Boyd could be young outfielder Clint Frazier. Despite his 34 RBI and eleven home runs this season, Frazier was recently demoted from the big leagues and it seems as if New York is maybe ready to move forward without the rising star, and swapping him for Boyd could benefit both organizations pretty well.

When it comes to pending free agent Nicholas Castellanos, everything still seems mostly up in the air. Detroit could get a decent return from any potential playoff team looking to add a rental bat for the end of the season, and freeing up a spot in the outfield could make room for Clint Frazier, but who knows anything anymore when it comes to the Tigers’ relationship with Castellanos.

As of now, it seems like the Tigers have plenty of decent potential suitors for a couple of their most valuable trade pieces. Acquiring offense to add to the rebuild should be key for Al Avila, but we will have to wait and see just what moves he makes before July is over.