Detroit Tigers: Would a Matt Manning for Jo Adell deal make sense?

It has been proposed that the Detroit Tigers trade Matt Manning to the Los Angeles Angels for Jo Adell. Would this be a good deal?

The Detroit Tigers‘ pitching staff currently projects to have a bright future, as Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal, and Alex Faedo are among the young pitchers the team has stockpiled. Mize and Skubal debuted last year, and we could see Manning make his debut in Detroit in 2021.

However, the Tigers will need more position players to help in their rebuild process. Would the Tigers consider trading one of these young pitchers for some young position player help? Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) has suggested that new Los Angeles Angels GM Perry Minasian trade top outfield prospect Jo Adell to the Tigers for Manning.

This could be a helpful move from the Angels’ perspective. The Angels already are loaded with offensive talent, but desperately need pitching. They have two big-time outfield prospects close to breaking through in Adell and Brandon Marsh. In fact, Adell has already seen big league time, though he struggled in his 2020 debut.

In 124 at-bats, he had just 20 hits (a .161 average), though he was only 21 years old and is still regarded as a big part of the Angels’ future. Adell was drafted in the first round (10th overall) of the amateur draft in 2017 out of high school and projects to be a strong leadoff hitter in the majors at some point.

Would it be worth the price to acquire him for Manning? As we mentioned, the Tigers already have a lot of young pitching but need position player talent. Manning was acquired via the draft 9th overall in 2016 out of high school and is thought to be a future front-line starter. Trading him would hurt a little, but the Tigers would be trading from an area of strength and adding to an area of need.

This trade would be a gamble for both sides, a good old-fashioned “my top prospect for yours” kind of thing. Yet the Tigers could use an outfielder with a bright future like Adell. Would you make this trade? Let us know!