Detroit Tigers: Three Jonathan Schoop Trade Ideas

As the trade deadline creeps closer, the Detroit Tigers will have a difficult choice to make with Jonathan Schoop. Let’s look at some possible trade options.

The trade deadline is officially less than 48 hours from now, which means it’s time to ramp up our trade speculation. After Adam Frazier was traded earlier this week, Detroit Tigers infielder Jonathan Schoop is now one of the top second base options on the market, along with Eduardo Escobar and Whit Merrifield.

Detroit Tigers fans seem to be split on whether trading Schoop would be a smart move. Of course, the team risks losing him for nothing if they keep him through the deadline and then he leaves in free agency. However, the market for rental bats that don’t move the needle for contenders can be quite slim and many fans are afraid of trading yet another solid rental player for next to nothing.

As of Wednesday, MLB Insider Mark Feinsand wrote that he still expects Schoop to be traded, though an extension with Detroit is also possible. No matter what side of the fence you’re on regarding Schoop, it seems likely that the Tigers will at least entertain offers for the hot-hitting infielder.

Here are a few educated guesses at what a hypothetical Jonathan Schoop trade could look like:

1) Detroit Tigers trade Jonathan Schoop to the Chicago White Sox for 3B Jake Burger

There has been a multitude of reports that the White Sox are heavily pursuing Eduardo Escobar, but Schoop represents a solid fallback option. Schoop would be a big upgrade over a platoon of Danny Mendick and Leury Garcia and would help fill the void left at second base by the injured Nick Madrigal.

The White Sox actually toyed around with using Burger at second base, but ultimately sent him back to AAA when they started to get closer to full strength. Burger has an incredible story, battling through several severe injuries and the pandemic to return this season for the first time in almost three years. He hasn’t missed a beat performance-wise, slashing .326/.374/.611 across 190 PA at AAA. He does have a below-average approach and has a tendency to swing over breaking balls, but if he is able to refine his pitch selection a bit, he has a chance to be an above-average offensive performer.