Detroit Tigers-Winter trade partners series: Oakland A’s

The Detroit Tigers acquire RHP Frankie Montas

So what would it take to acquire Frankie Montas, who has two years left of club control and is not a free agent until 2024? Before we get to who in theory would make sense for the Tigers to give up, let’s look at his body of work.

He was originally signed by the Boston Red Sox in 2009 as an international signing and was linked to the Tigers before, in 2013 when he was part of a three-team deal with the White Sox and the Tigers that landed Jose Iglesias in Detroit and sent Avisail Garcia to Chicago.

As far as production goes, this season, he has put up a bWAR of 3.3. In 174 innings of work so far this season, he is 12-9 with an ERA of 3.57 with 192 strikeouts and 53 walks. According to Baseball Savant, he features a four-seam fastball, slider, splitter, and sinker.  He has a K% rate of 26.5 with a walk rate of 7.3%.

He has hit the IL a few times this season but he turns 29 in March so the Tigers would have a good pitcher in his prime that could bolster a rotation with a lot of unknowns heading into 2022.  With Matthew Boyd’s elbow and Spencer Turnbull out with Tommy John, the Tigers’ depth of starters is thin beyond Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal as proven, known starting pitching options that are currently on the 40-man roster.

While I am in favor of another season of Wily Peralta, it still leaves a void that if we look at it right now, we are not sure if Joey Wentz, who is still figuring out his command post Tommy John surgery or Rony Garcia will be effective. The “Chris Fetter Effect” seems real, but maybe it’s time to see if he can help improve established big leaguers the way he has prospects and reclamation projects.

So once again, this trade is one in theory and an attempt to keep this one as realistic as possible. 

RHP Frankie Montas to Detroit for INF Isaac Paredes and RHP Matt Manning.

Currently, the A’s starting second baseman has been a rotation of Tony Kemp, Jed Lowrie, and Josh Harrison. Paredes has seen time at second base and has also seen time at short and third base.  He has drawn walks and gets on-base, which is an A’s staple to their offense.

Matt Manning is from northern California and if you don’t think a team is going to ask for a pitcher of Manning’s caliber, again, trying to keep this trade proposal as realistic as possible. The A’s are a smart organization.

This trade, on paper, would make sense for the A’s because it would address their infield needs. Nick Allen, who is the 3rd ranked prospect in Oakland’s system is an infielder who plays shortstop and second base, has been in Triple-A Las Vegas this season so he may get an opportunity but Paredes may not be in the Tigers long term plans so a new opportunity in Oakland, hitting into the cavernous dimensions,  it could be a good fit.