Detroit Tigers: 5 shortstop trade targets

Detroit Tigers Shortstop Trade Option Number 3 – Joey Wendle

Strictly speaking, Joey Wendle isn’t a shortstop. For the majority of his career he has played second or third base, and he was actually a Gold Glove finalist at third base this year. But let’s ignore that for now and do some speculation. Wendle does have 414 career innings at shortstop, and he graded out pretty darn well there in 2021, so why not give it a shot full time?

Wendle isn’t a stellar offensive player, and he struggles against left-handed pitching, but he has some pop, some speed, a career 103 wRC+, and in the two seasons in which he has seen 500 plate appearances he produced 3.8 fWAR and 2.6 fWAR. Joey Wendle turns 32 next April, he’s heading into his 2nd year of arbitration, and the Rays have a small army of potential replacements for him, so they may be motivated sellers.

Gage Workman would aid in Tampa’s never-ending quest to free space on their 40-man roster, and he also happens to be a pretty solid prospect. Tampa can afford to bring him along slowly for a few seasons, and he has the upside of an everyday regular.