Raiding the AL Central for new Detroit Tigers

Major League Baseball is filled with players who would look great in a Detroit Tigers uniform.

Most of these players aren’t available for the Detroit Tigers, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream a little bit. So for the next few weeks we will choose a division and take one player from each team to place them on the Detroit Tigers. We start close to home, in the American League Central.

Detroit Tigers Target: Cleveland Guardians RP Emmanuel Clase

One could argue José Ramírez would be an excellent fit for the Detroit Tigers. He’s one of the best players in baseball, and he could easily take over second base or third base when Jeimer Candelario and Jonathan Schoop depart. But he’s not going anywhere now, so I decided to choose Emmanuel Clase, the Guardians’ closer.

Clase just turned 24 in March, and he offers plenty of velocity and strikeouts. Last season, Clase appeared in 71 games and posted a 1.29 ERA. In 69.2 innings pitched, he struck out 74 and walked 16. His cutter averaged 99 MPH, and he also has a slider that averages 88 MPHl. With those two pitches, he has the tools to be a dominant closer.

Clase would fit well in the Detroit Tigers bullpen with injuries from José Cisnero, Kyle Funkhouser, and Andrew Chafin to start the season. Chafin just returned, but Cisnero and Funkhouser are currently on the 60-day IL and might be out for the season.

Detroit Tigers Target: Chicago White Sox SP Dylan Cease

This was the most challenging team to choose from, because the White Sox roster is filled with talented players, including Tim Anderson and Luis Robert. But I decided to select Dylan Cease because he is still just 26 and would provide a great deal of help to the Detroit Tigers rotation. He could instantly step in and be a number 3 or 4 starter, with the potential to front the rotation if he keeps developing.

Dylan Cease offers a full arsenal of quality pitches, including a curve, a changeup, a fastball, and a slider. With this mix of pitches he gets a lot of strikeouts and regularly pitches into the 6th inning. In 36 starts over the last two seasons, Cease owns 3.84 ERA with 254 strikeouts in 187.2 innings.

With no clear number 5 starter for the Tigers, and injuries to Matt Manning and Casey Mize to start the year, the Tigers could use Cease in their rotation. Even when Mize and Manning are healthy enough to play again, they could use Cease as a starter. A rotation of Rodriguez, Mize, Cease, Skubal, and Manning would make the Tigers a real threat in the American League.

Detroit Tigers Target: Minnesota Twins IF Jorge Polanco

Byron Buxton seems like the obvious choice here, but he has such a long injury history. Jorge Polanco, meanwhile, can play second base, third base, and shortstop, which would help with depth at the position for the Detroit Tigers. And he’s not a bad offensive player either.

Polanco, who made his debut in 2014, is a career .275 hitter and offers some contact and speed. He has 84 career home runs, including 33 last year, he has driven in 351 runs, and he owns a career .332 on-base percentage. Polanco is also solid on defense, with a .975 fielding percentage. He has the tools to be in any team’s starting lineup and will help a winning team compete.

Polanco could be Detroit’s second baseman of the future. Yes, Jonathan Schoop can play the position well, but you can move him to first base and have Spencer Torkelson play Designated Hitter when Miguel Cabrera retires. So instead of constantly calling up Willi Castro, Detroit could have another solid veteran in the infield to help them compete.