Should the Detroit Tigers trade for Miguel Andujar?

Former top prospect Miguel Andujar could be a nice buy low candidate for the Detroit Tigers

According to multiple reports, New York Yankees outfielder Miguel Andujar has requested a trade, citing a lack of consistent playing time.

It’s been a struggle for the former top Yankees’ prospect. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 after slashing .297/.328/.527 with an .855 OPS and 27 home runs. But injuries and poor defense have cut his playing time considerably, mostly being relegated to a bench bat or just filling in for other injured players.

The Detroit Tigers are in desperate need of some offensive firepower, and the 27-year-old Andujar could provide that. He definitely seems like a guy who could benefit from a change of scenery.

There are arguments to be made both for and against making this trade. It’s clear that Miguel Andujar wants out of New York, and that should benefit the Tigers should they want to pursue this trade. The Yankees wouldn’t have a whole lot of leverage in this situation, so the Tigers shouldn’t have to give up a whole lot.

As stated earlier, Andujar could use a change of scenery. He wants to go somewhere where he can get consistent playing time, and he should have no shortage of that in Detroit. His bat has more potential than the likes of Willi Castro, Derek Hill or Daz Cameron.

Andujar is a bit of an interesting hitter. He hardly ever walks (4.1% career walk rate), but he also doesn’t strike out a whole lot (16.3% career K rate). He doesn’t swing and miss very much, but he does have a tendency to chase. He actually has some reverse splits, hitting .291 in his career against RHP and .248 against southpaws.

However, he hits the ball on the ground a lot and has a career flyball rate of just 21.4 %, and the Tigers already have enough hitters who don’t hit the ball in the air enough.

Defensively, Andujar was a butcher at third base, which is why the Yanks moved him to the outfield. He has also DH’d a bunch in his career. He has been slightly better since moving to the outfield, but his defense still hasn’t been pretty. The Tigers would be acquiring him purely for his bat.

The Detroit Tigers need to do something to fix their anemic offense. If they are going to keep Scott Coolbaugh around, they need to shake things up personnel wise. They don’t have anybody inside the organization who is capable of jumpstarting things. Trading for Miguel Andujar could be a nice potential low risk/high reward type of move.