Detroit Tigers: 3 very unrealistic trade proposals

Three Detroit Tigers trade proposals that have virtually no chance of happening

It’s beginning to be that time of year. The All-Star break is soon upon us, and with that brings the MLB Draft, the Home Run Derby, and of course, the MLB All-Star game. But after that, it’s everyone’s favorite time of the baseball season, especially for Detroit Tigers fans: hot stove season.

Pretty soon, the trade rumor mill will to start to heat up, and with that, will come some really, really bad trade proposals online.

We’ve all seen them. Heck, we’ve probably all made them. We’ve all headed over the Baseball Trade Values and used their trade simulator to see what it would take to bring a superstar to our favorite team. 99% of the time, they are totally unrealistic.

Well, strap in folks, because that’s exactly what we’re going to do today. We’re going to take a look at three very unrealistic trade proposals involving the Detroit Tigers. There’s no way any of these trades would ever happen, mostly because the Tigers don’t have the prospect capital to make any of these work, but it’s fun to dream.

Trade 1: Andrew Benintendi to Detroit

We’ll start with something a bit more modest. The Kansas City Royals are thought of to be one of the more active teams at this year’s trade deadline, having already shipped off 1B/DH Carlos Santana to the Seattle Mariners. They are a very young team looking to ship off any veterans they can in order to create spots for some of their top prospects.

Left fielder Andrew Benintendi is one of the likeliest candidates to be moved at the deadline. He’s having a really nice season, slashing .316/.387/.404 with an OPS+ of 126 and a bWAR of 2.2. He’s also solid defensively in the outfield. He’s got one more year of arbitration before becoming a free agent in 2023.

That extra year of control is key here. This trade wouldn’t make sense for Detroit if he was just a two-month rental. This would give the Tigers a year-plus to evaluate Benintendi and see if they want to offer him an extension.

In this scenario, the Tigers would give up three prospects: RHP Dylan Smith (No. 8 Tigers prospect according to MLB Pipeline), IF Manuel Sequera, (No. 13), and OF Parker Meadows (No. 17). Smith is part of the Tigers’ surplus of pitching prospects, so they can afford to deal him. Meadows has been in the organization for four years now with little to show for it.

The only one I was hesitant to move here was Sequera. He’s just a 19-year-old in A-ball who has shown some nice power potential. He’s still a few years away, but he’s a nice little prospect. I had to sweeten the deal somehow, and Sequera was my sweetener of choice.

What really makes this deal unrealistic is the unwritten rule about trading within the division. Would the Royals actually trade Benintendi to a division rival? Considering they are still a year or two away from being competitive and he’s a free agent after next season, there’s a possibility. This is by far the most realistic trade of the bunch.