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Detroit Tigers: 3 very unrealistic trade proposals

By Matthew Scheidel |
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 30: Detroit Tigers Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Al Avila talks to the media during the press conference to announce the contract signing of pitcher Jordan Zimmermann at Comerica Park on November 30, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 30: Detroit Tigers Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Al Avila talks to the media during the press conference to announce the contract signing of pitcher Jordan Zimmermann at Comerica Park on November 30, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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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

DETROIT, MI – JULY 02: Andrew Benintendi #16 of the Kansas City Royals runs the bases during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on July 2, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Royals 4-3. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JULY 02: Andrew Benintendi #16 of the Kansas City Royals runs the bases during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on July 2, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Royals 4-3. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

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.

Trade 2: Jazz Chisholm to the Motor City

MIAMI, FLORIDA – JUNE 24: Jazz Chisholm Jr. #2 of the Miami Marlins signals to the dugout after hitting a single in the first inning against the New York Mets at loanDepot park on June 24, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – JUNE 24: Jazz Chisholm Jr. #2 of the Miami Marlins signals to the dugout after hitting a single in the first inning against the New York Mets at loanDepot park on June 24, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /

Miami Marlins’ second baseman Jazz Chisholm is a really fun player to watch. He’s flashy and plays with a ton of enthusiasm. He seems like a player that Detroit Tigers fans would fall in love with. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about his current Miami Marlins teammates.

MLB Insider Jon Heyman reported last month that the Marlins had a team meeting to talk about Chisholm’s style of play. It sounds like there may some animosity between him and his teammates. Chisholm himself, however, doesn’t seem to care.

“I have that tool that’s called, ‘I don’t care,'” Chisholm told MLB Network. “I just go out there and have fun.”

There was some buzz that the Marlins could potentially trade Chisholm following this report, but that has since died down. But since this is an article about unrealistic trade proposals, we’re going to make this happen anyway.

Chisholm is having a great year, slashing .254/.325/.535 with an .860 OPS and 14 homers. The 24-year-old isn’t a free agent until 2027, so the Detroit Tigers would have to pay a pretty penny in order to acquire Chisholm’s services.

In this very unrealistic trade that has a 0.0% chance of happening, the Tigers would acquire Chisholm from Miami in exchange for closer Gregory Soto, top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe (No. 2), and infield prospects Ryan Kriedler (No. 6) and Andre Lipcius (No. 22).

Kriedler could immediately take over second base for the Marlins. Soto is not a free agent until 2026, so that would give them a reliever at the backend of their bullpen for the next few seasons. Tigers fans would probably feel split about giving up Jobe, but he’s still a few years away and Chisholm helps the Tigers now. Lipcius is just a throw-in piece to compete the trade.

So yeah…the would obviously NEVER happen. The Marlins would be insane to trade Chisholm. He’s a superstar in the making. If his teammates don’t like his play style, then that’s their problem.

I don’t think the Tigers would part with Jobe either. They took him third overall in last year’s draft for a reason. They are clearly very high on him.

Trade 3: Bryan Reynolds to the Detroit Tigers

PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 05: Bryan Reynolds #10 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action during the game against the New York Yankees at PNC Park on July 5, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 05: Bryan Reynolds #10 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action during the game against the New York Yankees at PNC Park on July 5, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

This last one is a tale as old as time: taking a player from the Pittsburgh Pirates and hope they magically become better. In this case, Reynolds is already pretty darn good.

After an abysmal month of April and not much better May, the switch-hitting Reynolds looked like is old self again in June, slashing .333/.379/.610 with a .989 OPS and eight homers. In total, Reynolds is slashing .257/.337/.463 with an OPS of .800 and 15 home runs this season.

After hitting .314 with an .880 OPS during his 2019 rookie season, Reynolds struggled mightily during the 2020 COVID season, batting just .189. Thankfully, last season was a return to form, smashing 24 dingers with an OPS of .912 en route to his first career All-Star selection.

Defensively, Reynolds has taken a step back this season. After posting a Statcast outs above average of 9 last season, he’s at -5 so far this season, ranking him in the fifth percentile according to Baseball Savant.

Still, his bat would be worth it for the Tigers, especially in an outfield that lacks depth. At 27 years old and under team control until 2026, he would command a pretty good haul. In this proposal, I have the Tigers sending Akil Baddoo, catching prospect Dillon Dingler (No. 3) and pitching prospect Ty Madden (No. 5) in exchange for Reynolds.

Baddoo would immediately fill the void in the outfield for Pittsburgh left by Reynolds. Dingler was a second rounder in 2020 and just selected to represent the Tigers in this year’s Futures Game. Madden was a first-rounder by the Tigers in the competitive balance round, and has done well in High-A West Michigan.

Once more, this will most likely never happen. None of these trades will. I don’t expect the Detroit Tigers to start selling the farm for big-league talent. At this point, it would seem like a desperation move more than anything. However, it was admittedly pretty fun to play GM for a bit.

Next. Who else should represent the Detroit Tigers now that Miggy is an All-Star?. dark

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