Detroit Tigers: 3 potential trade partners at the MLB Trade Deadline

The trade deadline is Aug. 2, and the Detroit Tigers are likely to be sellers

Another year, another trade deadline where the Detroit Tigers are selling off pieces. They could always get creative and add to the roster with some buy-low trades, but they will most likely be selling in exchange for prospects once again.

The team’s most valuable pieces will come from the bullpen, with Andrew Chafin, Michael Fulmer, Gregory Soto, and Joe Jimenez all potential names that could be dealt. They have a couple position players—mainly Robbie Grossman and his .992 OPS against left-handed pitching this season—that could be dealt for smaller returns, but most of the moves will come from a bullpen that has been surprisingly good all season long.

Relievers are always overvalued at the trade deadline, so it’s possible the Tigers could net a nice return, especially for Soto, who has three years of team control left after this season. Contenders are always looking to add bullpen help at the deadline, so Detroit should have a ton of potential suiters.

With less than two weeks left now until the trade deadline, talks should be heating up very soon. Here are three teams that could be trade partners with the Detroit Tigers between now and Aug. 2.

Milwaukee Brewers

You’d think a team with a bullpen that includes Josh Hader and Devin Williams at the backend would have a bullpen ERA better than 14th in the league, but that’s just the reality for the Brew Crew. Hader has had a rough stretch as of late, allowing five homers in the month of July, with an ERA over 20 and a WHIP over 3.

This comes after he didn’t allow a single run over the first two months of the season. He’s still striking out 15.6 batters per nine this year, but the stretch he’s going through right now is the worst of his career.

The Tigers have dealt bullpen arms to the Brewers before—just last season, as a matter of fact. Detroit sent LHP Daniel Norris to Milwaukee for pitching prospect Reese Olson, who’s emerged as one of the team’s top arms in the system since the trade.

The Brewers have quite a few interesting hitting prospects to choose from, but whether Detroit could actually score one of them in a deal is a big question mark. Outfielders Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer are ranked second and third in Milwaukee’s farm system, respectively according to MLB Pipeline, but Soto would probably be the only arm Detroit could trade and get one of those guys in return.

A more realistic return could come in the form of second base prospect Tyler Black, Milwaukee’s No. 7 ranked prospect. Black was drafted 33rd overall in last year’s draft out of Wright State and is known for his advanced plate discipline. So far in 2022 at High-A, he’s walked one more time (45) than he’s struck out (44). Add a lower level guy or two to the deal, and that wouldn’t be a bad return for a bullpen rental.

One thing to note is that current Tigers Director of Player Development Kenny Graham came from the Brewers organization, so he probably has a leg up on what they have to offer in terms of prospects. Heck, that’s probably how they discovered Olson. These two teams could easily hook up again at this year’s trade deadline.

St. Louis Cardinals

Much like the Tigers, the Redbirds have had to deal with a ton of injuries this year, especially to their starting rotation. Jack Flaherty has only made three starts this season, and the free agent acquisition of Steven Matz hasn’t worked out. Things got so bad that they tried out hard-throwing reliever Jordan Hicks in the rotation. That went about as well as you’d expect it to.

Their bullpen—ranked 10th in MLB in ERA—has been solid, but as the old saying goes, you can never have too much pitching. What’s the best solution to a bad rotation? A shutdown bullpen.

Fortunately for the Detroit Tigers, the Cardinals always seem to have a stacked farm system, and this year is no exception. Their top prospect is third baseman Jordan Walker, a 20-year-old who has already reached Double-A. While even a deal for Gregory Soto would seems unlikely to bring a return that would include Walker, they still have plenty of other prospects to choose from.

Catcher Ivan Herrera would be nice, but he’s probably their heir apparent to Yadier Molina, so he seems unlikely to be dealt. Shortstop Masyn Wynn is a fun player who’s had a solid year between High-A and Double-A, and recently made highlight reels everywhere for showing off his wicked arm strength at the Futures game.

Outfielder Alec Burleson has a .936 OPS with Triple-A Memphis this year, and could get potentially get a cup of coffee in September. With St. Louis’ outfield of Harrison Bader, Dylan Carlson, and Tyler O’Neill, it seems as if he’s blocked.

First baseman Luken Baker had some hype around him coming into this year. At 6-4, 280 lbs, he’s a large human being with a ton of raw pop. Unfortunately, he’s struggled mightily in Triple-A this year. Despite 15 homers, he’s got an OPS of just .688. At 25 years old, it’s worth wondering how much of a prospect he really is now. Still, given the Tigers current issues at first base, he may not be too hard to get in a trade now that he’s lost some value.

The Cardinals need starting pitching in the worst way, and have been rumored to be heavily interested in Oakland’s Frankie Montas. There isn’t a ton of starting pitching available on this year’s market besides him and Cincinnati’s Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle, who are in the same division as St. Louis, so they may have to settle for some bullpen help as a fallback option.