Detroit Tigers: 3 buy-low trade candidates to help out the offense

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 17: Joey Gallo #13 of the New York Yankees celebrates his two run home run in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 17, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 17: Joey Gallo #13 of the New York Yankees celebrates his two run home run in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 17, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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The Detroit Tigers need to do something to fix their pathetic offense

I hate to beat the same old dead horse, but the Detroit Tigers have a historically bad offense. They’re only averaging a putrid 3.13 runs per game—just one hundredth of a run ahead of the 1904 Tigers for the worst in franchise history.

Clearly, something needs to be done. They can’t go a whole season with an offense that’s this bad and not make any changes. If they aren’t going to fire hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh, then maybe they should look outside the organization for some offensive help—because it sure isn’t coming from inside the organization.

With the MLB Trade Deadline about a week away now, the rumor mill will surely start to heat up pretty soon. The Detroit Tigers will almost certainly receive calls about their relievers if they haven’t already, but they could always swing a small, buy-low trade to to acquire a struggling veteran in the hopes a change of scenery will do them some good.

The most likely candidates the Detroit Tigers could acquire would be on expiring contracts, so it wouldn’t cost them much to get these players. It would give these players a little two-month audition to see if they show any improvement and are deserving of an extension to stay in Detroit.

With the current state of the Tigers as an organization, they should be willing to try anything to get out of this funk. Here are three buy-low trade candidates to help out the offense.

1B Dominic Smith-New York Mets

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 03: Dominic Smith #2 of the New York Mets in action against the Texas Rangers at Citi Field on July 03, 2022 in New York City. The Mets defeated the Rangers 4-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 03: Dominic Smith #2 of the New York Mets in action against the Texas Rangers at Citi Field on July 03, 2022 in New York City. The Mets defeated the Rangers 4-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

The Mets are rumored to be shopping their former top prospect. Smith has shown flashes of the hitter New York thought he could be in the past, mainly in the shortened 2020 season where he slashed .313/.377/.616 with a .993 OPS and finished 13th in NL MVP voting.

Sadly, injuries and underperformance have hampered Smith’s career to this point. He has an awful .560 OPS in 152 plate appearances this season. He is also a man without a position, playing the outfield, first base, and serving as the team’s DH. He’s probably best served as a DH, but if a team acquires him and has him play in the field, first base is probably the place to stick him at.

The Mets recently acquired Dan Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates to be their DH, so it seems as though they are ready to move on from Dom Smith. He has two years of team control left after this year, so he is not on an expiring contract.

He’s never been a high walk guy, but he’s never been a super high strikeout guy either. His groundball rate of 47.5% is highest since his rookie season in 2017, and he’s sporting a career-low ISO of .090. However, his hard-hit rate is the second highest of his career.

The reason why a trade for Smith makes sense for the Detroit Tigers is their current hole at first base with Spencer Torkelson down in Triple-A trying to figure things out. They can’t have Harold Castro, who is a butcher in the field, play over there every day. They seem reluctant to put Eric Haase over there, even though that would give them another way to get his hot bat in the lineup.

At just 27 years old, Smith is far from a lost cause, especially since he’s had success in the past. Since New York has found a replacement for the former first-round pick, it likely won’t take much to acquire him. He is currently on the 10-day IL with a right ankle sprain, but with the aforementioned two years of control left, it’s still worth pursuing this deal.

OF Joey Gallo- New York Yankees

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 14: Joey Gallo #13 of the New York Yankees is walked in the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium on July 14, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Cincinnati Reds defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in 10 innings. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 14: Joey Gallo #13 of the New York Yankees is walked in the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium on July 14, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Cincinnati Reds defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in 10 innings. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

We’ve went down this rabbit hole before. The Detroit Tigers need power, and Gallo is certainly capable of that. However, he’s looked like a shell of his former self ever since he put on the pinstripes.

Gallo is still hitting the ball hard and hitting the ball in the air at a 40% clip. He’s also still walking at almost a 15% rate, and he’s not striking out any more than he usually does. So what gives?

Well, it seems as if for whatever reason, he’s letting the short porch in Yankee Stadium get to him. His pull rate of 51.6% is by far the highest of any of his full seasons played. It seems as if he’s making a conscious effort to make use of the short 314-foot distance down the right field line, when he doesn’t really need to do that.

We all know the kind of raw power Gallo possesses. Rarely are any of his homers wall scrapers. When he gets a hold of one, it goes a long, long way.

He’s also taken a huge step back defensively this season, ranking in the 12th percentile in outs above average according to Baseball Savant. Gallo is a two-time Gold Glover in the outfield. It really seems like he’s letting his struggles at the plate follow him into the field.

The case of Joey Gallo seems like one of a player that can’t handle the pressure of playing in New York. We see this happen all the time. A recent example is Sonny Gray. Gray was really solid for the most part with the Oakland A’s, then he got traded to the Yankees in 2017 and he wasn’t the same. This all culminated in him smiling when he walked off the field while getting booed after one of his final starts in the Bronx.

Gray was traded to the Cincinnati Reds that offseason and immediately went back to his old self, becoming an All-Star in 2019. The fan and media pressure of New York is unlike any other in sports. Players are constantly under a microscope, and some guys just can’t handle that pressure.

If Gallo were to get traded to the Tigers, he would be coming to a non-competitive team with no expectations for the rest of the year. There’s no expectation of winning. The media here in Detroit is nothing like it is in New York. Gallo can simply focus on finding his groove again.

Yes, it’s possible that his three-true outcome approach at the plate has caused an early decline at age 28. To completely deny that would be silly. But trading for Gallo likely wouldn’t cost much since he’s a free agent at the end of the year. The Yankees are said to want a corner outfielder as part of the return. They can have Robbie Grossman.

The last time we suggested the Tigers could trade for Gallo, it did not go over well with fans, and that’s understandable. But they need to try something to get this offense going. If they acquire Gallo and are able to get him going again, it could end up being a steal. If not, at least they tried.

OF Mitch Haniger- Seattle Mariners

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 10: Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Minnesota Twins in the third inning of the game at Target Field on April 10, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Mariners 10-4. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 10: Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Minnesota Twins in the third inning of the game at Target Field on April 10, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Mariners 10-4. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

One of the most underrated what-ifs in recent baseball history is if Mitch Haniger could have stayed healthy. He’s always showed the ability to be a slugging corner outfielder, but health has been his biggest obstacle.

He was an All-Star in 2018 when he slashed .285/.366/.493 with 26 homers. But on June 6, 2019, Haniger suffered one of the more bizarre injuries in recent memory when he fouled a ball off his groin area and ruptured one of his testicles. This caused him to miss the rest of the 2019 season and the shortened-2020 season as well.

But in 2021, Haniger popped off, smashing a career high 39 dingers. Somehow, he was not an All-Star last season.

Unfortunately, this season has been more of the same for Haniger in regards to his health. He played nine games this year before suffering a high ankle sprain that has kept him out ever since. He’s currently on a rehab assignment, so he should be returning soon.

The question simply becomes, where does Haniger fit onto this Mariners’ roster? Jesse Winker, acquired from Cincinnati in the offseason, along with the return of Kyle Lewis and the emergence of superstar Julio Rodriguez have clogged up the outfield. He could be their DH, but they recently acquired Carlos Santana from the Royals to serve in that role. It seems as if Haniger may no longer have a spot with Seattle.

Like Joey Gallo on this list before him, Haniger is a free agent at the end of the year, which should make him easier to trade for. However, he is a bit older at 31 years old. What makes Gallo and Dom Smith intriguing to acquire is that they are on the right side of 30, so they still have some prime years left. That may not be the case for Haniger, although the 39 home runs a year ago suggest he may have something left in the tank.

If the Detroit Tigers do pull the trigger on a trade for Haniger, the two months he’s with the team before he’s a free agent will be crucial for him. He may have to settle for a one-year prove-it deal in the offseason. If he’s still the player he was last season, this could also be a steal for the Tigers.

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

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