Rumor: Detroit Tigers “aggressively shopping” outfielder Robbie Grossman

Robbie Grossman’s days with the Detroit Tigers appear to be numbered

While most of the attention surrounding the Detroit Tigers ahead of Tuesday’s MLB Trade Deadline has revolved around Tarik Skubal and a few bullpen arms, one name that hasn’t been mentioned too much is Robbie Grossman. Well, that has since changed.

Chris McCosky of the The Detroit News has reported that the Detroit Tigers are “aggressively shopping” the 32-year-old outfielder. The Tigers currently have a bit of a logjam in their corner outfield spots, with Grossman, Victor Reyes, Willi Castro, and Akil Baddoo all vying for playing time. This will only be exacerbated when (and if) Austin Meadows comes off the IL.

Grossman is having his worst season as a big leaguer in 2022, slashing just .204/.312/.278 with a .590 OPS and just two home runs. This is following a career best season in 2021, where Grossman hit a career high 23 homers and slashed .239/.357/.415 and was fourth in the league in walks drawn.

A fair question to ask is “what kind of value does Grossman have with numbers like that?” Well, simply put, he mashes left-handed pitching. He has a .999 OPS against southpaws this season. Teams could be looking to acquire him as a platoon option down the stretch.

There’s been no word on which teams are interested in Grossman, but a couple of teams to keep an eye on are the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cleveland Guardians, fourth-worst and fifth-worst in the league in batting average against LHP, respectively. The Guardians are also second-worst in the league with a 77 wRC+ against lefties, while the Brew Crew are fifth-worst in that category with an 88 wRC+. Cleveland especially could use an upgrade in their outfield.

As McCosky notes in his story, the Detroit Tigers really want to find more playing time for Akil Baddoo, and getting rid of Grossman, one way or another, would be the best way to do that. If he hasn’t been dealt by 6 p.m. Tuesday, there’s a pretty good chance the Tigers just cut their losses and designate Robbie Grossman for assignment.