Rumor: Andrew Chafin drawing trade interest from multiple teams

Detroit Tigers lefty reliever Andrew Chafin likely to be traded.

The Detroit Tigers signed left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin last March to be a key contributor to their bullpen for the next two seasons. Chafin chose not to get vaccinated against Covid-19, so he wasn’t with the team last weekend in Toronto, but apart from that he has largely held up his end of the bargain, posting a 2.53 ERA over 32 innings of work.

The Detroit Tigers are a disaster, though, and with Chafin owning an opt-out he’ll almost certainly exercise after this season, the time to trade him is now. Left-handed relievers are always in high demand (see Daniel Norris) and good left-handed relievers can bring home a pretty strong return.

Thus, it’s no surprise to see multiple teams are interested in Andrew Chafin, as reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal:

Now comes the fun part. Let’s speculate what the Tigers could get from these two clubs. With multiple teams interested in Chafin, and a possibility he opts in for the second year of his contract, the Tigers should be able to get a bit more in return than we might expect on the surface

The Chicago White Sox have one of the worst farm systems in baseball right now, but they still have a handful of interesting prospects. Bryan Ramos would presumably be the first ask for the Tigers. He’s a 20-year-old Cuban native with an aggressive approach, but terrific feel for contact, plus raw power, and the chance to be an above-average defender at third base. This year he’s hitting .268 with 17 home runs, a 9.1% walk rate, and a 16.9% strikeout rate in High-A.

The White Sox would likely balk at that ask, but perhaps they’d be more willing to discuss Yoelqui Cespedes or Wes Kath. Cespedes is the younger brother of former Tigers outfielder Yoenis, but his ultra-aggressive approach makes him more of a 4th outfielder.

Kath was Chicago’s 2nd-round pick last year out of an Arizona high school. He has significantly more upside than Cespedes, with a chance for plus power and plus defense at third base, but he also comes with much more risk. He’s currently batting .233 with nine home runs, a 12.2% walk rate, and a 32.8% strikeout rate in Low-A.

What about the Mets? They have some highly ranked prospects, but their system falls off quickly. Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty aren’t real options, but it’s possible they would part with Mark Vientos. He’s a powerful right-handed hitter, but he’s likely to always post big strikeout numbers, and on defense he’s probably limited to first base or left field. Shortstop Ronny Mauricio has long intrigued scouts with his tools and frame, but he’s a hyper aggressive hitter with a career .259 batting average and 5.0% walk rate in pro ball.

Stanley Consuegra is an interesting outfield prospect who held his own in rookie ball as a 17-year-old in 2018, but then lost all of 2019 and 2020, and only saw 20 games of action last year. He has come back well this season, and he could perhaps be the position component of a deal that might involve a big-league bullpen arm like Colin Holderman, or a Reese Olson-style starter with reliever traits like Dominic Hamel.

With so many teams likely in on Andrew Chafin we could speculate on potential prospect returns all day. Regardless of who their eventual trading partner is, the Tigers should be able to bolster their farm system in the next 24 hours.