Detroit Tigers: 3 trades to explore this offseason

The Detroit Tigers will need to upgrade their roster if they want to compete in 2023

The Detroit Tigers have a lot of work ahead of them this offseason in getting this roster in a competitive state. They will need to cut bait with some of the roster filler they’ve been rocking with for the past few years, and will likely need to open up the wallets again.

But beyond that, the new GM will need to get creative. They’ll have to make some savvy trades—something Al Avila could never do. This will include trading from the Detroit Tigers’ newfound pitching depth and selling high on some prospects that had breakout years in 2022.

We’ve already gone over some possible free agents that the Tigers could sign this offseason. Now it’s time to look at some trades they could pull off.

Trading for Cubs’ OF Ian Happ

We’ve wanted the Tigers to trade for Happ for a while now. He’s not a flashy player, but he gets the job done. He’s just a good player—which is exactly what the Detroit Tigers need: good players.

Happ is slashing .278/.351/.458 with 15 homers for the Chicago Cubs this season. The 28-year-old has a career OPS of .806. He’s also having his best season by fWAR at 3.0.

Even better, he’s crushed right-handed pitching throughout his career, having an .831 OPS with 87 of his 102 career home runs coming against righties. The Tigers must improve against right-handed pitching this offseason, and Happ seems like the perfect solution.

Here’s our scenario where the Tigers would acquire Happ from the Cubs:

Happ is a free agent after 2023, so hopefully the Tigers would acquire him with the idea of extending him as well. For the Cubs, Carpenter can fill the hole in the outfield left by Happ and would be significantly cheaper. Madden is a potential future piece of their rotation, and Melton is just kind of throw-in to finish the deal. A win-win for both sides.