Detroit Tigers: 3 hitters to explore trading for this offseason

The Detroit Tigers are going to spice up their roster this offseason.

The Detroit Tigers hired a new president of baseball operations and may be looking at bringing in someone to lean on in the general manager’s chair. The Scott Harris era has begun, and the team will start to look different than it has in recent seasons.

Between a roster purge or players who are not deemed valuable moving forward and an offseason of “calculated risks,” as Harris called them, there’s no reason not to be excited about what is come. Even if it may not mean the Tigers are postseason bound in 2023, the team should be expecting to have a brighter future by the time Spring Training begins.

One of the things the Tigers are going to need to do is figure out how to address the needs of this roster. They may look to bring in some players who might help this team start turning the corner. Let’s dive into three players the Tigers could trade for to start turning the corner.

The Detroit Tigers should look into trading for Sean Murphy.

One of the areas the Detroit Tigers need to address is the catching situation. While they have Jake Rogers returning from a Tommy John Surgery, there’s no promise that he’s going to manage to be an everyday backstop.

Eric Haase has the bat, but I’m just not sold that he’s the best option for the Tigers moving forward. They should be looking at shaking things up and trying to trade for Sean Murphy from the Oakland Athletics.

Murphy is coming off of a 148-game season handling the Athletics pitching staff. He won a gold-glove award in 2021 and followed it up with improved offense in 2022. Murphy slashed .250/.332/.426 with 37 doubles and 18 home runs for 66 RBI on the season.

He’s still in his pre-arbitration years as of 2023, with free agency eligibility in 2026. The Tigers could hope to add a future backstop in Murphy. He has proven he can handle the workload behind the dish with 116 games behind the plate and 30 as the Athletics’ designated hitter.

Murphy is a solid option if the Tigers want to get a catcher who can excel on both sides of the ball. The bat has plenty to like, and the throwing is there to help him have a solid defense. The Tigers should have him on the shortlist this offseason.