3 outfield trade candidates Tigers could target before deadline due to injuries

Although it once felt like the Tigers had perhaps one too many outfielders, they found themselves with a deficit by Opening Day. Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling, Wenceel Pérez, and Akil Baddoo are all shelved with injury, leaving Riley Greene in left, Ryan Kreidler in center, and Manuel Margot in right. Justyn-Henry Malloy was sacrificed to Triple-A, as the Tigers were more confident in Kreidler's glove in the outfield.

Kreidler made a nice catch on Opening Day and Margot contributed to the offense, but it's still not an ideal situation. Because Meadows won't come off the IL until May, the Tigers may want to look into some early trade opportunities way ahead of the deadline if their situation doesn't get much better.

3 outfield trade candidates Tigers could target before deadline because of injuries

Luis Robert Jr.

Robert was one of the most sought-after trade candidates of last year's deadline and rumors about him still circulated in the offseason, but he stayed put on the White Sox even as ace Garrett Crochet was dealt. When asked if he expected to be back in Chicago for 2025, he said, "Honestly, no."

No doubt the White Sox will continue to field inquiries about him, though, and the Tigers could be the perfect trade partner. Not only do they have the No. 1 farm system in baseball this year, they also have a crop of rookies with some major league experience already, who could jump into action immediately in Chicago.

Robert's owed $15 million this year, which is exactly what the Tigers are already paying Gleyber Torres, and the last two years of his extension include club options worth $20 million. The Tigers hate to give away prospects and Robert needs to show signs of a bounce back through the first month of this season, but he could be the perfect outfield solution if Detroit is willing to step out of their comfort zone a bit.

Rob Refsnyder

The Red Sox have a ton of outfield depth and Refsnyder is a player who probably deserves more reps. He played in 93 games for them last season and batted .283 with a .830 OPS with 11 home runs and 40 RBI to put together a nice season off Boston's bench. That's definitely deserving of more playing time.

Trading Refsnyder could be the perfect solution for the Red Sox to clear space for No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony, who looked like he might break camp at various points throughout spring training. Refsnyder would be a bargain, too; he's owed just $2.1 million this year and will hit free agency at the end of the season. He's never been the most reliable defensive player and has mostly played left field in his career, but he'd come cheaply.

Jarred Kelenic/Bryan De La Cruz

After being traded from the Marlins to the Pirates last season, De La Cruz lost all of the effectiveness that made him a desirable option for Pittsburgh, but he seemed to pick things back up again in spring training (to the chagrin of Pirates fans) and made the Opening Day roster as a platoon outfielder with Jarred Kelenic while the Braves wait for Ronald Acuña to come off of the IL.

When he does, though, one of Kelenic or De La Cruz is likely to get the boot, and the Tigers might want to think about calling the Braves on whichever one has to go — though De La Cruz as the righty bat would be more desirable for the righty-starved Tigers lineup. Unlike Robert and Refsnyder, both still have years of team control attached to them, but that also could be useful for the Tigers, who definitely need better Quad-A options than Akil Baddoo and Ryan Kreidler.