National media outlets need to stop pushing ridiculous Tigers trade rumor agenda

Nolan Arenado seems destined to be a perennial trade candidate through the rest of his tenure with the Cardinals, given all of the fuss they made about trying to trade him in the offseason. Of course, Arenado stayed right where he was after he blocked a deal with the Astros and St. Louis couldn't find any other takers, but they're cropping up again this year as MLB gets closer to the trade deadline.

The Tigers were never actually connected to Arenado in any real way this offseason, but it didn't stop speculation. The Tigers have been in need of a true third baseman for years; Arenado is a Gold Glove third baseman. His old superstardom may have almost completely faded by now, but it still made him a decently attractive candidate.

However, the Tigers were still chasing Alex Bregman when the Arenado rumors were at their peak and then, even if they wanted to approach the Cardinals about him, they seemed resigned to keeping him at least through the year. The Tigers also weren't on Arenado's reported list of teams he'd accept a trade to.

So there are a lot of reasons why the Tigers can't trade for Arenado — and maybe even more reasons why they shouldn't — but the rumors have once again started connecting the two parties. Jim Bowden of the Athletic, whose trade proposals we typically take with a grain of salt, offered a Tigers-Cardinals deal that would bring Arenado and closer Ryan Helsley to Detroit while sending No. 2 prospect Kevin McGonigle to St. Louis.

Stop trying to make a Nolan Arenado-Tigers trade happen, it's not going to

Scott Harris has said that he doesn't necessarily view any prospect as untouchable at the deadline, but that feels patently untrue given how highly the Tigers value their top prospects. McGonigle and Max Clark should be the most untouchable players in their pipeline.

The Tigers should absolutely try to trade for a closer like Helsley to add some firepower to the bullpen, but they don't need Arenado. Third base is going to continue being a problem if Jace Jung never pans out, but the Tigers could have a cheaper option on the trade market in Eugenio Suárez, who's also been a better bat than Arenado (by far) this season.

The fact that Arenado probably wouldn't accept a trade to the Tigers anyway should make this a non-starter. Detroit wouldn't want to take on his contract anyway with the way he's declined, so we can stop trying to make this trade seem like a good idea.