3 Detroit Tigers who aren't as safe as they think with trade deadline approaching

Although Jack Flaherty will headline whatever trade deadline moves the Tigers make this year, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic revealed this week that teams have inquired about a couple of other Tigers (subscription required). There are the usual suspects -- guys in walk years who could serve as nice rentals for postseason contenders -- but he also named a couple of potentially harder gets.

The Tigers aren't going to be major players, but they could sell a couple of guys or package them up with Flaherty (or, god forbid, Tarik Skubal) if they really are hopeful about a better season next year.

3 Detroit Tigers who aren't as safe as they think with trade deadline approaching

Shelby Miller

Despite a disastrous few months with the Tigers, Shelby Miller finally seems to be working back toward the kind of excellence Detroit was hoping to see out of him when they signed him in free agency. Miller had a career-best year in the Dodgers' bullpen last season, pitching 42 innings for a 1.71 ERA. The Tigers picked him up on a one-year deal, hoping he'd be able to carry that over to Detroit.

That isn't exactly what happened. His first seven innings for the Tigers extended a run-less streak he started on June 6 last year to 23 innings, but he lost the plot after that stretch. He put up a 3.97 ERA in April, then 13.50 over three appearances in May before going onto the IL. He came back in June but still struggled, throwing just over 10 innings for a 9.31 ERA. From April through June, he was credited with five blown saves and five losses.

However, things have started to come back together for him in July. He's pitched 10 2/3 innings this month and only allowed up a single earned run right at the beginning. The Tigers have been entrusting him with more with closing scenarios, and he got his first two saves of the season on July 8 and July 25.

That initial wobble and his injury will certainly hurt his value if the Tigers decide to trade him, but he could be a solution for teams out there that are looking for cheap multi-purpose rentals for their bullpens.

Andy Ibáñez

Ibáñez would be the toughest sell out of any player on this list, given the multiple years of team control he has left. He missed a few weeks in April with a hamstring strain but has otherwise been great for Detroit. He's played all over the infield this season and has even taken a couple of trips to the outfield corners, and his +4 OAA lands him in the 91st percentile of defensive players.

Not only that, but he's also been hitting well, carrying over the hot streak he started last season in September, when he hit .329 with a .905 OPS. He's hitting .314 over his last 15 games this season, so he makes a lot of sense as an appealing trade candidate with that kind of offensive production, on top of his defensive versatility and years of team control. He particularly mashes left-handers, carrying an over-1.000 OPS against them this season.

But, again, it'd be hard to sway the Tigers to trade him. He's a big piece of their ever-shifting infield, and all of the reasons why he might be an appealing trade candidate are reasons why Detroit will probably keep him for the foreseeable future.

However, Stavenhagen wrote that teams have asked about Ibáñez, and he'd be easier for them to let go of than Skubal if the price is right.

Carson Kelly

The Tigers took a chance when the signed Kelly to a major league contract last season, after he was DFA'ed and released by the Diamondbacks in August. His deal with Detroit included a club option that they exercised despite the fact that he only hit .173 in his 19 games with the Tigers in 2023. They felt confident that they could work with him to make a complementary catching duo out of him and Jake Rogers, and it paid off.

Kelly's been hitting well since mid-May, batting .274 with a .814 OPS. Although Rogers is the better defensive catcher, Kelly's seven blocks above average and three caught stealings above average place him in the 92nd and 87th percentile respectively of all qualified catchers.

There are teams out there who need catchers — the Padres, Yankees and teetering Cubs come to mind — and Kelly's Tigers contract is set to expire at the end of the season. The Tigers wouldn't even be totally out of options if they let go of Kelly, as No. 11 prospect Dillon Dingler has been absolutely raking in Triple-A.

Trading Kelly is actually a pretty realistic move. He's been more consistent this year than other potential veteran rentals in Mark Canha and Gio Urshela, and could easily be packaged with Flaherty to net a bigger return for the Tigers from any one of the powerhouses who've been chasing him.