7 predictions for where Tigers trade candidates end up at the trade deadline

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There was a brief moment in time where one could entertain the idea of the Detroit Tigers standing pat or even buying at the trade deadline this year. The Tigers were kinda sorta hanging around in the AL Central race thanks mostly to the rest of the division being bad and had some injured guys coming back who could help them.

Unfortunately for Detroit, those hopes were pretty quickly dashed. The division is still bad with Minnesota and Cleveland treading water, but the Tigers have fallen to 11 games under .500 and 6.5 games back in the AL Central. As a result, it has become abundantly clear that Detroit will be among the minority of teams at the deadline that will be true sellers.

The players who will likely be available are pretty clear as Detroit has a nice mix of pending free agents, expendable roster pieces, and one particularly bad contract (more on him in a bit). However, what is decidedly less clear is where those players will end up when the dust settles at the deadline.

Here are 7 predictions for where the Tigers' candidates will end up at the trade deadline

Predicting where players will get traded is always tough because the rumor mill these days is based on incomplete and flawed information. Some teams leak fake interest as red herrings, some baseball writers just make wild speculation that isn't based on any actual reporting, and then there are kernels of truth floating amongst all of that. However, educated guesses can still be made based on what is known for sure and we can look back and laugh if these guesses are wrong in the worst case scenario.

Here are seven guesses for where the Tigers' trade candidates will end up.

Eduardo Rodriguez

The elephant in the room for Detroit at the trade deadline is the fate of Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez was one of the better pitchers in the American League in the first half before he got hurt, but he has hurt his trade value since his return. The opt-out in his contract also makes moving him a bit more difficult as it is hard to put an accurate trade value on him since teams don't know how long he will be around. Boston makes a lot of sense here as they know him well, they need starting pitching, and would likely be able to get value out of him in the long run even if he doesn't play well the rest of this year and he opts in. It wouldn't be a shocker if he ends up staying in Detroit, though.

Prediction: Red Sox

Michael Lorenzen

The rental market for starting pitchers is expected to be extremely busy at the trade deadline and Lorenzen should be right in the thick of it. He is not only a pending free agent on a very reasonable contract, but he has pitched pretty well this season with a 3.58 ERA and a career low walk rate. While a number of teams seem to be in on him, the Orioles are the guess here. The financials make him appealing to a team that doesn't like to spend like Baltimore, targeting a rental should free up prospects for them to make other deals, and they have already expressed interest in Lorenzen ahead of the deadline.

Prediction: Baltimore Orioles

Jose Cisnero

The Tigers have a couple pending free agent relievers on their roster who are near mortal locks to get moved and Jose Cisnero is one of them. Cisnero isn't a spring chicken, but his fastball velocity is holding well and is pretty adept at getting groundballs out of the bullpen. Cisnero is a bullpen depth piece option for a number of teams, but Milwaukee is the guess here as a guy that isn't making a lot of money and should be cheap to acquire while they focus on other areas of need on their roster.

Prediction: Milwaukee Brewers

Chasen Shreve

Shreve is the Tigers' other rental reliever they will be shopping around at the deadline. Shreve's surface level numbers are not great, but a deeper dive shows some promising peripherals that point to him bouncing back the rest of the way. The Rays are the pick here as they could use some fresh arms in their bullpen and they are as good as any team in identifying value using data and getting the most out of the guys on their roster.

Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays

Jason Foley

Jason Foley may unironically be Detroit's most valuable trade chip that could potentially be available at the deadline. Foley has been nails out of the bullpen this season and he isn't even eligible for arbitration until 2025. He could fetch Detroit a really nice return if they moved him and they are likely getting a lot of calls on him. However, the Tigers do expect to compete relatively soon and with him being both good and very cheap at the moment, the smart bet is on him staying in Detroit for now.

Prediction: Stays put with the Tigers

Alex Lange

Lange is an interesting case because while he is in the same team control basket that Foley is, there is reason to believe that Detroit should sell high on him. He misses plenty of bats to be sure, but the walks are downright spooky and getting a nice package of prospects for Lange seems like the smart play before the Regression Monster comes to claim him. The Rangers have been very aggressive already at the trade deadline already with the acquisition of Max Scherzer and they could use a high upside reliever like Lange, so they are the guess here.

Prediction: Texas Rangers

Javier Baez

Oh if wishing made it so. Detroit would likely be thrilled to be able to get Baez's contract off of their books. Owing a guy who currently sports a .592 OPS another $98 million after this season certainly does not feel great. Tigers fans frequently ask why Detroit hasn't traded him or if bad contract swaps exist that could rid the Tigers of him. Never say never, but Baez's deal looks like it is one of the worst in all of baseball and unless the Tigers attached some real value to him in a move, he isn't going anywhere.

Prediction: Stays in Detroit cashing checks for the next few years

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