Detroit Tigers: 3 Eduardo Rodriguez trade proposals

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Here are three trade proposals for Eduardo Rodriguez

The Detroit Tigers will likely be sellers at this year's trade deadline. They don't have a ton of assets to move, but one player in particular is likely to garner a lot of interest, and that's starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez.

E-rod recently returned from an injury to his index finger, and while his first start back wasn't great, you could probably attribute that to rust. He was oustanding before the injury, posting an ERA of 2.13 and a WHIP of 0.98 in 67.2 IP.

The one thing that will likely make things complicated in dealing him is his contract. He has an opt-out at the end of this season, so there's a good chance he'll end being a two-month rental. That could end up limiting the value he has. It's possible the Tigers don't quite get what they truly want for him.

However, he is by far their best trade asset, and left-handed starters don't hit the trade market very often. The Tigers should still get a nice return for E-rod. With that said, here are three trade proposals for Eduardo Rodriguez to give fans an idea of what the expect at the deadline.

All of these trades will be done using Baseball Trade Values.

Trade prosposal #1

Dodgers' president Andrew Friedman has already come out and said that the team is looking to add pitching at the trade deadline, which makes total sense. Their starting pitching staff has been decimated by injuries, with Dustin May, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, and Clayton Kershaw all missing time this season. Noah Syndergaard was signed as a free agent this offseason, but he struggled and now he's hurt as well. It's safe to say they will be looking for reinforcments over the next few weeks.

The Tigers seem like a good fit here. They can give the Dodgers a much-needed frontline starter, and the Dodgers have a pretty loaded farm system. Let's try to work out a deal.

Dodgers get: SP Eduardo Rodriguez

Tigers get: INF Jorbit Vivas, (No. 11 Dodgers prospect per MLB Pipeline), RHP Landon Knack (No. 17), INF Devin Mann (No. 30)

The Tigers get two infield prospects and an arm for E-rod in this scenario. Not getting a top-10 prospect may seem like a disappointment, but the Dodgers have a pretty deep system. It would take a lot to get some of the top guys like Miguel Vargas or Andy Pages.

Vivas has walked as much as he's struck out so far this year. That combined with a .298/.403/.477 slashline sure looks like a guy that can dominate the strike zone. The power has slowly started to come along over the pat few years. The 22-year-old would look pretty good in the Tigers system.

Knack has battled some injuries, but he has three plus pitches. He seems like a good arm that Gabe Ribas and company can try to work with.

Mann is 26 years old, so he could probably join the Tigers right away. He has a .981 OPS in Triple-A this year. Pipeline thinks his ceiling is a utilityman, so he works nicely as a throw-in in this trade.

Trade Proposal #2

The Rangers have a pretty loaded team, and have already added LHP Aroldis Chapman in a trade with the Royals. They are sure to be active at this year's deadline.

Their starting rotation has been surprisingly good, but given how aggressive they've been the past couple offseasons, I would expect them to keep adding pieces. You can never have too many arms.

Both Martin Perez and Andrew Heaney are lefty starters with ERAs in the mid to high 4s and FIPs over 5. They could stand to upgrade one of those spots and maybe move one of those two to the bullpen. Time to give GM Chris Young a call.

Rangers get: SP Eduardo Rodriguez

Tigers get: INF Justin Foscue (No. 6 Rangers prospect), SS Sebastian Walcott (No. 14)

This might be my favorite proposal of this article. The Tigers get two prospects that address two different needs: someone that can help the team sooner rather than later, and someone that could add some talent to the lower minors.

Foscue is in a bit of a logjam in the infield. The Rangers have the likes of Seager, Semien, Jung, Duran, and Lowe as part of their infield. There isn't a ton of room for him. He's somebody they can afford to move.

He's had a great year in Triple-A. He's got an OPS of almost .900 and has walked more than he's struck out. The 24-year-old could probably come up and help the Tigers right now if they were to acquire him.

Walcott is a really exciting prospect. At just 17 years old, he's already done some amazing things in rookie ball. He was signed out of the Bahamas for over $3 million this past offseason.

He has a 1.051 OPS in 19 games. He's very projectable. The Rangers appear to be in win-now mode, so they could be willing to move on from someone who won't reach the big leagues for a few years.

This would be an A+ return for Scott Harris if he would able to pull this off.

Trade Proposal #3

The Balitmore Orioles are a young and emerging franchise. They have the likes of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, and Colton Cowser, with tons more on the way. They might have the best farm system in baseball. It's that stacked.

They look like they could finally be in a position to buy at the trade deadline. They are just two games back of the Rays for first place in the gauntlet that is the AL East. They have a pretty comfortable lead in the wild card race. This is their time to strike.

By far their biggest weakness has been their starting rotation. E-rod would give them an ace-caliber starter that could put them over the top. You know the drill by now. Let's make a deal.

Orioles get: SP Eduardo Rodriguez

Tigers get: 2B/OF Connor Norby (No. 6 team prospect), OF Hudson Haskin (No. 13)

It may be disappointing for the Tigers to miss out on some of the big names here, but these are still some good players coming back. Last year, Norby hit 29 home runs at three different levels of the minors. He's only hit 11 so far this year, but he still has a career .841 OPS in the minor leagues.

Haskin was a very interesting prospect coming into the year, but has battled injuries this season. He's currently on the 7-day IL in Triple-A. Speed and defense have always been his calling cards, but the bat has been solid. He finally started to hit for some power last year.

This may not be the return fans would hope for in an E-rod trade, but the likelihood of the Tigers landing a Heston Kjerstad or a Coby Mayo seems quite slim unless the Tigers give up more than just E-rod. Harris would have to get creative in order to pull something like that off.

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