Detroit Tigers: 4 players team should have traded for this offseason

INF Jorge Polanco

Another player that I wanted the Tigers to trade for, Polanco was to the Seattle Mariners for quite the haul, which was a bit surprising. The Mariners got Polanco in exchange for reliever Justin Topa, outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez, starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani and minor league pitcher Darren Bowen. That's a 4-for-1 deal right there.

Topa is a very good reliever, posting a 2.61 ERA in 75 appearances for Seattle last year. Gonzalez is the 79th best prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, and DeSclafani is nice innings-eater for the rotation. That's a lot to give up for Polanco, who's a very good offensive-minded infielder.

Polanco, 30, has a career wRC+ of 111 and has slashed .269/.334/.446 for his career. He has a year left on his contract with a club option for 2025, so he essentially has two years of control left. I like Polanco, and I still think he would have helped the Tigers a lot. But had I known it would taken moving a top 100 prospect, a good bullpen arm, and a backend starter to get him, I would have never even suggested it.

It would have taken something like Jace Jung or Kevin McGonigle, Will Vest, and Matt Manning for the Tigers to pull this off.

Wait. I would do this deal. Jung is a good prospect, but not someone I'm in love with. McGonigle is still a few years away. Vest is a solid reliever, but relievers are a dime a dozen. And Manning can't stay healthy, and has been inconsistent when he's on the mound.

Plus, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry DiPoto is a mad man. This isn't the first time he's moved heaven and earth for someone. Just look at the Luis Castillo trade from a couple years back. If Harris was smart and persuasive with how he negotiated, he could have acquired Polanco for a bit less than what Dipoto paid.

Forget everything I said. The Tigers should have traded for Jorge Polanco. He would have made them better now, and could have put them over the top in an incredibly weak AL Central.