Detroit Tigers Trade Proposal: Teoscar Hernandez for Joe Jimenez

This trade makes sense for both the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays

The Detroit Tigers are looking for a right-handed outfield bat this winter. We've gone over a couple potential fits already in free agent Mitch Haniger and a trade for Brewers outfielder Hunter Renfroe. Today, we're going to look at a full-on trade proposal between the Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays.

We've already discussed how they could team up on a trade that would send one of Toronto's catchers to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for a Tigers reliever. This trade proposal would send Joe Jimenez to the Blue Jays in exchange for outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.

This trade makes sense for many reasons. The Tigers are obviously looking for an outfield bat, and the Jays are looking for bullpen help. Both of these players have one year of team control left before they become a free agent. Both players would address huge weaknesses for their respective new teams.

Hernandez would be a fantastic addition to the Tigers lineup. He crushes the ball, ranking near the top of the league in hard hit rate and barrel rate each of the past three seasons. He has good power to all fields. He's hit at least 25 home runs each of the last three full seasons, including 32 in 2021.

The question with Hernandez comes with his high strikeout rate and low walk rate. He has a career strikeout rate of 29.4% and a walk rate of 7.4%. Scott Harris has gone on and on about wanting to dominate the strike zone, but Hernandez doesn't exactly do that. He also isn't very good defensively. Would Harris be winning to look past all that to get a guy who crushes mistake pitches?

Jimenez is coming off a career season in which he a had career high in K/9, as well as career lows in ERA, FIP, HR/9, and most importantly BB/9. Getting the walks down was huge for him this year. His value has likely never been higher despite only having one year of team control left before he becomes a free agent. Jimenez would give Toronto the swing-and-miss reliever they so desparately need.

It may hurt for the Tigers to give up arguably their best reliever in a trade, but the bullpen was their biggest strength last year, and sometimes you have to trade from from your strengths to address your weaknesses.

Even so, the Tigers would probably have to give up more than just Jimenez to get a deal done. They'd have to throw in someone like Parker Meadows, and maybe a lower-level prospect as well. Jimenez is more of the piece Harris would softball to start with to entice Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins.

Trade proposals can both be fun and frustrating. Personally, I find it's usually more of the latter because they are rarely realistic. However, I think this one is pretty realstic. Again, it fills a need for both teams and they would both be one-year rentals. Add in a prospect or two to finish things off, and you've got yourselves a deal.