Detroit Tigers trade target: Jon Berti

Marlins' 2B Jon Berti could be an interesting target for the Detroit Tigers

The Marlins recently acquired INF Luis Arraez from the Minnesota Twins to add to their plethora of middle infielders. Star infielder Jazz Chizholm will actually make the shift to the outfield, but they still have a ton of infielders. This leads many to believe that they will have to move on from one of them, and Jon Berti appears to be the most likely candidate. The Detroit Tigers seem like a good match for the 33-year-old.

Berti is actually from the Detroit area, growing up in Troy and attending Troy High School. He was drafted by the Oakland A's out of high school in 2008, but opted to play college ball at Bowling Green.

The Blue Jays took him in the 18th round in 2011. He bounced around for a few years before finally making his MLB debut in 2018 with Toronto. He was relased at the end of the year and signed with the Marlins that offseason.

He's been a utility guy for Miami each of the last four years. He's played a little bit of everything, but mostly second and third base. He's a very versatile player, something A.J. Hinch would very much appreciate.

On top of that, his approach at the plate is something Scott Harris would like. He draws lots of walks, sporting a 10.7% walk rate for his career. He's not a power hitter whatsoever, hitting just 16 homers in his career with a season-high of six. But he makes contact and is a speedster on the basepaths, something the Detroit Tigers don't have a lot of. He swiped 41 bags in 2022, which is something you don't really see anymore. With larger bases coming in 2023, that number could increase even more.

Berti is a scrappy player who plays a bunch of different positions, gets on base, and runs like the wins. Combine that with him being a local guy, and how does this not seem like a good fit?

Berti does have three years of team control left, so he wouldn't be super easy to acquire, but Scott Harris wouldn't have to trade the farm for him either. The Tigers should be able to trade for him without giving up anything substantial in return.

If the Detroit Tigers want to not be in the basement in 2023, then they have to acquire good players. Berti isn't a superstar by any means, but he put up a 2.3 fWAR last year and fits Scott Harris' profile. He'd be a really nice get for the Tigers.