Recent DFA shows Tigers missed the opportunity to move a rental piece for value

Gio Urshela was signed by the Detroit Tigers just a few days before the start of the season to hold down third base. He did that well throughout the majority of the season, missing a bit of time early due to an injury in April. Urshela proved to be one of the Tigers' best hitters outside of Riley Greene and Colt Keith. He would have made a perfect rental for a contender. Instead of capitalizing on that, Scott Harris chose to wait two weeks and designated the veteran infielder for assignment, completely wasting his value.

Urshela finished his time with Detroit batting .243/.286/.333. Understandably, the Tigers would not have gotten a king's ransom for this player, but he's a singles machine and a solid defender. He makes a solid bench piece for a contender in the postseason. There had to have been some team out there that would have been interested if approached. A few teams like the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamondbacks come to mind.

This lack of movement from the Tigers raises a few questions. First, did they even try to move Urshela? Secondly, if they did try to move him, did you not see any value in potential return pieces? If the answer to the second question is that you didn't think it was worth it, I suppose that is fine. However, if the answer to the first question is no, then we have some issues. Scott Harris has already proven that he has major struggles as a president of baseball operations, so it makes me question if he even tried to make this move. Again, you weren't going to get game-changing talent for Ushela, but if you intended to move on just two short weeks later, why not get what you can for him?

The Detroit Tigers most likely botched an opportunity to capitalize on Gio Urshela's value.

Regardless of whether they tried to trade Urshela, was he the right player to DFA? While they most likely did not see a future with Gio, given the arrival of Jace Jung, who should man third base for the foreseeable future, do they see a future with Zach McKinstry? The guy can play anywhere, but watching him attempt to hit makes me feel like I am watching a blind mouse try to hit the ball. He is hitting .188 this year and offers no power. McKinstry is a liability on the left side of the infield, sporting a .924 overall fielding percentage when at shortstop and third base where he plays a majority of his games. He is truly painful to watch and should have been the one to go.

Finally, when on the return to relevance, which the Tigers view themselves as doing, you need to treat veterans as such. If you treat your vets like garbage it will be a challenge to get veteran players to sign with your organization in the future. Urshela was having a fine season and was still thrown to the wolves. That is a bad look for this team and unfortunately, I find myself saying that more and more as the season continues.