Scott Harris’ typical fence-sitting on trade candidates has vultures circling around Riley Greene

Scott Harris has been at the helm of the Tigers for long enough for fans to recognize what beats he likes to hit. "Develop, not buy," is the big one, along the same lines as "supplement, not replace." But the most frustrating, especially when the hot stove is on, is, "I can't do my job without listening."

It's what he said about Tarik Skubal last offseason, and Yankees, Dodgers, Mets (and more) fans took it as confirmation that Skubal was definitely going to be traded. There very well may have been conversations, specifically around Winter Meetings, but he didn't end up going anywhere (for the time being, at least).

Harris has established that he doesn't believe in untouchables — though Kevin McGonigle is almost certainly an exception to that rule now that he has the second-best thing to a no-trade clause in his contract — so he'll keep giving fans the run-around on who's actually available in a trade.

The latest victim is Riley Greene. Jon Morosi reported that Greene had been generating trade interest at GM Meetings and asked Harris about the rumors. He answered in typical fashion, "We love Riley. I'm focused on Riley being a big part of the middle of our order. He makes us better in a bunch of different ways. Obviously, on the trade front, we've gotta listen to everything, but it's not what we're focused on right now."

Scott Harris addresses out-of-nowhere Riley Greene rumors at GM Meetings

Blue Jays fans, in particular, seem to be most taken by the possibility of Greene being on the block and most eager to completely disregard the part where Harris says, "It's not what we're focused on right now."

Tigers fans know that this is just something Harris does, even if we don't like it. The man always toes the party line. That means not believing in untouchables, and it means listening — though we oftentimes wish it didn't.

Greene has two years of arbitration eligibility left and is a three-time All-Star at just 26 years old. If the Tigers were to let go of him this offseason, it would have to be for a massive package that the Blue Jays, or any other vulturing team, might not even be able to offer.

It's not fun to wonder if there's a sword of Damocles hanging over every popular players' head, but we can guess with some certainty that Greene isn't going anywhere this offseason.

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