This Tigers newcomer could be a sneaky trade chip if Detroit sells at the deadline

The Detroit Tigers are in a state of limbo ahead of the MLB trade deadline on Aug. 3. While they’ve played better baseball as of late, there are legitimate arguments to be made both in favor of selling and buying. If Detroit does end up selling, they have one underrated trade chip who could potentially move the needle in trade discussions.

Ben Malgeri is not a name many Tigers fans think of when pondering young talent in the organization, but he’s still been a solid player for the team this season. The 26-year-old began the year in Triple-A and performed well, hitting .296/.401/.496 with nine home runs and 34 runs batted in.

His numbers in Triple-A were solid enough to earn a promotion to the big leagues and entering Thurday night’s contest he was hitting .286/.381/.343 in 35 at-bats.

Malgeri is an outfielder and with how much carnage Detroit has had in the outfield this season it seemed like just a matter of time before the Tigers called him up. He seems like a decent player, but he’s not someone the Tigers are going to be overly sentimental about in trade talks.

He is not ranked in the team’s top-30 prospects and has never been thought of super highly as an 18th-round pick back in 2021. He’s one of those “diamond in the rough” types who battled his way through the minors, didn’t have anything handed to him, and truly fought his way to the big league club.

Malgeri could be that extra sweetener needed to get a deal done for Tigers

Malgeri obviously wouldn’t be the centerpiece of any deal, but if a team wants a little something extra to put a deal over the edge maybe he could be that missing piece that makes the difference between a deal getting done or not.

Maybe if the Tigers choose to sell one of their starters not named Tarik Skubal, i.e. Casey Mize or Jack Flaherty, and a team wants a little more in exchange for whatever prospects the Tigers want, Malgeri could be that added bonus to get a trade across the finish line.

He could also be an asset if the Tigers decided to buy, too. Maybe if Detroit makes a play for San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee they could offer Malgeri in a deal so San Francisco at least has another potential replacement for Lee in the outfield the rest of this year.

Most people naturally look at a team’s top-30 prospect list when thinking about young players in an organization who could be dealt, but Malgeri is an under-the-radar trade chip that the Tigers would be wise to use at the deadline, especially if they are sellers.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow