Detroit Tigers: Three trade chips for 2021

The Detroit Tigers, sitting near the bottom of the American League Central, will be sellers as the 2021 season quickly approaches the halfway point. The Tigers are sitting 15 games behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox.

Unfortunately for the Tigers and others, they do not have much to offer in the way of trade chips like other teams. On the major league roster, the talent just does not exist to offer a smorgasbord of options for other teams to trade for.

Offensively, the Tigers have the second worst on-base percentage in all of baseball, third-worst slugging percentage, and third-worst OPS. They have had the least amount of doubles and are near the absolute bottom in total hits as well. Pitching-wise the Tigers are ranked 24th in total strikeouts, 20th in WHIP, and 18th in ERA+.

All around, the Tigers are an anemic team both offensively and defensively. However, they have a few bright spots that can be traded for in an effort to boost a teams’ run in the playoffs.

You would have to imagine that some players, like Casey Mize, are off limits. Would a Jose Urena or a Matthew Boyd be off limits too? Pitching has always been at a premium. Al Avila could make Urena or Boyd available in an effort to speed up the current rebuilding process going on under his leadership.

The Tigers have a robust farm system headlined by 3B/1B Spencer Torkelson and pitcher Mize. Mize is already on the major league club and with Torkelson being a number one pick, the expectation is he may join Mize in a year or so. The Tigers also have top 10 picks in Matt Manning and Riley Greene still working their way through the farm system.

Jonathan Schoop, 2B

Jonathan Schoop is one of the best trade chips currently in the Tigers organization. He is on a cheap contract (1 year, $4.5 million), provides good pop (27 home run average over 162 games), and is able to play first base, second base, and shortstop. Schoop would be a solid addition for a team looking to make a push to the playoffs. He could provide a bit of power off the bench and some versatility in the middle infield and at first. Schoop is a solid insurance policy at a cheap rate.

Adding to Schoop’s value is his ability to take on a new position and play it at a major league level. For the first time, Schoop has played first base. In fact, he has made the majority of his starts at first base (34 starts) instead of his regular middle infield positions (18 starts at second base).

His return may not be much and to maximize the return, Avila may need to get creative and add in some other pieces to ensure he is getting a long-term piece back for the current rebuild. It would be devoid of reason to trade Schoop without getting a piece back that could help for a year or two to come. Avila may be looking for a mid-round relief pitcher with a high ceiling in exchange for Schoop.

Something to keep an eye on is Schoop’s left hand soreness. The left hand soreness kept him out of Sunday’s game after being hit by a pitch on Saturday. It was, most likely, just an extra day off for Schoop to rehab the hand before placing him back at first base.

Matthew Boyd, P

The 30-year-old starter is having one of the, if not the, best season of his career so far. Currently playing for a respectable $6.5 million, Matthew Boyd will have one more year of arbitration before being eligible for free agency. Boyd struggled mightily in 2020 contributing to the lowest ERA+ of his career since his 2015 rookie season.

Prior to 2020, Boyd spent two seasons as an average starting pitcher with a penchant for giving up the long ball. Thus far, Boyd has limited home runs dramatically (0.8 HR/9 compared to 2.2 HR/9 in 2020) and his improved control and increased strikeouts have all contributed to his new found success in Detroit. This makes him a perfect trade chip for the Tigers in order to get some serviceable pieces back into their organization.

Boyd, with his 1.4 WAR, could go to a team needing a solid innings eater and who could prove to be a serviceable third starter. Boyd has limited use of his four seam fastball while increasing usage of his sinker and changeup. In 2019 and 2020, Boyd threw his fastball about 49 percent of the time compared with 41 percent of the time in 2021. Boyd’s sinker usage increased about three percent and his changeup usage increased almost 5 percent since last year contributing to his limited home runs allowed and his overall success.

Boyd, at his age and with his contract situation, will be an enticing trade chip for Avila and the Tigers. Boyd could provide a contending team with that much needed third starter at a reasonable price coupled with the fact he can be controlled for at least one more year. This would make it more than worth it for a team to inquire about him.