Detroit Tigers May Have Missed Out Following Shocking Rafael Devers Trade
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The Detroit Tigers are the best team in baseball going into the week once again, and they have long been expected to make some real moves at the trade deadline in order to solidify themselves as a real contender.
Though the pitching staff needs to be addressed potentially both in the rotation and in the bullpen, the Tigers can also certainly use another bat in order to give the lineup some more pop.
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Detroit has been linked to some potentially available names, but it looks like they missed out on someone who could have filled both an offensive and defensive need in the lineup and on the diamond.
The Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants shook up the trade market on Sunday afternoon when a blockbuster trade went down sending Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers across the country to the Bay Area.
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The shocking deal gives a contender who needed offensive help one of the most feared power hitters in the league and provides Boston with some pitching help and a couple of prospects.
Did the Tigers miss out though by not trying to beat the offer made by the Giants in order to slot Devers into their lineup?
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The overall return from San Francisco was a high upside young pitcher in Kyle Harrison as well as disappointing converted reliever Jordan Hicks and two prospects ranked outside the Top 100.
Sure an argument can be made that the Red Sox would have had a harder time dealing their franchise player within the American League, but this is a return package Detroit could have blown out of the water had they tried to.
If the Tigers knew Devers was being shopped, would they have tried to get involved?
It's hard to say.
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On one hand, he would add another dangerous element to a lineup trying to get to the next level.
On the other though, the drama that has encircled Devers and Boston since the offseason and Alex Bregman forcing him away from the corner runs completely counter to the unselfish way Detroit has built this roster.
It can never be known how things would have worked out if the Tigers were the ones to swing the massive swap, however it's hard not to wonder what could have been if it was the Motor City the Red Sox shipped him of to instead.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.