One Trade the Tigers Could Still Make Before Opening Day
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The Detroit Tigers have less than a week to go until Opening Day rolls around and the exhibitions turn into meaningful action that will have an impact on the standings.
For Detroit, there is more excitement for a season than there's been in a long time, and winning is very much the expectation. The hope is that not only can this team find a way to win the American League Central after the historic blown lead last year, but potentially even get to the World Series as well.
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In order to do that, president of baseball operations Scott Harris has to put the best team possible on the field, and while he has his own set of internal decisions to make in terms of the roster, perhaps a trade could still be in the cards with another team as well.
As teams form their Opening Day rosters, various players across baseball wind up in smaller roles than they had hoped and either get relegated to the bench or bullpen, or even designated for assignment all together.
Harris should be watching what other teams do with their pitching staffs very closely, and if there winds up being someone looking for a new situation, perhaps he could pounce.
Tigers May Need Backup Plan for Casey Mize
Throughout the spring, Detroit veteran and No. 5 starter Casey Mize has struggled mightily, and while there are a couple of in house options to take the job should the veteran not be able to get things back on track, the injury bug has also already begun.
The Tigers have lost Troy Melton for a chunk of the year and Reese Olson for the entire season, bringing what was once a very deep staff to an injury or two away from disaster. Drew Anderson is the X-factor here, but putting hopes and dreams in a pitcher who has never really performed at the MLB level is a risk.
If Detroit wants to shore things up, perhaps the back of other teams staffs could be somewhere they could find an insurance plan.
Who Tigers Could Potentially Target in Trade
Generally, it's a bit tougher to make a trade within the American League especially at the start of the year with everyone on an even playing field, so perhaps the National League would be more fruitful for Detroit.
A couple of teams who come to mind with a surplus of back end starting pitching are both the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs. If Harris was interested in someone like Landen Roupp or Trevor McDonald of the Giants, or even a Javier Assad or Ben Brown of the Cubs.
Someone getting squeezed out of a rotation but still capable of helping in a sort of swingman role would be an ideal situation, and there are countless names who fit the bill in that category. While a deal may not be all that likely, it makes sense that if the right fit is there, Harris could explore adding one more arm to the staff.
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.