Tigers Could Return to Trade Market to Fill Third Base Hole with Veteran Star
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The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason expected to add more to their pitching than the offense, and that's the way they have approached things so far.
Rebuilding the bullpen by bringing back Kyle Finnegan and signing Kenley Jansen, not to mention acquiring Drew Anderson for the starting rotation, things are looking better on the staff, but it's not the only issue Detroit had.
The Tigers season came to a screeching halt in September and October largely because of an offense that was clearly missing a piece or two and went through dramatic cold stretches.
A year after missing out on Alex Bregman, the third base hole still exists, but Detroit is seemingly taking a pass on a second pursuit of the three-time All-Star.
As of right now, the Tigers look determined for the same disastrous platoon at the hot corner, but perhaps things could still change. If Scott Harris wants to make an instant improvement via the trade market without giving up a ton, St. Louis Cardinals veteran Nolan Arenado is still available.
Tigers Still Have Arenado Trade with Cardinals as Option
A year ago, St. Louis and their future Hall of Fame third baseman were one of the main topics across baseball, but he wound up staying with the team due to no trade ultimately coming together.
Largely, this was because of the Cardinals demanding too much in terms of both return and not willing to take on enough of the remaining salary on his contract. This offseason, St. Louis has even less leverage after a rough year for the 34-year-old and still two years left on the deal.
Now owed a total of roughly $30 million over the two seasons, a trade would likely come at virtually no prospect return and the Cardinals eating a major chunk of it, making a quality third base option available for a likely less than $10 million AAV.
If Detroit feels he's an upgrade, they should go get this done.
What Could Arenado Bring to Tigers Now?
After his numbers declined from 2023 to 2024, Arenado's stats fell off another cliff in 2025 with a slash line of .237/.289/.377, though he did still put up a 1.3 bWAR in just 107 games played with a defense that is still very solid.
The 10-time Gold Glove winner -- even if he's a shell of his former self -- still presents a massive upgrade to the platoon of doom that Detroit has rolled out for the last two seasons. As a team, the Tigers posted a -0.1 bWAR from the third base position, and Arenado presents an instant answer.
Expecting him to come in and put up MVP numbers would be foolish, but if the legend can provide a 2.0 bWAR type season, it instantly turns perhaps the team's biggest liability into a steady presence who can help them win.
Not to mention, the addition of a veteran who has done it at the highest level for so many years will always help a young clubhouse looking to take the next step.
It's been fairly quiet on this front as of late, but Detroit needs to address third base by the time the season starts, so perhaps the talks between them and St. Louis could pick up soon.
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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.