The Detroit Tigers missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season but finished second in the American League Central. They have found their core three with Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, and Kerry Carpenter, with some big-name prospects on the rise in the system in Colt Keith, Justyn Henry-Malloy, and even Jace Jung. With all of that and the pitching they have in Tarik Skubal, who was the pitcher of the month of September, as well as Casey Mize, who will return in 2024, Eduardo Rodriguez is the question mark as all signs are pointing to him opting out and being a free agent. The Tigers will look to add a starting pitcher or two in free agency, assuming Rodriguez does opt-out. The lineup is the big thing to address; Torkelson has first base covered, Keith could start the season with the Tigers and have second or third covered, and Javier Baez, like it or not, will be at shortstop, so you will need either a second baseman or a third baseman. But what about the outfield? Riley Greene could play right field, Parker Meadows will most likely hold center field, and Carpenter could play either corner outfield spot, but what if he DHs to bring in this player?
The San Diego Padres last offseason went out and spent a bunch of money to bring in more talent as they tried to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West, but that didn’t go as planned, finishing 18 games back in the West and they finished two games back in the Wild Card. Entering this offseason, they said they would be open to trading some players to try to dump some salary; well, what about Juan Soto? He could come to Detroit and play left field, and his left-handed bat would play well at Comerica Park, and he’s only 24 and about to turn 25 on October 25th.
Juan Soto By The Numbers
Soto started his career with the Washington Nationals and won a World Series in 2019. During the 2022 trade deadline, the Nationals traded him to the San Diego Padres along with Josh Bell in exchange for prospects, Luke Voit, CJ Abrams, and MacKenzie Gore. In his career, Soto has a slash line of .284/.421/.524 with a .946 OPS; he has 148 doubles, 11 triples, 160 home runs, 483 RBI, 527 runs scored, 50 stolen bases, and 640 walks. This season for the Padres, he slashed .275/.410/.519 with a .930 OPS; he had 32 doubles, one triple, 35 home runs, 109 RBI, 97 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, and 132 walks. Soto is a three-time All-Star and finished second in the MVP voting in 2021.
Wrap-Up:
Soto has one year left on his contract and is looking for an extension somewhere in the $500 million market; it sounds like after he turned down a contract extension with the Nationals that was offered at 14/$440 million. Soto won’t be cheap to trade for either; you’d have to imagine it would take three to four prospects to get a deal done, but I’d say, Keith, Jackson Jobe, Jace Jung, and Wilmer Flores are untouchable. Could a deal of Max Clark, Ty Madden, Brant Hurter, and even Justyn-Henry Malloy be enough to get a deal done? Could you imagine a lineup of Riley Greene hitting second, Spencer Torkelson hitting third, Juan Soto in the cleanup spot, and Kerry Carpenter batting fifth with all the other pieces sprinkled in? That’s a lineup I wouldn’t want to pitch to if I were an opposing pitcher.
