The Detroit Tigers are urged to swing a trade with a division rival for a star utility player to bolster their lineup for their playoff run.
The Detroit Tigers have been struggling as of late, but are still atop the AL Central and should be buyers ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline.
The Tigers are 1-9 in their last 10 games, but are still eight games up on the Cleveland Guardians. If Detroit is going to make a deep playoff run, the Tigers will look to bolster their lineup, and MLB analyst Mike Axisa of CBS Sports urges them to acquire Willi Castro from division rival Minnesota Twins.
“Some teams are squirrelly about trading with division rivals. Some are cool with it (the Red Sox and Yankees have made four trades since 2021, for example) and others won't do it because they're worried about getting burned well into the future,” Axisa wrote. “That is a pretty old-school way of looking at it though. If you think a trade with a division rival makes you better, shouldn't you be open to it?
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“I suspect Harris and Tigers are willing to trade within the AL Central, and that the Twins would be willing to trade Castro within the division,” Axisa added. “The utilityman is a rental, not a young prospect who could bite them for the next five years, and Detroit does have more young talent to offer than most contenders. Minnesota would be foolish to walk away from trade talks with the Tigers because they're in the same division. They have to hear them out.”
Castro is a pending free agent as he’s earning $6.4 million this season. If he doesn’t plan to re-sign with the Twins, he could be dealt so Minnesota gets something back for him, and he would fit the Tigers' roster.
Castro can play all over the diamond, which gives A.J. Hinch options in ways to create his lineup. The 28-year-old is hitting .257 for 10 home runs and 27 RBIs this season.
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Category: Baseball
