The Detroit Tigers were steamrolling every team in their path, but have gone 2-12 over their last 14 games.
What has happened to the Detroit Tigers?
Every team is going to have a rough stretch of games over the long 162-game season, but the Tigers seemed like a team that could limit the damage when things got tough.
Detroit rattled off five consecutive wins from July 4 to July 8 but have gone just 2-12 over their last 14 games.
Despite the bad slump, Detroit still has an eight-game lead in the American League Central.
However, if Detroit doesn’t address some of the issues they are having right now, their plans of steamrolling the competition into October may be altered.
Tim Britton of The Athletic ranks the Tigers as the third-highest team needing a bat on The Athletic’s latest Urgency Index.
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“Way back on June 12, when we did this exercise the first time, we wrote, “Right now, no, Detroit doesn’t need another bat. In 50ish days? We wouldn’t be surprised,” wrote Britton. “Surprise! The Tigers have been a bottom-two offense in July, ahead of only the Pirates in OPS. Javier Báez, now back at shortstop, has taken a step back at the same time as Trey Sweeney, and the guys now playing center in Báez’s place are all slumping. One more bat capable of helping out either in center or on the left side of the infield should permit manager A.J. Hinch to field a deeper lineup on a daily basis.”
There are a couple of hitters that come to mind who could help the Tigers.
The top option is Arizona Diamondbacks slugging third baseman Eugenio Suárez. Suárez, 34, is having a monster season and has 36 home runs and 87 RBI (first in Major League Baseball) while slashing .247/.319/.579 in 104 games.
Another option is Minnesota Twins utility man Willi Castro. Castro, 28, has 10 home runs and 27 RBI while slashing .254/.342/.423 in 83 games. Castro would be a great fit because he can play just about everywhere on the diamond, giving the Tigers flexibility.
Both players are expected to be on the move, but will either player be on their way to Detroit post-trade deadline?
More MLB: Twins unlikely to trade All-Star pitcher but teams are still interested
Category: Baseball
