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Detroit Tigers: Let’s Trade Eduardo Rodriguez — Part 1

Eduardo Rodriguez

The Detroit Tigers are going to trade Eduardo Rodriguez

Eduardo Rodriguez put together a typically strong 2023 outing for the Detroit Tigers last night. He ran into trouble against the Royals in the 5th inning, allowing two runs on a single and a pair of doubles. But he surrounded that with six terrific innings in which he gave up just one other hit and struck out seven.

He’s in the middle of his best season as a pro, and he’s a top-30 pitcher by fWAR despite missing at least six starts. So let’s trade him.

We know this interminable rebuild is frustrating for Detroit Tigers fans. Rodriguez had a tumultuous 2022 season, to say the least. And now that he’s living up to his promise the team is just going to ship him off for prospects.

But the Tigers aren’t a real contender this year, and they need to continue to get more talent into the system. Eduardo Rodriguez is likely to be one of the three or four best pitchers on the market, so Detroit can’t just let him walk away for nothing. Also, don’t forget that the Tigers can always sign him again in the offseason.

We all have a pretty good idea of what team president Scott Harris is looking for in trade chips. He wants position players who control the zone, show power potential, and play multiple positions. So we’ve tailored our trade targets to those benchmarks. But we won’t rule out pitchers and catchers, because sometimes in trades you just need to get the best value possible.

Here are the potential trade scenarios we think make some sense for the Detroit Tigers.

Eduardo Rodriguez Trade Ideas: NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks – RHP – Brandon Pfaadt

The Diamondbacks are on track to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and just the second time since 2011. They’re a fun young team and they could certainly use a starter like Eduardo Rodriguez. But it’s hard to know if they’re ready to really go for it, or if they want to wait and let their young core gel a bit more.

There’s honestly not a great fit here for the Tigers. Pfaadt is a top-50 prospect with six big-league starts, but they’ve mostly been awful. He’s vaguely reminiscent of Michael Fulmer and Spencer Turnbull as a big, strong pitcher with a starter’s arsenal and a little more effort in his delivery than is ideal. The D-backs probably don’t want to part with him, but that’s the price to pay if you want to compete. Any other package (Dominic Fletcher, J.J. D’Orazio, Jorge Barrosa) would probably feel far too much like the J.D. Martinez deal for Tigers fans.

Los Angeles Dodgers – IF – Michael Busch, C – Carson Taylor

The Dodgers find themselves in the thick of a heated division race this year with both San Francisco and Arizona. Los Angeles has been forced to use 13 different starting pitchers already, and Eduardo Rodriguez would provide much-needed stability. And it doesn’t hurt that the Diamondbacks and Giants are two of the worst teams in baseball against left-handed pitching.

The main piece here for the Tigers is Michael Busch, even though he’s almost 26 and he’s defensively challenged. Busch still lands on plenty of top-100 prospect lists because of his above-average left-handed power and on-base skills, and his average hitting ability. Taylor is a bat-first catcher who was teammates with Kerry Carpenter at Virginia Tech in 2019. He’s been a solid hitter in pro ball, and has reportedly made some strides on defense this year while catching Tulsa’s loaded rotation.

San Francisco Giants – LHP – Carson Whisenhunt, OF – Grant McCray

San Francisco has done a fine job cobbling together a starting rotation, but Eduardo Rodriguez would be a sizable upgrade over Anthony DeSclafani, Ross Stripling, and Alex Wood. And it wouldn’t hurt to keep him out of the hands of Arizona or L.A.

But, unfortunately we have another match that isn’t ideal for the Tigers. The perfect target would be outfielder Luis Matos, but the Giants won’t be parting with him for a rental arm. Whisenhunt has mid-rotation upside thanks to increased velocity and an outstanding changeup. McCray is a tooled-up outfielder with some strikeout issues, though he doesn’t chase much.

Eduardo Rodriguez Trade Ideas: AL West

Houston Astros – OF – Joey Loperfido, C – Korey Lee

Injuries have bedeviled the Astros pitching staff all year. Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia are out for the season, Cristian Javier has been struggling, and Jose Urquidy and Framber Valdez are both banged up. They are supposedly interested in Marcus Stroman, so Rodriguez makes sense too.

Joey Loperfido doesn’t appear on any top 100 lists, but he has the tools and performance we assume the Tigers are seeking. He’s a versatile athlete who has split time evenly between first base, second base, and center field this year. In 74 games, mostly at Double-A, he’s batting .286 with 17 home runs and 20 steals. He also boasts a walk rate of 14%, a strikeout rate under 23%, and his ISO is a healthy .264. Lee is a glove-first catcher with enough pop to potentially profile as a regular. He’s not unlike Jake Rogers, and figures to be an upgrade of Eric Haase.

Texas Rangers – 2B – Justin Foscue, OF – Aaron Zavala

The Rangers spoke with their pocketbook in each of the last two offseasons, and now they’re a legitimate World Series contender. But they could still use rotation help, and probably bullpen help, too. Eduardo Rodriguez would likely serve as their second or third starter in a playoff series.

In return the Tigers would be getting two players who fit Detroit’s criteria, though perhaps without the ideal power production. Justin Foscue seems like a lock to get traded somewhere this deadline, as he’s ready for the bigs but has nowhere to play. He’s limited defensively but he makes tons of contact, takes walks, and has pull-side pop. Zavala is a similar player, but he’s a corner outfielder. He was impressive in Double-A last year, but had internal brace surgery in the offseason, and has struggled at the same level this year.

Eduardo Rodriguez and the Reds?

We finish with a look at one of the most surprising teams in baseball this year. The Cincinnati Reds lost 100 games last year, but they’re on pace to win 86 games this season thanks to an impressive youth movement. In fact, it seems the Reds have more good young position players than they have available at-bats. The Reds have also seen strong performances from their young pitchers. But Rodriguez would be a valuable veteran presence, and he’d likely start the first game of a playoff series.

It’s hard to know which Reds players are available, but it’s safe to assume Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, and Spencer Steer are off limits. Would they trade Christian Encarnacion-Strand? What about Jonathan India? The Reds probably want to part with Nick Senzel, but would the Tigers want him? It’s all tough to say right now, but there’s no doubt Cincinnati has the pieces to land Rodriguez if they want him. And while they’re at it, they should throw in Western Michigan’s own Blake Dunn, who is having an awesome year.

That’s enough fake trades for now. Check back tomorrow for a look at potential trades to the AL and NL East.

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