The MLB Trade Deadline is right around the corner and the Detroit Tigers are in the thick of trade rumors thanks to their need for relief pitching. The Tigers bullpen has been in a sad state pretty much all year long and that has prompted trade rumors to start popping up that involve Detroit acquiring someone who can truly give them relief.
Da Windy City
One option that the Tigers have been linked to is Texas Rangers reliever Joakim Soria. While Texas continues to flush their season down the toilet, their assets are looking like they may be sold off and Soria’s name is near the top of the lest when it comes to relievers teams are targeting.
According to Chris Iott of MLive.com writes, the Tigers would love to acquire Soria from the Rangers but they may not have enough assets to make a deal happen.
"Of course, the assets it would require to get Soria might be too much for the Tigers. That means a smaller trade for a lesser reliever would seem to be a more likely option. But Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski will talk with basically any and all teams that have someone available."
Something that might convince the Tigers to not overpay for relief pitching on the trade market is the upswing that both Joe Nathan and Phil Coke are having at the moment. Still, Nathan has made a career out of being a closer that everyone wants but knows he’ll give up the lead in the ninth and Coke has been similarly up and down.
The bottom line is while the two pitchers may be doing better, the Tigers need consistency in their bullpen and that’s something that needs to be bough at the deadline.