Tigers Trade Rumors: Detroit making David Price, Yoenis Cespedes available

The Detroit Tigers are shifting gears and appear to be ready to sell at the MLB Trade Deadline, with David Price and Yoenis Cespedes the biggest names available.

Once the darlings of the American League, the Detroit Tigers have fallen on hard times and the team now sits 9.5 games behind the first place Kansas City Royals. As such, the team is showing signs that they are prepared to become sellers at the MLB trade deadline according to a report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

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That’s a stark difference from the Tigers of 2014, when Detroit was one of the deadline darlings after acquiring David Price and Joakim Soria in separate deals. One year later, the shoe is on the other foot with the Tigers first losing Miguel Cabrera to injury and then subsequently going 18-19 since placing their stud on the disabled list.

According to Nightengale, the two biggest names the Tigers are prepared to make available are the aforementioned David Price and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Both players are free agents at the end of the season and Detroit will see what is available on the trade market before determining if they can get better value at the trade deadline or by holding their hand and recouping draft picks via the qualifying offer.

In David Price, the Tigers are almost guaranteed to find a deal to their liking. The left-hander has been outstanding in 2015, posting a 9-3 record with a 2.32 ERA, a 2.78 FIP, and a 8.7 K/9 ratio. The questions surrounding his availability have likely been one cause for the slow-down in movement after the All-Star break. A healthy arm that is producing strong results, Price would jump ahead of Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, and Scott Kazmir in terms of available starters and could fetch a better return than the package the Tigers gave up to acquire him a year ago (Drew Smyly, Willy Adames, and Austin Jackson). Detroit will undoubtedly want a Major League ready arm as part of any deal for Price.

As for Cespedes, he’ll be a bit more interesting. This will now be the third time that the outfielder has been traded since the 2014 trade deadline, when he was flipped from the Oakland Athletics to the Boston Red Sox for Jon Lester. Boston then shipped him to Detroit this past winter in order to acquire Rick Porcello from the Tigers. Also in his walk year, Cespedes is in the midst of a career year, hitting .289/.314/.482 with a wRC+ of 117 and a fWAR of 3.0 entering play on Tuesday. However, he enters a crowded outfield market that features Carlos Gomez, Jay Bruce, and potentially former teammate Josh Reddick as headliners, all of which offer player control past this season. In addition, outfielders like Gerardo Parra and Ender Inciarte may come at lower prices.

The Tigers will also listen on other players on the roster. Catcher Alex Avila will get some calls, and Soria will certainly draw some interest. Detroit also has Alfredo Simon likely available, but given his struggles in 2015, his market will be small to non-existent.

Given the dollars locked up in Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, and Victor Martinez, the Tigers need to find a way to add some young, affordable talent to a roster that has aged tremendously over the past two years. By opening up the trade market in Detroit, Dave Dombrowski is showing that the team is looking to prevent a full-scale rebuild in the future. While that waves the white flag on 2015, it’s the correct move for the Tigers moving forward.

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