MLB Trade Deadline 2016: 5 moves the Tigers should make

4. Bolster the bullpen with young pieces

If there’s one thing the Tigers desperately need to do, it’s bolstering the bullpen with pieces that could be a staple of the unit for years to come. Too often, Detroit’s bullpen is shuffled around and new players are added each season — such is the case with many major league bullpens.

However, the most successful teams seem to have the same core of players who come out for the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, leading to a high success rate when leading after the seventh inning.

Detroit has had one of the worst bullpens in baseball over the last few years and that has been one of the things holding this immensely talented team back from World Series contention. Each offseason, veteran pieces are added, but rarely they pay off.

For example, the Tigers paid an aging Joe Nathan $20 million over two years to be the closer, and he never lived up to the expectations and was often times booed off his own field for blowing saves. The same could be said for Joakim Soria, Phil Coke and even Troy Percival back in the day. Heck, when Fernando Rodney donned a Tigers uniform, he was very inconsistent.

Adding young pieces to bolster that unit for the future would be as wise as any decision the Tigers could make. Shane Greene, Kyle Ryan and Alex Wilson are all a good start, but maybe dealing some top farm system talent for bullpen depth would be wise.

Next: 3. Jonathan Lucroy