3 players Detroit Tigers can sell high on before the deadline

Ahead of Monday’s trade deadline, here are 3 players the Detroit Tigers could sell high on.

Entering Thursday, with their game against the Minnesota Twins postponed, the Detroit Tigers are 13-16 and 5.5 games back in the AL Central. They’ve won two in a row, but their playoff odds aren’t good (2.1 percent, according to Baseball Reference) and eight of their next 10 scheduled games (accounting for Thursday night) will be against the Twins.

This year’s MLB trade deadline is Aug. 31. The Tigers should be a seller, and general manager Al Avila should be taking inventory of who he can move over the next few days.

The Tigers don’t seem to have a lot of pieces they would part with, or that would appeal to contenders. But here are three players they could look to sell high on before next Monday afternoon.

3 players the Detroit Tigers could sell high on

3. RP Gregory Soto

Soto spent seven seasons in the minors before making it to the big leagues in 2019. In 33 appearances for the Tigers last year (seven starts; 57.2 innings), he had a 5.77 ERA with a 7.0 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9.

So far this year, Soto has a 3.52 ERA (3.42 FIP) over 16 relief appearances (15.1 innings) with an 11.7 K/9 and a 2.3 BB/9. Left-handed batters are hitting an anemic .083/.267/.083 against him, and righties haven’t been much better over larger sample (.167/.222/.333 slash-line).

Pitching is always at a premium during trade deadline time. The Tigers have a functional left-handed reliever to cash in on as contenders (paging the Chicago Cubs) look to bolster bullpens.