FanPost

Solving the Outfield: The Search for Tradeable Depth

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

At his end-of-season press conference, Tigers' General Manager Dave Dombrowski stated he would like to address center field and add a left-handed bat. Unfortunately, there is a lack of quality outfielders available on the free agent market this offseason that have the ability to play center field. Colby Rasmus and Emilio Bonifacio headline the short list of players fitting the description who are currently looking for employment. While Bonifiacio would be a great fit for the Tigers in a utility role, the team should stay away from Rasmus and his .287 OBP that he posted in 2014. The Tigers will likely look to make a trade in order to fill this vacancy. There are plenty of possible, and hopefully willing, teams that have a surplus of major-league and/or major-league-ready outfielders.

Listed below, in no particular order, are teams that appear to have outfield depth to trade from.

Boston Red Sox

Jackie Bradley Jr.

Yoenis Cespedes

Shane Victorino

Daniel Nava

Rusney Castillo

Mookie Betts

Brock Holt

Allen Craig

The Red Sox are one of the most obvious matches for the Tigers. They recently signed Cuban defector Rusney Castillo and now owe him $67 million through 2020. Castillo and youngster Mooke Betts appear to be the future of the Fenway Park outfield. This means young, cheap players in Daniel Nava and Jackie Bradley Jr., and veteran switch-hitter Shane Victorino, could be expendable. Bradley Jr. is a defensive wizard and a Gold Glove candidate this year, but has failed to succeed at the plate thus far in his young career. JBJ is pre-arbitration eligible and under team control through 2019. Maybe he could use a change of scenery. Late bloomer Daniel Nava would likely cost less via trade but has only started one game in center field in his major league career. Over the last two seasons Nava has a slash line of .289/.368/.408 and is under team control through 2017. Shane Victorino is under contract for one more year with the Red Sox to the tune of $13 million. He is past his prime and coming off of an injury shortened season where he only played in 30 games and has not played center field regularly since 2012. However, in 2013 Victorino played in 122 games and had a great year that included winning a Gold Glove and helping the Red Sox win the World Series (sorry to bring it up). Also, Yoenis Cespedes was listed by Ken Rosenthal as one the top ten candidates to be traded this offseason. There was a recent rumor that the Red Sox coaching staff "hates" Cespedes which would hurt his trade value. If talking Cespedes, proceed cautiously. His OBP over the last two season is a surprisingly low .298.

St. Louis Cardinals

Matt Holliday

Jon Jay

Peter Bourjos

Randal Grichuk

Shane Robinson

Thomas Pham

Stephen Piscotty

With the unfortunate and very tragic death of Oscar Taveras, the Cardinal's front office will likely have to reevaluate their outfield situation. Many believe he would have been the everyday right fielder in 2015.

St. Louis has two players that would be a fit for the Tiger's center field vacancy: Jon Jay & Peter Bourjos. Jay for his ability to get on base, hit left handed, and play average defense in center field. Bourjos for his ability to play an elite center field. Bourjos would likely hit eighth or ninth for any big league club, but is not in the lineup for his bat. While a member of the Angels, Mike Trout was frequently moved to left field whenever Bourjos was in the lineup. That is how talented he is defensively. He would immediately make the Tigers a better defensive team. Here is a recent piece via detroitjockcity.com suggesting Bourjos as the solution. Both Jay & Bourjos are arbitration eligible and team controlled through 2016.

Thomas Pham could also be a trade target. He played 59 games in center field for the Cardinals' Triple-A club and hit .324/.395/.491 with 10 home runs and 20 stolen bases. If they do not move one of Boujros, Jay, or Grichuk via trade, Pham appears to be blocked. Just for reference, the year before the Tigers acquired Austin Jackson, he hit .300/.354/.405 with 4 home runs and 24 stolen bases for the Yankees Triple-A team.

Colorado Rockies

Charlie Blackmon

Carlos Gonzalez

Corey Dickerson

Brandon Barnes

Drew Stubbs

Kyle Parker

There has been some recent buzz regarding the Rockies and their willingness to listen to trade offers for their two often-injured superstars: Carlos "Cargo" Gonzalez and Troy "Tulo" Tulowitzki. I doubt the Tigers have the pieces to acquire Cargo but if the Rockies do not find a trade partner it could make their other pieces expendable. Bless You Boys' own Rob Rogacki wrote about a possible Cargo trade last week. Both Blackmon & Dickerson are cheap (pre-arbitration) and both hit left-handed, but Blackmon is better defensively. Barnes and Stubbs can both play center field but both hit right-handed. Kyle Parker is also going to be fighting for playing time this coming spring after slashing .289/.336/.450 with 15 home runs and 72 RBI in Triple-A this past year. The Rockies clearly have a surplus of outfielders but they may choose to play it safe and hold on to their pieces due to Cargo's injury history.

**Note: The New York Mets have signed Michael Cuddyer.

San Francisco Giants

Angel Pagan

Hunter Pence

Gregor Blanco

Juan Perez

Travis Ishikawa

Angel Pagan would be the trade target in San Francisco. Rob touched on Pagan in the BYB mailbag. The Giants just won a World Series with Gregor Blanco as the centerf ielder. They may keep him there and shop Pagan if they are also confident in Perez playing left field, or find another Mike Morse type player. Pagan is a switch-hitting center fielder who, if acquired, would likely hit leadoff when opposing a right-handed starter. However, Pagan is coming off of season-ending back surgery and also fought injuries in 2013. He is due $10.25 million in 2015 and $11.25 million in 2016, and will turn 34-years-old during the 2015 season.

Washington Nationals

Bryce Harper

Denard Span

Jayson Werth

Tyler Moore

Kevin Gransden

Nate McLouth

Steven Souza

Jeff Kobernus

The thought of another offseason trade with the Nationals may make Tiger fans nervous but they are another club that could deal from their outfield depth. The projected starting outfield for the Nats in 2015 is obvious: Denard Span, Jayson Werth, and Bryce Harper. They also have Nate McLouth on a major league deal and Kevin Fransden who is out of options. Prospect Seven Souza crushed Triple-A pitching in 2014 to the tune of .350/.432/.590 in 96 games but is best suited for a corner outfield spot, and after beginning his professional baseball career as an infielder. Other prospects Michael Taylor and Brian Goodwin will also report to spring training looking to earn a spot on the 25-man roster.

The trade target in Washington would be Span. The Nationals recently exercised a team option for the 2015 season in the amount of $9 million which is a great price for a player of Span's abilities. If they are confident in Bryce Harper's ability to play center field (Harper certainly is), then they could shop Span this offseason.

San Diego Padres

Seth Smith

Carlos Quentin

Will Venable

Alexi Amarista

Abraham Almonte

Cameron Maybin

Rymer Liriano

Yeison Asencio

Alex Dickerson

The Padres have three outfielders penciled in to their 25-man roster who all possess the ability to play center field: Cameron Maybin, Abraham Almonte, and Will Venable. Could the Tigers look to reunite with former draftee Maybin? The right-handed center fielder is due $7 million in 2015, $8 million in 2016, and has a team option for $9 million in 2017 ($1 million buyout). Maybin was suspended for 25 games during the 2014 season for amphetamines and has only appeared in 109 games over the last two years while slashing an abysmal .222/.280/.315. The Padres also have a handful of outfield prospects that could see playing time in 2015 including Rymer Liriano, Yeison Asencio, Alex Dickerson, Reymond Fuentes, and Hunter Renfroe.

Houston Astros

Robbie Grossman

Dexter Fowler

George Springer

Alex Presley

Jake Marisnick

L.J. Hoes

Domingo Santana

Preston Tucker

At 28-years-old, Dexter Fowler is considered a "veteran" inside the Astro's clubhouse due to the youth that surrounds him. Houston could look to move on from Fowler and give one of their young players the everyday role in center field while saving close to $10 million in salary. While in the minors, both Robbie Grossman and George Springer primarily played center field. The Astros also acquired former Top-100 prospect, 23-year-old center fielder Jake Marisnick from the Marlins at the 2014 trade deadline.

Fowler will enter his final year of arbitration in 2015 and is projected to make $9 million. On the downside, the switch-hitting Fowler's platoon splits are not what the Tigers will be looking for. Like Rajai Davis, Fowler hits left-handed pitching very well but can struggle at times from right-handers. In 2014, Fowler hit .327 against lefties compared to .260 against righties, and totaled a slash line of .276/.375/.399 with 8 home runs and 11 stolen bases.

Oakland Athletics

Coco Crisp

Sam Fuld

Josh Reddick

Kyle Blanks

Craig Gentry

Brandon Moss

Shane Peterson

Coming off a year where he battled injury, Coco Crisp only hit a .246 batting average and is due to get a $3.5 million raise. His salary will climb from $7.5 million to $11 million for 2015 and 2016 and also has a vesting option of $13 million for 2017 based on games played and/or plate appearances. Athletics General Manager Billy Beane and his "Moneyball" strategy could look to move Crisp and his contract elsewhere this offseason. Oakland could play Craig Gentry and Sam Fuld in center field which would allow more at-bats for Kyle Blanks. They also have Brandon Moss, who in 2014 started 69 games in the outfield along with center fielder Shane Peterson who is coming off of a great year with Triple-A Sacramento. The A's also recently picked up outfielder Andrew Brown (out of options) via waivers from the New York Mets. If unable to re-sign Jed Lowrie, the A's could be searching for a cheap shortstop.

Atlanta Braves

Jason Heyward

Justin Upton

B.J. Upton

Evan Gattis

Jose Costanza

Philip Gosselin

The Braves are listed here primarily due to the recent rumors that they are "pushing" Evan Gattis in trade talks. Gattis would be a trade target for the Tigers if Victor Martinez leaves town for more money. Gattis could serve as the primary DH while starting at catcher vs. tough lefties. He could also see a handful of starts in left field but it would only be out of necessity due to an injury or the need to rest another player. The late blooming Gattis is still in pre-arbitration through 2015 and is team controlled through 2018.

The Braves could also look to trade one of the Upton brothers. B.J. is overpaid and has been brutal since signing his big free agent contract with Atlanta. Justin will be a free agent after 2015 and will make $14.5 million. He was also listed by Rosenthal as one of the top 10 candidates to be traded. The Braves also have 26-year-old utility man Philip Gosselin who hit .344 in 96 games in Triple-A Gwinnett.

Seattle Mariners

Austin Jackson

Dustin Ackley

Michael Saunders

James Jones

Sefen Romero

Seattle is included here due to the news that Michael Saunders and the Mariners are looking to part ways. Rob also wrote about the possibility of acquiring Saunders. It appears Lloyd McClendon's team is ready to move on with the speedy James Jones in right field. Saunders hits left handed and could platoon in center field with Rajai Davis. In 2009, Saunders was ranked by Baseball America as the 30th best prospect in all of baseball and second in the Mariners organization. While appearing in 78 games this past season, he hit .273 with a .341 OBP. However, in those 78 games, Saunders only started nine of them in center field while starting 53 in right field. He will be inexpensive going forward as he enters his first year of arbitration in 2015.

New York Yankees / Los Angeles Dodgers / Others

The Yankees and Dodgers are two other potential, but unlikely trade partners. The Yankees could be looking for a shortstop if they are unable to sign Hanley Ramirez and Brett Gardner (coming off of core muscle surgery) could be a nice fit in Comerica's spacious centerfield. The Dodgers may be willing to ship a boat load of money to another team if they are willing to take one of their overpaid outfielders off of their hands. They will also be looking for a replacement at shortstop if Hanley signs elsewhere. Outfielder Andre Ether was another player listed by Ken Rosenthal as a top 10 candidate to be traded this offseason and was covered here on Bless You Boys. Other more unlikely but possible trade targets that would probably need to be played in a platoon with Rajai Davis are the Orioles Alejandro De Aza, Ender Inciarte of Arizona, Leonys Martin of the Rangers, and Jerrod Dyson of the Royals. De Aza was recently listed by MLBtraderumors.com as a non-tender candidate.

Author's opinion: First and foremost, I would reach out to and attempt to sign Emilio Bonifacio. Unfortunately, he would not be an ideal fit for a platoon in Detroit because, just like Rajai Davis, he hits left handed pitching much better than right handed pitching (.365 versus .221 in 2014). However, the switch-hitting utility player would immediately be an upgrade to the Tiger's weak bench and would not break the bank. After that, the Tigers must wait for the first domino to fall; that being Victor Martinez. If able to re-sign Victor, and hopefully they are, Dave Dombrowski must make calls to all of the above teams (and possibly others) and work out the best trade possible to address center field. The Cardinals and Red Sox are the first two teams I would call. I'm a fan of Jon Jay but Peter Bourjos and Thomas Pham are also intriguing. Boston's Jackie Bradley Jr. is another name that would be on the top of my list. It's very likely that the Red Sox will move an outfielder this offseason and JBJ's defensive ability is something to desire. If unable to re-sign Martinez, then also make a call to Atlanta see what the asking price is for Evan Gattis before talking to other free agent DH/OF types like Nelson Cruz, Torii Hunter, Mike Morse, etc. The Tigers WILL have an outfielder on their 2015 roster that is currently in another organization -- Colby Rasmus is not the solution.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.