Detroit Tigers News: The MLB trade deadline approaches

Welcome, everyone, to the post-All-Star break portion of our season. We’re roughly a week away from the non-waiver trade deadline. It’s tough to say how the makeup of this Detroit Tigers organization will change in the next eight days, but I think we are going to see at least one member of this team shipped out before the deadline hits (I’m looking at you Mike Fiers).

Ready to move?

As the trade deadline quickly approaches, the folks at MLB Trade Rumors have some opinions on who the Tigers might be able to unload. The primary target seems to be Mike Fiers, who didn’t do anything to hurt his chances against the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. It would seem that the Red Sox might be the team that brings him on board. After a season in which he won a World Series despite not contributing after the Houston Astros acquired a guy by the name of Justin Verlander, Fiers could get the opportunity to be a valuable part of a championship team this year.

Coming up behind Fiers are Leonys Martin and Francisco Liriano. Martin has been productive offensively and can still play a good center field, so I can see him getting moved, but I feel less optimistic about Liriano given his recent struggles.

Prime Jose

One name not on the MLB Trade Rumors list is shortstop Jose Iglesias. Iglesias, who is in the last year of his contract, feels like he is playing the best baseball of his life as he enters the prime of his career. It’s true that Iglesias has been playing quite well as of late, but past interest (or lack thereof) indicates that he may be staying put. I, for one, wouldn’t have a problem keeping him around, and it would seem I’m not the only one.

Paging Casey Mize

If you were wondering if we would see any of first-overall pick Casey Mize this season, the answer to your question is yes. He is set to throw a long-awaited bullpen session on Monday. After that, the organization will determine where Mize goes. Wherever it is, he won’t be doing too much pitching; he is only slated to toss 20 innings for the remainder of the season.

A kinder, gentler Kirk Gibson

Time changes all things. Former Tiger Kirk Gibson is no exception to this rule. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read S.L. Price’s profile of Gibby in Sports Illustrated, you should carve out some time today. It’s an incredible story of how a man once described by Lance Parrish as a caged animal became who he is today.

Detroit’s next big star?

The staff at the Detroit Free Press took a look at all four major sports teams in Detroit in search of who could be the next big star. There are three Tigers on the list of 12: Joe Jimenez, Matt Manning and Casey Mize. Take a look at the article to see where they stack up.

Gettin’ shifty

Tom Verducci thinks we need to ban the shift. Apparently, the implementation of a strategy that allows a team to more adequately defend against certain types of hitters somehow serves to reduce the strategy of the game. I don’t know exactly how the use of strategy reduces strategy, but I do know that if Verducci and others are overly concerned with the lack of exciting offense in the game, banning the shift to allow a few more singles to get through doesn’t seem like the most imperative move to remedy the “problem.”

Around the horn

The Mets are a joke. Can the union achieve its goals in the social media era? Field Of Dreams is absolutely terrible.