Despite the Detroit Tigers taking 2 of 3 from the Cleveland Indians to move to 11-15 on the season, it seems like Al Avila is more likely to be a seller rather than a buyer at the MLB Trade Deadline, which is set for August 31.
If the Tigers are indeed sellers, my belief is that Avila will try to move one of the players he signed to one-year contracts prior to the 2020 season.
To read more about that, please click here.
That being said, in a piece published on MLB.com, Mark Feinsand suggests “One Tantalizing Trade Chip for Each Team” and for the Tigers, he suggests starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull is that chip.
From MLB.com:
But the way Turnbull is pitching, general manager Al Avila has to be intrigued by what teams might be willing to give up for the 27-year-old right-hander, whose stuff ranks high on scouting reports and analytics databases alike. With four more years of control and his game on the upswing, he’s the type of pitcher most teams wouldn’t think about dealing, but the Tigers’ pitching depth in the pipeline makes them one of the few organizations which can afford to even consider such a move.
Now, I understand that the purpose of Feinsand’s article was to pick a “tantalizing” trade chip from each team, which he did, but let’s be extremely clear about something. The Detroit Tigers are absolutely NOT going to unload Spencer Turnbull prior to the 2020 MLB Trade Deadline.
Though Turnbull has not been amazing in 2020, he has been the Tigers best starter and as Feinsand mentioned, he still has four more years of team control, which makes it extremely unlikely that Avila would even consider dealing him.
