The trade winds have been swirling around the Detroit Tigers for a few weeks now, but with just a little more than two weeks before the non-waiver trade deadline, expect those to ramp up even more.
The latest Tigers trade rumor involves outfielder J.D. Martinez, and one insider believes that one of the three National League West powers is vying for his services.
Sources: #DBacks showing interest in J.D. Martinez, among other available bats. Talks are not serious yet. @MLBNetwork @MLB #Tigers
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 15, 2017
Despite losing their first game out of the All-Star break on Friday, the Arizona Diamondbacks are off to their best start in franchise history at 53-37, already just 16 wins shy of their win total from a year ago. No question they will be buyers, but to what degree will be the big question.
Arizona would have a clear vacancy in left field for a guy like Martinez. Their Opening Day left fielder, Yasmany Tomas, as been sidelined since early June with a groin injury and recently had a setback in his rehab, which could put him out until the end of the month.
With Tomas out, the D-Backs have had to patchwork left field with the likes of veterans Daniel Descalso and Chris Hermann. Despite a top-10 offense as a club, Arizona ranks 23rd in all of baseball in batting average from the left field position, including Tomas’ numbers this season.
Adding J.D. Martinez would be an immediate upgrade offensively. However, Martinez’s defense has been heavily scrutinized this season, largely do to his early-season injury that has limited his mobility in the outfield. That could be a challenge trying to cover one of the more expansive outfields in the league.
Another thing to consider is what Arizona would be sending over to Detroit in a potential deal for Martinez. Overall, the Diamondbacks’ farm system is relatively weak and about on par with the Tigers’ system; they have some solid pieces sprinkled throughout but collectively it’s a poor crop of players.
