The Detroit Tigers are one of the better teams in baseball, but they also have one of the best farm systems in the league.
Detroit has a few holes on its roster, but it could use this loaded farm system to upgrade these low-hanging fruits. If the Tigers are willing to part ways with multiple top prospects, they could pull off a blockbuster trade or two.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield recently suggested the Tigers could swing a trade for Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes if they sent Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle, Jackson Jobe, Colt Keith, and Sawyer Gipson-Long to Pittsburgh.
“For the Tigers, the deal wouldn’t even decimate their farm system. They would still have shortstop Bryce Rainer (No. 22), first baseman/catcher Josue Briceno, and a slew of solid pitching prospects,” Schoenfield wrote. “For the Pirates, Clark and McGonigle project as solutions at two problem areas in center field (where Oneil Cruz has struggled defensively) and shortstop (stopgap Isiah Kiner-Falefa is the current starter), plus they get a solid major leaguer in Keith and a back-end rotation-type in Gipson-Long.”
A Skenes trade is unlikely because it would be foolish for the Pirates to trade away a generational talent like their ace.
But if any team has an actual chance to land Skenes, it would be the Tigers. Detroit could trade all of these prospects, including Clark, McGonigle, and Jobe, and still have one of the better farm systems in baseball.
For the Pirates, it would be hard to pass up this kind of package. This is the kind of trade return that would completely change the outlook of a franchise. The Pirates can’t win a World Series with Skenes by himself, but they might be able to build a World Series core by trading their ace.
Is it realistic? Not really. But it might be even for both sides.
More MLB: Dodgers Predicted To Cut Ties With Talented Top-Ranked Prospect