Detroit Tigers Not Interested in Trading For SP Jeremy Hellickson

The Detroit Tigers are not one of the teams with interest in starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.

Plenty of scouts from around baseball were on hand for last night’s Phillies vs. Marlins game as Jeremy Hellickson took the mound for Philadelphia. The veteran starting pitcher is likely to be moved before the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline and was making what could be his last start with the Phillies.

The Detroit Tigers are clearly in need of starting pitching help if they’re truly going to make a run at the postseason. They’ve been linked to Rich Hill already, though he’s been dealing with a blister issue that limited his last start to five pitches and might prevent him from making his next scheduled start as  well.

But it appears that the Tigers have no interest in Hellickson as rotation help. Jayson Stark of ESPN tweeted that the Tigers are not one of the teams who have been “in on” the Phillies’ right hander.

Hellickson has been in the major leagues since 2010 but his track record is that of a number four or five starter, not as a top-level rotation stabilizer. For his career Hellickson has posted a 3.93 ERA in over 900 innings (FIP and xFIP closer to 4.30).

With a strikeout rate that’s a tick below average for a starter and a propensity for giving up home runs, he has been most successful when he’s been able to limit opponents’ hits on balls in play (a fleeting skill for a pitcher).

The Tigers could probably still benefit from that type of player — better than Mike Pelfrey and Anibal Sanchez most nights this year — but it wouldn’t be a trade that moves the needle all that far.

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The Phillies are apparently looking for a return similar to what they got for closer Jonathan Papelbon last season which was a AA pitcher on the fringe of his organization’s Top 10 prospect list. Not a huge price to pay, but perhaps more painful for a thinner farm system like Detroit’s.