Detroit Tigers think they have a chance of trading Justin Verlander at the deadline
By Matt Snyder
The Detroit Tigers think they have a chance of trading ace pitcher Justin Verlander at the trade deadline, according to a report by FanRag Sports.
It seems apparent that the Detroit Tigers will be sellers at the trade deadline this season, but it’s not clear exactly how deep the house cleaning will go. There’s been much speculation about whether the Tigers would consider trading ace starting pitcher Justin Verlander but it does appear that they’d be willing to deal one of the faces of their franchise.
John Perrotto had this sourced nugget to pass along in today’s Rumor and Rumblings column at FanRag Sports.
"Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila says he is ready to listen to trade offers on his veteran players, and a team source thinks they at least have a “little bit of a chance” of moving right-hander Justin Verlander, because “everyone is always looking for starting pitching.”"
There would still be the significant hurdle of finding the right trade partner with an agreeable return offer, but it sounds like the front office is very much willing to move the future Hall of Fame pitcher if the right offer comes around. Verlander holds full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player so he’d have to sign off on any trade before it could become official.
The Los Angeles Dodgers seem like the best bet as a potential destination for a variety of reasons. For one, they have significant financial resources and could add a large chunk of Verlander’s contract to their payroll. For two, they a plethora of prospects that the Tigers would be interested in return. For three, one could easily envision Verlander (and his fiancée Kate Upton) agreeing to move to Los Angeles to play for a contending team and live the Hollywood lifestyle.
Still, the odds are probably less than 50-50 that Verlander gets moved this summer. There aren’t many teams who would be willing to take him on while giving the Tigers the type of prospect package they’d covet.
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Verlander has the rest of this year (a prorated portion of $28 million), $28 million each for 2018 and 2019, and a vesting option for 2020 remaining on his contract.