Detroit Tigers trade rumors: Justin Verlander unlikely to be dealt today

Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander is unlikely to be traded before the postseason eligibility deadline today.

There was some chatter the last couple of days about a mystery team possibly interested in a waiver trade for Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Verlander cleared waivers earlier this month, so he’s eligible to be traded in August and September (the non-waiver trade deadline was July 31), but players need to be rostered by midnight tonight in order to be eligible for the postseason.

Verlander has been stellar in the second half of the season and could help a contender in the postseason, but his contract remains an obstacle. The Tigers want top-tier talent in return for their ace pitcher, but teams are reticent to give up the necessary prospects while also swallowing a larger portion of his future salary (he’s owed $56 million over the next two seasons).

According to Bob Nightengale, the organization doesn’t think they’ll move him ahead of Thursday’s deadline.

The Tigers could probably dump most (or all) of his salary if they dropped their demand for prospects, but that would be a silly move for a franchise trying to rebuild their system depth and talent pool. A pure salary dump would benefit ownership, but wouldn’t help the team unless the savings was quickly reinvested into the club (odds are it won’t be).

The Tigers could try to move Verlander in the offseason, but chances are good that they retain him and he finishes out his contract (and possibly career) as a member of the Detroit Tigers. There are worse things than having a Hall of Fame player on the team you root for.

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Verlander does hold no-trade rights so any potential trade would have to be approved by him in order to become official. He has indicated that he might be inclined to accept a trade to a top contender