Detroit Tigers should be aggressively shopping closer Shane Greene

The New York Mets lead the entire league with 21 blown saves already on the season, the Detroit Tigers should shop Shane Greene but are the Mets already too far out of it to be buyers?

Just think about that for a second, 21 blown saves prior to the All-Star break. That is just flat out crazy. To compare, Detroit Tigers closer Shane Greene has compiled 22 saves on the season with a terrible Tigers club. Greene owns a tremendous 0.87 ERA, fanning 32 batters in 31 innings of work.

The New York Mets currently sit 12 games back of the Atlanta Braves (going into last night) with both the Phillies and Nationals between them. The Mets may have already blown enough of their games to put them out of playoff contention even if they have themselves a solid second half of the season. They own a team bullpen ERA of 8.05 since the end of May.

Those numbers continue to stand out, and when you compare the blown saves to Detroit’s 12 total blown saves with their atrocious bullpen, it really puts things into perspective. Out of the twelve Tigers blown saves, Shane Greene has only allowed one. He’s converted on 22 of 23 save opportunities on the season which translates to the first All-Star nomination of his career. He’s one of two only viable All-Star caliber player on the Tigers this season which should only increase his trade stock.

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Matt Boyd would have been the only other option, he’s having an excellent season, but with the Tigers being so bad, they were only expected to receive one player as every team needs to be represented. Shane Greene is having himself a career year.

Although the Mets should be interested in adding a closer with Edwin Diaz struggling mightily, they appear to be willing to allow him to work through his struggles in hopes he can regain the same form he displayed last season. Last year with the Seattle Mariners Diaz recorded 57 saves only blowing 4 on the season. He posted a marvelous 1.96 ERA earning himself his first All-Star appearance. This year he’s completely lost his command, often missing erratically on his way to an uninspiring 4.78 season ERA.

Another team that may look to add Shane Greene is the Boston Red Sox. Former Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski may call his old buddy Al Avila to ponder the asking price to land Greene.

The Boston Red Sox started the season terribly slow, digging themselves a huge hole just three weeks into the regular season. Since then the Sox have somewhat rebounded but remain 11 games back of the Yankees and 5.5 behind the surprising Rays.

Dombrowski likes to make bold moves; the Red Sox have the second most blown saves on the season with 17. I could see Dave looking to add a player like Greene to help correct the bullpen issues in Boston. There should be plenty of other teams looking to bolster their already good bullpens like the Braves, Cubs, Brewers, Twins & Yankees.

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The Detroit Tigers should move Greene while his stock is as high as it’s been throughout his career. Don’t forget just last season the 30-year old posted a 5.12 ERA. The team is clearly in the midst of a rebuild with the end nowhere in sight. Greene is under team control until 2021. He’s currently working under a one-year 4-million dollar agreement with a final arbitration negotiation looming this Winter before he can hit the open market. If he continues this tremendous season, the arbitrator will likely see that he receives a hefty raise for next season.

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