Detroit Tigers: A Look Ahead Towards Next Years Possible Rentals
By Tyler Kotila
This one may be a stretch, but signing Jonathan Schoop to a $7 million-plus, a one-year contract would be a massive win for the Tigers in the 2020 season.
Currently, on a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the American League East Minnesota Twins, Jonathan Schoop should be a Tigers free-agent target for sure. Schoop is currently a part of a Twins team that is just rolling through the win column, finding ways to get the job done. The Twins are even on pace to break home run hitting records while Schoop himself has sixteen big flies on the season.
The Tigers could definitely benefit from adding a veteran infielder into the mix of young talent they are developing at the big league level right now. Harrison was supposed to be that guy this season, but an injury has kept him from being able to hold that role. Mercer has stepped up, but not as much as the team would hope to see.
Schoop is good enough where he should attract trade value as well as be able to mentor the younger players being that he’s still relatively young and not “on his way out” of the league like some of the other upcoming free agents will be.
Someone like Schoop who is hitting .254/.301/.456 for a contender will provide the team with a good presence which does matter even if it does not show up as a benefit in the stat books. If the Tigers can get someone like Schoop, even if it’s a bit pricey like Dickerson, it adds more piece to the trade chipboard that Al Avila needs to use wisely in the coming years.