Could The Tigers Be Targeting Starter Michael Wacha?
By Tyler Kotila
With 2019-20 free agency underway, it appears the Detroit Tigers have their sights set on Michael Wacha, the former St. Louis Cardinals starter who is exploring the market.
The Detroit Tigers are a long way from winning, with the focus being on replenishing the current roster, they have brought in starting pitcher Michael Wacha to meet with the organization. The organization currently is in the market for cheap starting pitching that can preferably be flipped for something at the trade deadline.
Wacha may be a bit more expensive but is more comparable to Mike Fiers, who the Tigers were able to flip at the trade deadline back in 2018. But, could this mean that Wacha is headed to Detroit? What does this mean for the 2020 Tigers rotation?
In 2019, Wacha pitched in twenty-nine games, starting twenty-four of them for the Cardinals. It was not his best year by any standards with a 4.76 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and 104 punchouts over 126.2 innings pitched. It was a rough year for Wacha, who struggled on the mound but in the past has been a pretty integral part of the Cardinals rotation.
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It seems that the Tigers have pegged Wacha to be a bounce-back candidate in 2020 and want to flip him at the deadline. The rumors have it as Wacha signing with the Tigers on a one-year contract in the range of $6 to $8 million in hopes of moving him at the trade deadline with half a season of good performance.
Currently, as it stands the Tigers 2020 rotation will look something like this;
To say the least, it’s not pretty, with Zimmermann in the rotation that’s not good at all. There have been rumblings that Zimmermann could be bought out, freeing up a spot in the rotation for a free agent signing like Wacha.
The other notable thing about this projected rotation is the return of Michael Fulmer after his Tommy John Surgery in March of 2019. The Tigers will most likely add one or two veteran starters this offseason, and Wacha seems to have emerged as an early favorite for one of the spots, having met with the team.
In the more recent past, players have waited long into the offseason to finally sign with a team, Wacha could merely be meeting with us to start weighing his options, but adding Wacha would be ideal for the Tigers.
Last season, all of the Tigers rental investments ended up injured or not performing well enough to draw trade interest, so in 2020 the team should look to have a few rentals that may draw attention from competitors. Wacha is a good player worth taking the gamble on, with a solid track record, coming off a rough year, there is a lot of room to bounce back.
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Now, Wacha could go out there and struggle immensely, making it hard to deal with him at the deadline, but after last season, it is a bet the Tigers should be willing to take.