Detroit Tigers: Jonathan Schoop playing his way out as trade deadline looms

The Detroit Tigers is performing quite well in 2021, and it looks like Jonathan Schoop is starting to play his way out of the Motor City. As the trade deadline gets closer and closer, he could very well become one of the players that the team opts to move on from.

Schoop was re-signed in 2021; the Detroit Tigers tossed $4.5 million his way for him to be an infielder for the team once again. He has become even more versatile than in some other years after signing with the Tigers, knowing that he might get moved around the field.

In 2021, Schoop has only played the right side of the infield, but he has logged time at first base. In fact, the majority of his games played are over at first base, where he has appeared in 42 games for the Tigers.

Being one of the better hitters on the Tigers roster, there is no reason not to be shopping him on the trade market. Who knows if the Tigers will be active players on the market, General Manager (GM) Al Avila’s recent comments are a little worrisome.

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But, if the Tigers opt to make some trades, Schoop should be one of the players on the way out.

I will stand by my opinion that the Tigers would benefit from as many prospects as possible in the farm system.

If they can add in a few more depth prospects on a trade offer, they should pull the trigger.

Detroit Tigers infielder Jonathan Schoop could be playing his way out of the Motor City.

As the 2021 season progresses, Schoop is going to hope to continue finding success at the plate. Schoop has slashed .277/.331/.481 with 14 home runs and 37 RBI on the season. The Tigers “slugger,” if you want to call it that, has shown some pop that the team has not seen.

Schoop has plenty of extra-base hits and is looking like he could be trade bait. If he continues to have success, he could see himself getting traded at the deadline for the second time in his career. He was previously dealt from the Baltimore Orioles to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018.

The Tigers need to maximize prospect depth, and keeping around Schoop should not be viewed as a long-term positive. Failing to move players is not going to do a whole lot of positive things for this rebuild.

If the Tigers want to keep things trending in the right direction, players like Schoop should find themselves in a new organization by the end of the trade deadline.