The Detroit Tigers are cruising toward the MLB Trade Deadline and with the best record in the American League, they are set to buy and fuel their hopes of a pennant. While things are going great for the Tigers, other teams are in a different position and set to do more than deal a few players ahead of July 31.
That’s what’s happening for a National League team that watched one of their rivals clean out their front office over the weekend. With the season spiraling out of control, it could open things up for a few trades to contenders and give Detroit a perfect trade opportunity.
Tigers Should Pursue RP Jake Bird With Rockies GM on Thin Ice
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal suggested that the Colorado Rockies could either dismiss or reassign general manager Bill Schmidt amid one of the worst seasons in MLB history. Rosenthal states that chances are “remote” that Schmidt will be fired or reassigned before the trade deadline like the Washington Nationals did with Mike Rizzo on Sunday, but he did hint that changes are coming as Colorado owns a 21-70 record entering Tuesday.
The fact the Rockies could be planning a shakeup isn’t surprising. At 21-70, they’re on pace to set the worst record in modern major league history, set by the 2024 Chicago White Sox, who finished with a record of 41-121. But more of an immediate concern for the Tigers is that the Rockies could be willing sellers ahead of the trade deadline.
“They plan to be more open-minded at this deadline, entertaining offers for third baseman Ryan McMahon, right-hander Germán Marquez and reliever Jake Bird, among others, according to a source briefed on the club’s plans,” Rosenthal wrote. “More open-minded, though, is not good enough. The Rockies need to be completely open-minded, willing to trade anyone and everyone.”
The list of Rockies trade candidates isn’t appealing. Márquez owns a 5.84 ERA entering Tuesday. Chase Dollander owns a 6.68 ERA and was optioned to Triple-A on Monday. McMahon is a right-handed bat, but leads the National League with 114 strikeouts and is a career .216/.303/.362 hitter away from hitter-friendly Coors Field. But if the Tigers are interested, there is an option.
Bird could be an upgrade to a Tigers’ bullpen that particularly needs some high-octane arms. While Baseball Savant places the 29-year-old in the 48th percentile with an average fastball velocity of 94.2 mph this season, he’s been good almost everywhere else including a 28.6% strikeout rate (87th percentile), a 28.7% whiff rate (74th percentile) and a 29.7% chase rate (66th percentile).
While he tends to struggle with free passes, allowing a 9.4% walk rate (31st percentile) this season, Bird makes up for it with a 4.9% barrel rate (91st percentile) and an average exit velocity of 88.1 mph (77th percentile).
For a bullpen that enters Tuesday ranked 20th with 297 strikeouts this season, adding an arm like Bird could create an easier path to get to closer Will Vest. In playoff baseball, that could make the difference and give the Tigers a perfect target if the Rockies decide to tear it down.