The Detroit Tigers (57-34) entered Sunday’s series finale against the Cleveland Guardians with a 12.5-game lead over the Guardians in the AL Central, while being tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for best record in baseball.
Even though the Tigers have been one of the best teams in the majors and are viewed as a threat to make a deep playoff run, Detroit still has a couple of needs it must address ahead of the trade deadline.
Those two needs are finding a strike-throwing relief pitcher in the bullpen and a starting-caliber third baseman.
Over the last few weeks, Arizona Diamondbacks power-hitting third baseman Eugenio Suarez has been mentioned as a possible option for the Tigers. However, the Diamondbacks don’t look to be sellers yet, as they’re only 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot in the National League.
That being said, the Tigers need to have a couple of backup options ready as we inch closer to the trade deadline.
Tigers Keeping Tabs on Pirates Third Baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes
According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, the Tigers, along with the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs, have expressed interest in Pittsburgh Pirates veteran third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes.
"The Yankees would love to acquire D-backs third baseman Eugenio Suarez at the deadline and slide Jazz Chisholm back to second base. The Yankees, along with the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs, have also expressed interest in Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes."
Hayes would be a substantial offensive downgrade in comparison to Suarez. This year, Suarez is slugging .255 with 28 home runs and 73 RBI. The Diamondbacks' third baseman also has an OPS of .891, which is the third-highest mark of his career.
Meanwhile, Hayes is nowhere near as prolific a home run hitter as Suarez, which likely won’t move the needle for the Tigers’ fanbase. This season, the 28-year-old third baseman is hitting .244 with two home runs and 29 RBI.
For his career, Hayes is hitting .256 with an OPS of .683, which isn’t special. However, Hayes has the edge over Suarez in the defensive department. The Pirates infielder has a Gold Glove award on his resume, which he got in 2023 (.984 fielding percentage, which is higher than the league average of .963).
This season, Hayes has a .983 field percentage and has turned a major-league-leading 18 double plays heading into Sunday. Suarez, on the other hand, has a .945 fielding percentage (lower than the league average – .961) and has committed 11 errors (major-league high).
Hayes is in the middle of an eight-year, $70 million extension that he signed in 2022. However, it's not an expensive contract on a yearly basis, which could make it easier to trade over the next few weeks.
Nonetheless, given that he isn’t a star-level or All-Star-level offensive player, it likely would not cost the Tigers any of their top prospects in a potential trade. That said, it will be interesting to see what Detroit ultimately does at the hot corner in the weeks leading up to the deadline.