The Detroit Tigers have seemingly already run away with the American League Central. At 47-27, they are nine games up on the Cleveland Guardians and own the best record in Major League Baseball.
There are still needs the Tigers are going to have to address at the trade deadline if they want to put themselves over the top.
They need some power in their infield, and there are ways they can go about adding it.
When listing dream landing spots for certain stars after the Rafael Devers trade, Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer listed Detroit as a spot for San Diego Padres slugger Xander Bogaerts.
"If they really want to go far, though, they're going to need a shortstop. The position has produced a paltry 0.4 rWAR, not to mention -3 Outs Above Average. Bogaerts could at least help with the latter, as he's been a consistently above average defender at shortstop ever since 2022," Rymer wrote.
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Bogaerts does bring much better defense to the Tigers if they do end up acquiring him. Comerica Park isn't exactly friendly to right-handed hitters, but he could still boost their lineup.
Bogaerts is struggling this season, hitting .227/.303/.314 with just three home runs, 27 RBI and a .617 OPS. He still possesses power from the right side of the plate however.
The 32-year-old is a four-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion and five-time Silver Slugger, so there is still value there, and the Tigers would be making a significant upgrade if they were to pick him up.
It will be interesting to see what Detroit decides to do this summer.
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