With the Detroit Tigers being surprisingly competitive in 2023, they will still likely be sellers at the trade deadline. With of a roster of veterans and young players, who could they look to move this summer to improve their farm system or major league team?

Here are some potential trade chips for the Detroit Tigers:

Eduardo Rodriguez

Rodriguez has been more than Detroit Tigers fans could of asked for in 2023. His ERA sits around two and he has had one of the most dominant runs of a Tigers starting pitching in some time. E-Rod will have an opt-out after this season, where he would be leaving three years and $85 million dollars on the table, but he would likely get more money this offseason. The good news in the Eduardo Rodriguez sweepstakes is that there should be plenty of suitors for the 30-year-old lefty. Teams like the Diamondbacks, Orioles, Astros, Phillies and Brewers would likely be interested.

Alex Lange

The possibility of trading closer Alex Lange has been a hot topic in Detroit as of late. The 27-year-old has been dominating, with an ERA of just 0.89. To put that into perspective, Lange has not given up an earned run since April 9th. At just 27-years-old, plus plenty of years left of team control, you would hope Lange would fetch a good return at the trade deadline. Scott Harris has shown the willingness to part with his top bullpen arms, with him trading Gregory Soto and Joe Jimenez this offseason. Teams that could be interested in Lange would be the Blue Jays, Rays, Rangers, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and pretty much every other team in contention for the playoffs this year.

Jason Foley

Foley is in a very similar situation as Alex Lange. Good young reliever on a mediocre team that a lot of contenders would be interested in. In his age 27-season, Foley has a 1.42 ERA in 19.0 innings pitched. This is coming off a breakout 2022 season, where he threw over 60 innings and held his ERA under four. With many years of team control left, Foley would be able to net a similar return to Alex Lange, which some fans have speculated that could be a team’s top ten prospect. The Tigers acquired Justyn-Henry Malloy for Joe Jimenez, so the hope would be Foley could net you a young player just as good, if not better than Malloy.

Michael Lorenzen

A free agent signing this offseason, Lorenzen has been a solid pickup for Detroit thus far. Despite a rough start on Monday, Lorenzen ERA sits slightly over four, with his ERA in May being 2.45. The 31-year-old has had injury history throughout his career, which could give some teams some hesitance trading for him. Perhaps whatever contender looks to trade for him, they would potentially use him as a long reliever. Either way, there should be plenty of suitors for Lorenzen, either as a backend starter or bullpen arm for a contender.

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Photo Credit: © Lon Horwedel