The Tigers changed the face of the trade deadline two days before the wire by informing clubs they were willing to be sellers, which means potentially moving David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and others.
Price is obviously the big piece with clubs such as the Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, Blue Jays, Giants and Cubs looking for top-of-the-rotation pieces.
The Tigers had been hesitant to sell because they are built as a win-now team. Their 86-year-old owner, Mike Ilitch, has dedicated his resources to winning in his lifetime and the second wild card — at the least — has felt within reach.
But even with a victory Wednesday afternoon in which Justin Verlander pitched like his old self, the Tigers merely moved to three games under .500.
After the game, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters: “We’re looking at it more as rebooting going into next season. I think our foundation is solid going forward.”
One rival AL executive said: “They are open [for business].”
A Tigers source described his team as “sellers” with all of their walk-year players available — not only Price and Cespedes, but also Alex Avila, Rajai Davis, Alfredo Simon and Joakim Soria.
The Tigers are still in striking distance, so they could demand an overwhelming return for Price and just keep trying to make the playoffs if it’s not met. But he is a free agent after this season and the expectation is he will sign elsewhere, with the Cubs (managed by his former Rays skipper Joe Maddon) viewed as an early favorite. Thus, with such a public proclamation of a sale, it now would be a surprise if Price were not moved.
One advantage the Yankees have is Brian Cashman and Dombrowski have done many deals together. The ability to complete a trade quickly is vital with the 4 p.m. Friday non-waiver deadline approaching.
Nevertheless, the Yankees have insisted they are not moving any of their top prospects — Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Jorge Mateo or Luis Severino — especially for a rental such as Price. Without one of those pieces, getting Price would move from difficult to potentially impossible. Yankees officials did not seem overly gung-ho about the possibility of landing the lefty ace.
The one proviso: If the Tigers prioritize still trying to get to the playoffs this year, they might be willing to take a starter such as Ivan Nova, Nathan Eovaldi or Adam Warren to pitch in the rotation now plus more secondary prospects. The Dodgers had a deal in place to get Mat Latos from the Marlins on Wednesday, but that trade may not be completed. The Dodgers could have tried to package Latos and prospects for Price. Or the Astros could do something similar with Collin McHugh and prospects.
In other words, there are other teams that could do this besides the Yankees.
Cespedes could be viewed as the best bat now in the market if teams favor him over San Diego’s Justin Upton. The Mets have been associated with Cespedes, but I heard they view his low on-base percentage as a detriment because it is a team-wide problem for them.
Davis is a more likely fit for the Mets. He can play all three outfield positions, could face some tough lefties in place of Curtis Granderson and offer a speed element the team lacks.
Soria, who on Wednesday earned his 23rd save, could be a strong alternative for teams hunting late-game pen help that find the asking price on San Diego’s Craig Kimbrel and Cincinnati’s Aroldis Chapman too high.
The Tigers have won the past four AL Central titles, but have long contracts with aging, more fragile players, including Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, and are not viewed as having a strong farm system.
This is a chance for Detroit to hit the reset button and gain some financial flexibility, farm depth and retool to make another run in 2016.