Tigers Reportedly Pricing Teams Out Of Market For Boyd

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Photo credit © Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

A week from today, we'll know much more about the present and future state of affairs for the Tigers. 

Here's what we know now, as has generally been the case all along. 

By July 31, it's highly likely the Tigers trade Castellanos, it's probable they trade Shane Greene, and it's possible (veering toward unlikely) they trade Matthew Boyd. 

If they trade the latter, they'll have to get a flat-out haul. They are open to packaging Boyd with either Castellanos or Greene to get the highest level of talent in return. 

Here's the latest twist, per MLB.com's Jon Morosi -- a twist that might make Tigers fans uneasy. 

Though they're desperate for more high-level hitters in their farm system, the Tigers won't necessarily insist on position player prospects in trades. Detroit's top three prospects, and six of its top 10, are pitchers, according to MLB Pipeline. 

The Tigers want talent, period. 

Trading Boyd is their best way to land it, but they appear to be pricing teams out of the market. Per MLB.com, "the Tigers' prospect requests for Boyd have been so high that some in the industry doubt that he will be moved." 

It's believed the Tigers are seeking one big-league ready player and at least another top prospect. Teams such as the Yankees, Astros, Rays Phillies, Padres have reportedly expressed interest in Boyd. 
The Tigers are also seeking quite the return for Greene, their All-Star closer. Per MLB.com's Jason Beck, they asked the Nationals for their top prospect (and No. 19 prospect overall), shortstop Carter Kieboom. 

Tigers are believed to have asked for Nationals top prospect Carter Kieboom in a Shane Greene trade. https://t.co/Vtl1DDEgbw

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) July 21, 2019

The Nationals reportedly sent a high-level scout to watch Greene in Detroit Tuesday night. He worked a scoreless ninth inning in the Tigers' loss to the Phillies. The Dodgers, Cubs, Braves and Rays are also said to be interested in Greene. 

It's highly unlikely the Tigers are able to land another team's top prospect for Greene alone. There are a number of high-quality relievers on the market, and they don't typically fetch huge returns to start with. 

And then there's Castellanos, whose value is the lowest. But he's a free agent to be, and the Tigers are committed to trading him. The Cubs appear to be the front-runners for Castellanos, though the Rays and Phillies have reportedly checked in on him as well.  

It helps Detroit's cause that Castellanos has been crushing the ball over the past month.

Beyond the aforementioned three names, here's another one to keep an eye on: Buck Farmer. The 28-year-old reliever is having a strong year and, like Boyd, he's under team control through 2022. 

Buck Farmer could emerge as a trade candidate in the coming days. The #Tigers have little incentive to move him, but he retired the #Phillies in order tonight (including strikeouts of Kingery and Hoskins) and is having the best season of his career. @MLB @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 24, 2019

Similar to Joe Jimenez and Daniel Norris, two other rumored trade chips, the Tigers could package Farmer in a deal to get more in return.