With the trade deadline about six weeks away, the Tigers are once again open for business. And their list of assets is headlined by Matthew Boyd.
Boyd, like Shane Greene, has turned himself into a valuable commodity this season by posting a 3.35 ERA and 112 strikeouts over 88 2/3 innings. He'll be back on the mound Friday night in Cleveland.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Boyd brushed aside the trade chatter. "It's just noise," he said. But the noise will only get louder in approach of July 31. Teams will come calling. Prospects will be bandied about. Details will inevitably be leaked.
One contender who could take an interest in Boyd is the Phillies, whose starting rotation has been average at best. What might the Phillies offer? Jim Bowden, former general manager of the Reds and the Nationals, tried to answer that question for The Athletic.
In exchange for Boyd, the Tigers would get 23-year-old outfielder Adam Haseley and 19-year old pitcher Francisco Morales. Haseley and Morales are ranked No. 3 and No. 8, respectively, among Philadelphia's prospects, via MLB Pipeline. Neither is considered a top-100 prospect in baseball.
Considering Boyd's success this season and the fact he's under team control through 2022, the return feels a little light. Philadelphia hangs onto the top position player and the top four pitchers in its farm system. Still, Bowden deems the prospect cost "significant."
In Haseley, the seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft, the Tigers would get a potential everyday center fielder hitting .275 with an .824 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A this season. According to Bowden, he would be "major-league ready for the Tigers."
In Morales, they would get a 6'4 hard-throwing righty who's racking up strikeouts in Single-A, albeit with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. If he can clean up his delivery and refine his control, he has "the potential of developing into a solid No. 2- or 3-type starter," per Bowden.
There's certainly upside to both players, but the Tigers would surely hold out for more. Per MLB.com, they "need to be overwhelmed" to trade Boyd. And this return doesn't feel overwhelming.
The Phillies aren't the best trade partner for the Tigers, anyway. They only have one position player ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball in third baseman Alec Bohm, and the third overall pick in last year's draft is probably untouchable. The Tigers need hitters, and the Phillies don't have the right ones to offer.
