The Detroit Tigers may not need to look only at Tarik Skubal when the trade deadline chatter turns toward Los Angeles. If the Dodgers come calling, second base could give Detroit a different kind of leverage, and Gleyber Torres might be the piece that matters.
Torres is currently on the IL with an oblique strain, but if he returns healthy before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, he could become a useful chip for a club searching for help at second base. Before the injury, he was hitting .280/.395/.395 with four home runs and 18 runs batted in, and his ability to get on base gives him a clear appeal for a contender.
Los Angeles has options at the position, but none has fully locked it down. Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim, and Miguel Rojas are all in the mix, though injuries and uneven production have kept the Dodgers from getting steady results there.
That matters because the Dodgers are trying to go all-in for a third straight World Series title. If they decide Torres is the kind of upgrade that can help them get there, Detroit could be in position to extract value in return, especially with Torres set to become a free agent after this season.
The Tigers also have a possible fallback plan if they move on from Torres. Hao-Yu Lee has been swinging it well lately, and Detroit could simply hand him the job at second base for the rest of the year.
There’s even a path where the Tigers try to get more creative. One possibility would be pushing for Hyeseong Kim, who is in the minors, as part of a return package to give Detroit a young option for the future. And if the Tigers decide to really sell, the idea of moving Skubal and Torres together to the Dodgers is at least on the table.
However Detroit chooses to approach the deadline - buy, sell, or stand pat - Torres looks like a player worth shopping. If Los Angeles has interest, the Tigers should absolutely find out what that market looks like.
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