It was reported Wednesday night that the Tigers have had trade discussions with the Oakland Athletics regarding starting pitchers Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea. Detroit had been making waves in free agency before MLB’s lockout, but even rumored involvement in the trade market for big targets has been nonexistent. Now, with a new CBA in place, teams are hurrying to finalize an offseason’s worth of activity in a few weeks before the season begins. Montas has become the final marquee pitcher openly available this offseason, though Manaea is no slouch either.
Evidently, for the Tigers, finalizing means shoring up their pitching staff, and the Oakland sell off could be a great place to find the finishing piece for the rotation.