Report: Justin Wilson The Hottest Tiger On Trade Market
By Will Burchfield
Twitter @Burchie_kid
The Tiger generating the heaviest interest on the trade market might not be the one you'd expect. Per Jon Morosi, rival teams have been inquiring about reliever Justin Wilson more than any other player on Detroit's roster.
Among #Tigers trade candidates, Justin Wilson has received perhaps the largest number of inquiries. Many @MLB teams want LH bullpen help.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 1, 2016
It's not hard to grasp Wilson's appeal.
Reliable relievers are a valuable commodity in the MLB. Especially lefties. Especially affordable lefties. Wilson checks all three boxes.
The 29-year-old posted a 4.14 ERA (3.15) and a 1.330 WHIP last season, with 65 strikeouts to just 17 walks in 58.2 innings. He's expected to earn a small raise from his $1.525 million salary in 2017, but likely won't make much more than $2.5 million. And he won't hit free agency until 2019.
In short, he's an asset.
And an asset the Tigers are likely to keep.
Though the organization is looking to cut costs, trading Wilson would provide minimal financial relief. In fact, in terms of following an efficient business model, Wilson is just the kind of player the Tigers want to keep. He outperformed the standards of his contract in 2016, and is a good bet to do so again in 2017.
It's no surprise that so many teams have come calling.