With the way injuries have ravaged the Tigers' lineup over the last week, the debate has shifted from who Detroit should make a move for at the trade deadline to if Detroit should make a move at the trade deadline. While the top of the AL Central standings are still in sight, the lineup is so watered down now with Triple-A players that one move probably won't be enough to make a run at the division. As a result, what is really the point in trading for a player if the end result -- not making the playoffs -- is the same?
Based on the all-around lack of interest coming from Detroit the last few days for players on the block, it seems that Dave Dombrowski and company may be thinking along the lines of, "There's no point to trade for one player when that won't be enough to win the AL Central." As if the lack of interest in many players on the market wasn't proof enough, a report from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick suggests that is exactly what the Tigers' line of thinking is right now.
I hear the Tigers will refrain from trading for an impact bat, because it'll take more than 1 bat for that lineup to be competitive #trades
Although all hope is not lost just yet and there is still a lot of baseball to be played, at some point it's necessary to look at the big picture. For Detroit, without Brandon Inge and Magglio Ordonez, the Tigers' lineup is just not good enough to make a run. That is even truer with Carlos Guillen currently on the disabled list as well. This lineup just doesn't have the fire power to overcome both Minnesota and Chicago, and it would take a few moves to change that. While Detroit could easily give up on a number of prospects and trade for a few players that would give Detroit a chance to win the division, it's not worth it in the long run.
Although just last week it looked like the Tigers were going to be one of the busiest teams involved with trades as the deadline nears, now I would be surprised if they made any major moves. No, you don't want to just give up and go down without a fight, but it's just as bad to not be realistic and think about the future. Unfortunately for the Tigers, being realistic likely will mean looking ahead to 2011 rather than the stretch run in 2010.