Tigers looking like sellers: 5 players Braves could target

There are a ton of teams still teetering on the line of whether they’ll be buyers or sellers leading up to the trade deadline. None of them are garnering more attention than the Detroit Tigers, who just dropped their third game in a row on Monday night and are now six games back in the AL Central and four games back in the Wild Card race.

The attention is mostly due to Tarik Skubal. The two-time AL Cy Young winner is in the final year of his contract, and the Tigers are well aware they have no chance of re-signing him in the offseason. He’d be by far the best player moved at the trade deadline, and Alex Anthopoulos should be ringing Scott Harris off the hook, expending every effort to get a deal done.

However, Skubal is far from the only impact player the Tigers have to offer a team like the Braves.

Starting Pitchers

• Tarik Skubal
• Casey Mize
• Jack Flaherty

If the Tigers commit to a fire sale, they have three playoff-caliber starters they could move, all on expiring contracts. Mize is having a breakout campaign this season, boasting a 2.70 ERA and 2.59 FIP over 16 starts. Moving Flaherty would be a little more complicated, given he just went on the 15-day IL with flexor inflammation and won’t return before the deadline. Still, if the medicals aren’t a huge concern, his postseason experience could be worth taking a flier on. He was also pitching well before the injury, recording a 2.67 ERA over his past seven starts.

Relievers

• Kyle Finnegan
• Kenley Jansen

Jansen is a familiar name still hoping to make his case for the Hall of Fame. He’s having a bit of a down year so far — a 3.90 ERA over 31 appearances. But the underlying metrics are encouraging, he still has plenty of swing-and-miss in his repertoire, and he’s just a year removed from posting a 159 ERA+ for the Red Sox, which is 59% above league average.

Finnegan is the only name of the five under contract for multiple years, and he’s having the best season of his career from an ERA perspective — a 2.45 ERA over 45 appearances. He’s always been a consistent presence out of the bullpen, and someone the Braves have a lot of familiarity with from his time with the Nationals. That said, the peripherals suggest some regression could be coming, as he’s sporting a 4.94 FIP and 4.77 xERA.