The Detroit Tigers have one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball and a surprisingly effective offense, which is exactly why they should go all in to bring in a bonafide superstar slugger.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) recently stated that a trade involving Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers “isn’t all that far-fetched” despite his large contract and recent drama.
If the Red Sox are truly willing to part ways with Devers, the Tigers should be one of the first teams to pick up the phone.
Boston and the slugger seem to have a fractured relationship, which is where the trade talks come from. They already moved him off of third base when they signed Detroit offseason target Alex Bregman, and now they want him to learn a new position at first base.
It would take a haul, but Devers is exactly the type of hitter who could take this Tigers lineup from being a fun story to a legit contender.
Plus, Detroit is the exact type of team that can afford to trade away a breadth of prospects for a player of that caliber.
They only have so many spots in their already-young lineup with a number of minor leaguers looking more and more ready for the Majors.
Devers has been fantastic this season, despite all of the drama.
He’s posted a .280/.398/.490 slash line with seven home runs and 21 RBI. He has also drawn an AL-leading 31 walks. His walk rate has been getting better in recent years, but has taken a huge jump up in 2025.
The 28-year-old still strikes out a lot, but that isn’t really an issue given how good he is at everything else.
His 149 OPS+ would be a career-best, likely because of his walks giving him a much-better on-base rate. His previous career high was .361, which is far below his current figure of .398.
If Detroit were to trade for Devers, they should give him the choice between either third base or designated hitter.
Sticking at DH would be better given that he is not great in the field, but keeping him happy is the top concern.
Just last year, Devers signed a 10-year, $313.5 million mega-contract.
A move like this would signal that the Tigers are ready to go all-in and compete, which would make perfect sense given their current timeline and early success.
