Lost in the trade speculation that’s tied the Los Angeles Dodgers to starting pitchers Yu Darvish and Sonny Gray is the club’s longstanding desire to acquire a left-handed reliever prior to the non-waiver deadline.
The group of reported targets has remained relatively unchanged over the last several weeks, with the Dodgers focusing their search on Zach Britton, Brad Hand and Justin Wilson. Each of the southpaws has reportedly drawn interest from several clubs, including multiple contenders.
There was a time when a potential trade involving Wilson and Justin Verlander was though plausible, but the Dodgers are no longer believed to have much interest in the veteran right-hander.
Expanding on that, trade talks between the Dodgers and Tigers are said to have been centered around Wilson, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com:
Sources: #Dodgers discussions with #Tigers have been focused more on Justin Wilson than Justin Verlander. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 29, 2017
While that may be the case, the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals reportedly have been the most engaging with the Tigers:
Sources: Justin Wilson trade discussions have been most serious with #Astros and #Nationals in last 24 hours. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2017
The 29-year-old replaced Francisco Rodriguez as closer in May. Prior to that point, Wilson went 1-1 with one save and a 1.23 ERA in 16 games. Since being anointed the Tigers’ closer, he’s 2-3 while converting 11 of 13 save opportunities, and yielding a 3.65 ERA.
Despite Wilson’s inflated ERA during that stretch, he’s held opponents to a .193/.287/.386 batting line in 22 appearances. Overall this season, opponents are batting .153/.240/.321 off Wilson, with 11 extra-base hits (four doubles, two triples, five home runs).
One benefit that would come with trading for Wilson is he’s under team control for 2018 via arbitration.
