Spencer Torkelson was once the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft.
With that status comes permanent expectations, the kind that aren’t even heaped upon the guy taken second overall. When the Detroit Tigers drafted Torkelson, he was immediately expected to be a star.
Instead, Torkelson has developed into a rather frustrating slugger, capable of occasionally hitting a baseball a long way but much too often coming up short of what the Tigers need out of him.
That has led to the idea of Torkelson as a trade candidate.
And if Torkelson is a trade candidate, the New York Mets should pay attention.
Why Tigers Would Trade Spencer Torkelson
MLB Trade Rumors lists Torkelson as one of its top-40 trade candidates for the offseason.
That article explains:
“The Tigers have two years of club control remaining over Torkelson, and his $7.7MM projected salary is hardly exorbitant. However, he’s become emblematic of a core that hasn’t gelled the way the front office hoped would be the case when the ’24 Tigers caught fire late in the year and made a Cinderella playoff run. Detroit’s lineup was productive for much of the season but went completely M.I.A. in both May and August — not at all dissimilar from Torkelson’s strikeout-prone, up-and-down level of performance over the years. Detroit could hang onto Torkelson and hope for more consistency, but he’s a poor defensive first baseman whose bat has never developed the way they hoped. Trading him could open first base for Colt Keith, thereby creating more infield time for younger players like Hao-Yu Lee and yet-to-debut Max Anderson. One way or another, it seems likely the Tigers will turn over some of their lineup.”
Essentially, Detroit has plenty of reasons to move on from Torkelson. He hasn’t been good enough to guarantee him a spot over the Tigers’ other infielders.
Mets Opportunity
This would be a great buy-low opportunity for the Mets to find a first baseman after their initial season without Pete Alonso didn’t go well.
Torkelson wouldn’t be a guarantee to start at the position, but he’d bring a lot of the power that Alonso had — just without as much proven ability to get to it all the time.
Still, the Mets are in a position where it can’t just be money that solves their problems. They need some shrewd moves, too.
Taking a low-risk flier on Torkelson is the kind of move that doesn’t matter much if it doesn’t work — but it has enough potential to work that the Mets could give it a shot and see what happens.
Mets Should Watch If Tigers Part Ways With Spencer Torkelson