The Detroit Tigers are the best team in Major League Baseball approximately six weeks ahead of the trade deadline at the end of July, a reality not many expected before the season began.
Though this has been a magical year beyond the imaginations of most, this is far from a finished product in the Motor City. If they want to do what it certainly looks like they are capable of doing and at the very least contend for an American League pennant, some tough calls will have to be made.
One of those tough calls might just be the re-tooling of a lineup that has largely been dynamite all year but fallen ice cold in the last several weeks.
In the last 30 days, the Tigers are 20th in baseball in runs scored, home runs and team OPS, figures which are simply not going to cut it when October rolls around.
Among the biggest reasons for the slowdown on offense has been one of the fan favorite stars hitting a wall. But could Detroit actually part ways with him?
Designated hitter Kerry Carpenter is among the most popular players on the team, but he just has not been effective enough as of late. Over the last 30 days headed into Tuesday night (24 games), Carpenter has slashed .195/.225/.403 with four home runs and six RBI, but three of those home runs and five of the RBI came all in the same game.
On the season with runners in scoring position, that slash line goes to a dreadful .106/.157/.191 with just five hits in 47 at-bats.
Carpenter has been dealing with a hamstring issue which has seemingly limited his impact, but it’s no coincidence that his struggles and Detroit’s offensive struggles are occurring at the same time.
He deserves a ton of credit for gutting it out and staying in the lineup, but the 27-year-old is struggling big time right now.
None of this is necessarily reason to deal Carpenter away for a bag of peanuts, however if the Tigers feel they are as close to a championship as it has seemed like so far this season, then they must at least consider the alternative.
A major offensive shakeup should absolutely be on the table if things continue the way they have been over the last month leading up to the deadline.
For as much as it would sting, moving on from Carpenter could be something that the team contemplates.
