CBS Sports: Tigers’ Kinsler a top trade candidate

The last three months of the Detroit Tigers season was part freefall, part frenzy.

Those went hand-in-hand, as the Tigers shipped stars to contenders for prospects, diving headfirst into a rebuild while also plummeting in the standings, finishing with 98 losses and the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft.

The wheeling and dealing likely isn’t over yet.

Veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler is on CBS Sports’ list of top 10 trade candidates outside of Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

Kinsler, 35, hit just .236 last season with a .725 OPS, but he still swatted 22 home runs and stole 14 bases. He’s also just a season removed from winning a Gold Glove. He’s already popped up in trade rumors this offseason, with “multiple clubs” interested.

“The Tigers committed to a rebuild this season, most notably trading away Justin Verlander, and also others like Justin Upton, Justin Wilson, Alex Avila, and J.D. Martinez,” Mike Axisa of CBS Sports writes. “Ian Kinsler, who will be a free agent next winter, is one of the few veterans still in Detroit, though I can’t imagine that’ll last much longer.

Axisa calls Kinsler’s age and 2017 struggles “a scary combination,” but “given his track record, a one-year gamble at $11 million isn’t the craziest move in the world for a contender looking for second base help.”

Axisa listed the Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets as possible suitors for Kinsler’s services.