ARLINGTON, Texas >> The most intriguing position player on the trade market for the Tigers might be Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez.

The Tigers initially signed him out of Venezuela in 2008 and he debuted with them in 2014 before being traded to the Reds. Now, at age 34, he’s blossomed into one of the games premier sluggers.

He entered the second half with 31 home runs, his sixth 30-plus homer season, and 78 RBI, with a .569 slugging percentage and a remarkable 50% hard-hit rate. He strikes out a bit (27%) and he’s not trying to walk (6.4%). He’s also a below average defender (minus-4 defensive runs saved) with no positional flexibility.

The power game plays in the postseason. That’s been proven. Eight of the last nine World Series champions were among the top four home run hitting teams in the game. The Tigers presently rank eighth overall and fifth in the American League.

He will be expensive, for sure. The Tigers would have to part with one or two of their top prospects and possibly one or two big-league ready players (Justyn-Henry Malloy, Jace Jung).

And he’d be a rental with the Tigers paying off the prorated remains of his $15 million contract for this season. Not a big issue, there.

We don’t know for sure Suarez is among president Scott Harris’ trade targets or not. And most industry speculation has the Yankees poised to bid high on his services. But for the sake of this exercise, let’s examine how Suarez would impact the Tigers.

It would, for starters, significantly change the Tigers’ modus operandi. It would take away one of manager AJ Hinch’s mix-and-match points. Maybe that would end up being for the better. Maybe it would ruin one of the team’s best attributes.

If they do land Suarez, he gets plugged into third base and into the middle of the batting order and the Tigers will sink or swim with his production there.

The infield would be more of a set piece than it’s ever been, with Spencer Torkelson at first, Gleyber Torres at second, Javier Baez at shortstop and Suarez.

Colt Keith, who has been sizzling hot at the plate for two months, would still rotate in but would probably get the bulk of his starts as the designated hitter.

That pushes All-Star Zach McKinstry back to more of a bench role and probably pushes Trey Sweeney back to Triple-A Toledo. It may also push right-handed hitter Jahmai Jones off the roster entirely, especially when Kerry Carpenter comes back off the injured list.

Hinch would have to get creative in the outfield, too, to make sure Carpenter, Wenceel Perez and Matt Vierling get enough work. With Suarez at third, Vierling would become almost exclusively an outfield piece and playing time would seemingly be scarce for him and Perez if everyone is healthy.

The Tigers would go from being a 13-player unit to more of a set nine.

Is Suarez worth that drastic an identity shift?

The Tigers have had the best record in the American League for more than a full calendar year. And the success has been built on a sum-of-its-parts mentality where all 13 position players are put in optimum positions to play and contribute almost nightly.

They have, as presently constituted, the most wins in baseball at the break with an 11.5-game lead in the division and a plus-87 run differential, second best in the American League.

The question that needs to be answered is, how much can Suarez’s one-dimensional slugging game add vs. how much the Tigers would lose in the process of integrating him into their lineup? Does he put them over the top, the difference-maker in a deep playoff run? He had 31 home runs at the break. He hit 49 in 2019 and hasn’t hit more than 31 in any season since.

Coming to a new league, into a spacious ballpark and carrying the weight of what would be tremendous expectations — it would be a lot. Especially if it negated the impact versatile players like McKinstry, Vierling, Perez and Keith have had going back to last August.

The assumption is the Tigers’ top priority at the deadline will be acquiring pitching, specifically but not limited to swing-and-miss relievers. And that’s as it should be.

That’s where the risks should be taken. That’s where the upgrades are most needed. The risks seem far more dangerous than any potential reward for a player like Suarez.