Rick Porcello Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz, Speculation on Tigers Star

Detroit Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello is reportedly Boston bound, as the team may have traded the young right hander to the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

Continue for updates.

Thursday, Dec. 11

Porcello Reportedly Traded to Boston for Cespedes

C.J. Nitkowski of Fox Sports 1 reports that a deal is done to send Porcello to Boston:

"

Told Cespedes to Detroit, Porcello to Boston is done.

— CJ Nitkowski (@CJNitkowski) December 11, 2014"

Thursday, Dec. 4

Porcello Reportedly on Trade Block

The Detroit Tigers have one of Major League Baseball's best starting rotations, but 25-year-old righty Rick Porcello's future with the club is very much in question.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, teams are exploring the possibility of acquiring either Porcello or ace David Price via trade this offseason:

Porcello is coming off his best MLB season as he went 15-13 with a 3.43 ERA at the back end of Detroit's rotation.

Although Porcello is currently a bargain with a salary of $8.5 million, per Spotrac.com, he is expected to receive a considerable bump in arbitration, according to Rosenthal:

The Tigers could very well lose 2013 AL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer to free agency this offseason, which would seemingly make keeping Porcello even more important, but that is far from a guarantee.

Detroit still has Price, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez at starting pitcher, and Porcello would likely bring back a strong return. Per ESPN's Jayson Stark, one trade possibility for Porcello would be a deal to the Boston Red Sox for power-hitting outfielder Yoenis Cespedes:

Regardless of what the Tigers decide to do with Porcello, there is no question that they have a major asset on their hands.

He could potentially develop into a top-of-the-rotation pitcher if Detroit keeps him, but trading him away could lead to improvements in other areas as well.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter