Former Tigers infielder Zack Short has been claimed on waivers by the Mets, the Tigers announced. This comes amidst a flurry of roster moves for the Tigers, who needed to open up several spots on the 40-man ahead of the deadline to move players off of the 60-day injured list, as well as the deadline to add players to the 40-man before they can elect minor league free agency.
Drafted by the Cubs in 2016, Short was traded to the Tigers in 2020 in exchange for veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin. He made his big league debut the following season, appearing in 61 games for Detroit and struggling his way to a .141/.239/.282 batting line. The utility infielder spent almost all of the 2022 season at Triple-A, but he made his way back to the majors in April 2023 and never looked back. While no one could argue his bat was an asset, he posted a much-improved .204/.292/.339 slash line while showing off his defensive versatility all over the diamond. By the end of the year, he had appeared in 112 games, occasionally as a starter but just as often as a pinch runner or mid-game defensive replacement.
While his offense may never be a strength, Short draws walks well, and he can put his plus speed to work when he reaches base. Moreover, his defense might not stand out at any one position, but he is capable of covering second, third, and short, and even the outfield in a pinch. As long as he doesn’t regress at the plate, his flexibility could earn him another shot at MLB playing time next season, especially since he is out of minor league options.
In further Mets news, all six players the team placed on outright waivers last week have cleared, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Bryce Montes de Oca and Peyton Battenfield have been sent outright to Triple-A and will remain with the organization, while Tim Locastro, John Curtiss, Elieser Hernandez, and Denyi Reyes have elected free agency.
short sighted move.
Awesome, the Mets needed to get themselves a good reliever.
A short reliever
By pitcher standards maybe.
Zack Short is your man! He pitched in 6 games in mop-up duty last year!
Oh boy…start designing 2024 World Series Champions rings for the Mets with this move!
I guess with the hiring of this ridiculous manager, they’re now seeking Mendoza-like candidates to join the team. Dude is barely above the mendoza line. This team… should’ve never fired showalter with all this crap, seemed like no plan was in place and now it’s almost a guarantee.
The Mendoza line all around
also the mets got the short end of the stick here.
I don’t expect that is the last guy the Tigers will cut loose. Good defender, not much of a bat.
As good as Baez! At least I could root for Zack. Hard to root for Baez.
now now. baez is a far better shortstop than short could ever be.
This qualifies as Stearns best move of the day. By a long shot. Zack may be Short but but he’s above the Mendoza (Carlos) line in terms of impact on the team.
He’s a perfectly adequate utility player. Bummer to see him go, but it had to happen.
Not a big fan of Short but he was better than Baez
I’ve watched Zach Short for 2 of the last 3 seasons. I really didn’t like him until recently. Well, I started warming up to him…..
He’s a serviceable infielder, no doubt. He is also quite capable of hitting home runs, too. His rate was 1 every 31.5 ABs. That’s not tremendous, but consider that a sizable number of his ABs came in the 2nd half of each game. That means not only isn’t he able to see a starter for 3 or more ABs, a lot of the times he was facing tough late inning bullpen arms.
He’s pretty young and lacks a lot of MLB ABs. So, he’s not done developing. There’s a decent chance he has a nice MLB career.
Good luck, Zach.
Agree TroyVan. He is a perfect candidate to be a utility player on a talented team, become a fan favorite, then with a big postseason hit, .a folk hero.
He’s got to be better than Mendick.
define young. 29 in may is not young
You’re right. He’s not real large in stature, and he’s still rather new to MLB…. I just assumed he was young. I guess he’s just young at heart!
As a Tiger I want to thank Zack Short. Always, always, always gave 100%. While his bat was woeful, his defense was ML capable and he never gave in.
One of the two ML players from Sacred Heart University, along with Jason Foley who also is a Tiger.
The Mets are my NL team so maybe I get to see him bring his grit to Queens.
Sorry to see him leave Detroit, but no surprise. Good luck to him.
He’s going to fill some gaps for the Mets. Trash him all you want but he rises to the occasion as a bench guy.
career .174 hitter so he is trash. with players like him and alexander on the team i couldn’t take them seriously. they have to make a major trade or two and i doubt matty v is seeing a lot of time at third. reunite javy with lindor. after all the mets just got their short ..stop playing
There was a point in the season when Zack Short took over starting SS duties from Javier Baez.
I felt the Tigers should’ve given Short the SS job instead of signing Baez. He may have never been a superstar but he was good enough until they could develop another and not overpaid for a free agent. The Tigers never played him long enough.