The Tigers have released catcher Donny Sands, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this winter and will now depart the organization entirely.
The 27-year-old Sands was one of three players Detroit acquired in the trade sending Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens to the Phillies. Utilityman Nick Maton and third baseman/outfielder Matt Vierling both came to the Tigers in that swap as well.
Sands hasn’t panned out as hoped since that swap. He spent the bulk of the 2023 season in Triple-A Toledo, where he slashed .225/.318/.353 in 371 plate appearances. Those struggles were pronounced enough that Detroit opted to go outside the organization rather than call up Sands when they cut backup catcher Eric Haase last summer; the Tigers instead signed Carson Kelly to a big league deal that included a club option which has since been exercised.
Kelly will be the backup to Jake Rogers, who’s hit .225/.291/.457 (102 wRC+) with plus defense over the past two seasons — a strong enough showing to cement his status as the starting backstop in Detroit. Kelly’s contract was always going to ensure him of a roster spot, but he hit .289/.372/.553 in 43 spring plate appearances, which only reinforced his positioning ahead of Sands on the depth chart.
Sands only logged 10 spring plate appearances and went 1-for-8 with a walk in that tiny sample. His release should get former second-round pick Dillon Dingler even more playing time in Toledo this year. Dingler struggled through 106 plate appearances in his first look at Triple-A last year, but he’s hit well in Double-A and had a decent spring at the plate.
From a defensive standpoint, Sands has drawn decent framing numbers in the upper minors and turned in a 24% caught-stealing rate this past season. His 2023 struggles notwithstanding, Sands is a lifetime .261/.352/.403 hitter in parts of three Triple-A campaigns. He has also has a minor league option year remaining. He could latch on as a depth piece with another club that’s thinner behind the plate than the Tigers at the moment.
Dillon Dingler – aka Dirk Diggler?
Don’t worry Donny. It is almost impossible make this great team that will win 95 games and win the pennant
The sandman from saltpointe.
Thanks for Soto Tigers.
He blows. Tigers won
Soto was a train wreck every time he pitched, but Verling as only player we ended up keeping? Harris got beat again, no surprise there, it’s a familiar concept in Detroit.
Nonsense. Vierling is a quality utility player and he’s still with the team. Soto was a fair relief pitcher who had no future here. Finding players who pan out in deals for a marginal player like Soto is rare.
Soto was replaced by Holton who had a wicked season and should quickly make us forget wildman Soto. Remember that there was an obligatory “all star” when Soto made the team and he was the best of the worst.
Harris has also traded magic beans to get Leonard from LAD and Dickerson from SD (that was a Greenberg trade). Speaking of Greenberg, I have not seen what i would even remotely call a bad move since he became GM. A few speed bumps to start but lots of success with a POBO and GM in place.
The thing we have to remember about Harris and especially Greenberg, is that they are still learning the ropes regarding being in their positions. They both are going to make their mistakes along the way. Even the best in the business makes an occasional mistake. What too many people (I’m looking at you STYMEEDONE) do is crucify the management in Detroit, especially Harris, because he makes a minor mistake or two. Look past that at the bigger picture, especially now that he’s got a GM in place, improvements are happening already. Last season they went from 66 wins to 78 and are projected to finish 2024 with a winning record and playing meaningful games in September, well there you go. That’s on them, especially Harris for putting together an improved roster. Are there weak spots in the roster still? Definitely! Baez and Wentz are the glaring ones. Their future is on the line and I can see them both gone by Memorial Day if their track record continues. They’ve run out of chances. But Harris seems smart enough to know when to cut bait on them. Same is true with Baddoo, when he gets brought back, but he’s a little different because he’s got an option left after this season, but I can’t see Greenberg giving him a long leash.
Maton just got dropped by the Orioles, as well. While Harris occasionally scored on his waiver wire pickups, trading has not been his forte. Soto hasn’t been the same in Philly, but that was not known at the time of the trade. Soto was a two time All-Star closer, left-handed, who could hit triple digits on the radar gun. A rare and highly valued commodity in baseball. Harris traded him and Cody Clemens for 3 maybes, bench players. If Veirling wins the 3B job, there may be some redeeming grace, but it doesn’t look like anyone is getting the full time gig.
More stupidity from STYMEEDONE!Straight up, the trade ends up being Soto for Vierling. The Tigers needed so,e better offensive and defense help and Vierling was good enough last season to fill the bill. Soto on the other hand was a train wreck who likely gave Hinch chronic ulcers every time he called on him to close games. Clemens was a throw in and probably will end up being the best acquisition for Dombrowski and the Phillies from the trade and the bar was set extremely low. STYMEEDONE again proves his ignorance and stupidity.
Apologies for the typos and missed spaces. My cat was all over the keyboard and even posted the comment before I could proofread. That being said even she makes more sense than the almighty (in his head only) STYMEEDONE!
Blame the cat? Good God! At least have the decency to blame the Chinese Spellcheck Conspiracy.
Get with the program!
I can’t help it, I’m a day late and a dollar short. What if I just convert her into Chinese food? Wouldn’t that be a good compromise? I don’t do spellcheck conspiracies well at all!
Noooo…..!
Uuuuggggghhhhhh! *Facepalm*
Ah yes, the 2 time All Star closer. Yes he played in 2 AS games, but never came close to closing. In his first he faced 4 batters gave up an HR with no BB or K. His second was 2 batters 1 BB no K. That’s the player Harris traded and Dombrowski knew exactly who he was getting which was why the return was Vierling and 2 lottery tickets.
Cash is always good.