The Tigers will be sending first baseman Spencer Torkelson down to Triple-A prior to tomorrow’s game with the Rangers, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports. The move opens up a 26-man roster spot for Justyn-Henry Malloy, whose impending promotion to the big leagues was reported by Petzold earlier today.
Torkelson didn’t play in two of the Tigers’ last three games, and prior to today’s 8-4 win over the Red Sox, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch have a rather non-committal answer when asked if optioning Torkelson to the minors was a possibility. As it turned out, the speculation was correct, and Torkelson will now head for Triple-A Toledo for the first time since his 2022 season.
In July of that year, Torkelson was hitting only .197/.282/.295 when the Tigers sent him back to the minors for six weeks to try and get on track. While he didn’t hit much better after being recalled in September, some improvement was evident last season, when Torkelson hit .233/.313/.446 with 31 home runs over 684 plate appearances. This translated to a respectable 107 wRC+, and given that Torkelson had some of the best hard-hit ball and barrel rates in the league, there was plenty of optimism that he would fully break out in his third MLB season.
Unfortunately for Torkelson and the Tigers, his numbers have sharply swung in the other direction. Torkelson has only a 71 wRC+ from four homers and a .201/.266/.330 slash line, and his hard-contact metrics and walk rates have all swung well below the league average. Things have gotten particularly dire over Torkelson’s last 10 games, with just three hits to show from his last 40 trips to the plate.
This deep slump left the Tigers no choice but to see if the first overall pick of the 2020 draft can again find himself with a stint in the minors. Torkelson’s option comes even with Kerry Carpenter on the 15-day injured list and possibly facing an extended layoff due to a stress fracture in his back, yet given his numbers, the argument can certainly be made that the Tigers’ lineup would be improved rather further hampered if someone besides Torkelson took over at first base.
Torkelson entered the season with one full year and 137 days of MLB service time. Another full season in the majors would have put Torkelson in very good position to earn Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility, based on where the Super Two threshold has usually fallen over the last 15 seasons. While the thresholds have trended a bit lower over the last five years, spending even a month in Toledo could take Torkelson out of the Super Two conversation altogether.
This is undoubtedly a concern for Torkelson and his reps at the Boras Corporation, and Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris surely considered the Super Two implications among the many factors involved in the decision to option Torkelson to Triple-A. What both parties can agree on, however, is that Torkelson’s future earning potential will will be even more adversely impacted if he can’t consistently hit Major League pitching, so some time in the minors might be necessary at this still-early stage in Torkelson’s career. It shouldn’t be overlooked at Torkelson is still not even 25 years old, and his baseball development already had the unexpected roadblock of the canceled 2020 minor league season.
Mark Canha, Gio Urshela, or Andy Ibanez could get some time at first base as Detroit will now shuffle its lineup around in search of more overall production. Malloy figures to play as a corner outfielder or DH, and if Urshela starts playing more often at first base, it opens up more third-base playing time for the hot-hitting Matt Vierling, who is currently in a timeshare at third base and center field.
Best name in MLB history.
Lars Nootbar disagrees as he has the best name in MLB and the best Hockey name in MLB
Worst name: Richard Lovelady
What’s wrong with Dick Lovelady?!
Dick Lovelady is the man. Don’t pretend differently.
Outman is pretty bad for a hitter.
Dick Lovelady is a sensational name
Rusty Kuntz
Grant Balfour wasn’t great for a pitcher
But Eddie Balfour was a darn good NHL Goaltender.
Sixto Sanchez sounds like he’d have weird feet.
Lars Nootbar sounds like someone saying Mars Nougatbar with a mouth full of Mars Nougatbar.
Shout out to William VanLandingham
Look here Torky!!!!
Not as good as Al Capone and Snorky…but it is good
Best middle name in the MLB – Enochs.
Longest full name ever was Alan Mitchell Edward George Patrick Henry Gallagher.
Close second
Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish
Well, who can forget John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.
I owned one of my his jerseys, and people really thought his name was my name, too.
Whenever I’d go out, the people would always shout, who the f@€|< names their kid that?.
LOL!
Fun fact: Torkelson is the actual real name of legendary bass player/comedic genius Peter Tork of The Monkees.
I’ve wondered if both John Kruk and Mike Krukow’s names are shortened from Krukowski.
Google says Thorkelson
Rusty Kuntz has him beat as far as best names. There’s a host of others as well.
There’s a restaurant up the street called Cho King next to a sports bar called Heimlich’s.
Cy Slapnicka
Willie Mays Hayes
He’s always going to be held back by his name being Spencer Torkelson.
Mike Trout
Aaron Judge
Bryce Harper
SPENCER TORKELSON
It just doesn’t fit.
^^^This may be the only time he is ever mentioned with those players in print
Not true, he will forever have being the number one pick in the draft in common with Bryce Harper
Very true.
(Your post)
Good idea because he stinks at the plate
He reminds me a lot of can’t miss Mickey Moniak.
Henry Davis for spencer
I raise you:
JEFF CLEMENT
I’ll see your Jeff Clement and raise you a Jose Tabata
Wouldn’t be the worst idea. I was thinking about offering him and maybe something else for Jazz Chisholm and Josh Bell.
Bell is a throw in though, not trading quality guys for him alone. Pirates solve 1B for this season at least and have an everyday CF so Taylor can ride the pine.
Pirates and bell reunion would be nice even though I wouldn’t like seeing jazz come with
Torkelson has by far been the worst disappointment for Detroit this year. Not looking so hot on #1 overall picks…Mize has looked horrendous his last few starts.
I remember when both got drafted and they seemed can’t miss, just hard to explan a guy kinda learning how to hit then forgetting again. And Mize has never shown much but it wasn’t looked at as a bad pick at the time, but I think I’d avoid starting pitchers high in the draft unless they have the elite, elite stuff.
Tork never really learned how to hit. He just was able to get good contact on a few pitches. When he does he mashes the ball. Overall though he’s still making a pretty similar amount of contact.
I’m guessing that other teams and pitchers now have good data as to where not to pitch to him so he can not make that solid contact even slightly often.
To sum it up, I basically think Tork is a modern day Rob Deer. When he makes contact he can crush the ball. However his overall talent as a hitter can easily be neutralized by a pitcher. Good hitters learn to adjust and make solid contact throughout the strike zone. I just don’t see Tork as that type of hitter. Hopefully he proves me wrong.
Maybe a comparison to Rob Deer could be done by MLB Trade Rumors.
He’s only 24 years old and was rushed through the minors, before labeling him, maybe give the kid another couple of years.
The Mize draft, Brady Singer was top of the mock drafts for a long time and then Mize jumped ahead. So far, Singer looks like the better choice.
Those 2 picks plus the return for JV. Fumbled the bag badly in 3 key situations.
Mize is 11 starts into his post TJ surgery so let’s pump the brakes here. Can’t ground them together bc Mize is throwing 98 & has to be repetitive in his new mechanics. He needs a full year back.
I agree with you on Mize.
Javy Baez is Aaron Judge compared to Torkelson in terms of value this year. I can’t think of a player who has been less valuable this year. The other guys like Tim Anderson,etc are on bad teams.
Detroit isn’t a good team
When did I say they were? I do know that the difference between a good Torkelson and a -1 war torkelson this year would be about 3 wins so far this year.
They are .500 so not a bad team either. They are average
Baez is worse. At least there is still hope for Tork.
Baez plays elite Defense & is batting .280 RISP whereas Tork was 0-34 RISP in his last 34 attempts. Tork was 1-1 Baez was a bad signing but at least he’s contributing 2 things that Tork isn’t & hasn’t during his career.
Baez’s defense hasn’t been as good this year, his OPS is like .500 and he will never be able to take a walk, but who else could they play there right now. He has been stealing some bases and does have 25 RBI so there’s that.
Tork needed the demotion to get retorqued! Or maybe he will never be the guy they thought he would be. A change of scenery might be in order.
A different hitting coach and possibly the ability to listen to them might fix him. They need to send Miggy to Toledo to work with him, he’s made a ton of good hitters working with them over the years.
Interesting point on Miggy. Maybe he’d listen to him.
BUST! Billy Butler, jr,and not even that good.
Mmmm country breakfast…
Tigers have to look their batting coach and batting player development….Both Tork and to a lesser extent Greene have been disappointments as high draft picks. The. Baez goes from a feared hitter to possibly the worst hitter in the league. Tigers player development has to look in the mirror.
Exactl.y. I keep having to explain to Pirates fans that money isn’t the root issue. Teams are built on the backs of developing talent, whether they’re the big market ones or the small market ones. It’s just that small market teams have less margin for error.
Baez had been trending down before Avila signed him. Nobody saw it getting this bad this fast, of course.
Baez is a product of Detroit trying to get a great player cheaper. There were others available but for more money, so they took cheaper option, and we see how that works out
Bill James laughed at the amount Baez was given. Not worth half that amount he said.
Greene hasnt been bad at all. Just not living up to expectations some might have had this early for him.
Yes, but then you have Kerry Carpenter and Wenceel Perez.
Greene’s been a good player, probably won’t be a superstar ever but still he’s a more than capable MLB ballplayer. Tork, the juries still out but not looking promising
V Robles, a vaughn, torkelson, j walker
All highly rated prospects who flopped
Things dont always turn out how you hope
Walker was called up just last year he isn’t a flop yet
He had that hit streak as a rookie too
Yeah Walker just turned 22. Definitely not a bust overrated sure but many guys his age are in the minors still.
Tork hit 30 HRs last year. It’s not like he has shown an extended period of sucking like Baez. There’s still hope for him. He has trade value so maybe they should give some consideration to that while he still has value.
henry davis was never a top 10 ranked prospect like these others
but he was the #1 overall pick
and so far has been a total bust too
can also add kelenic to the list of shame. and lux, adell, senzel, whitley…. gosh there’s so many top picks/prospects that just never materialized in the majors
just bec walker’s 22 doesnt mean hes not a flop yet
when you are ranked #4 overall there’s high expectations. you need to contribute immediately like acuna or soto. this yr walker hit .150 before being demoted. what planet are you on where that’s anything but a disappointment? maybe in couple of yrs things change. but right now, today, as we speak, walker has produced nothing but underwhelming results
A lot of players still hitting as they should this year.
*not*
L tigers
Long overdue move, Tork has been flat-out awful this season. I hope he can right the ship, but I think it’s quite obvious the Tigers didn’t get the superstar slugger they’d hoped for with the 1-1 pick.
Torkelson has always been a slow starter (to the season), but at the major league level, it’s unacceptable. He’s got to learn to hit a fastball, and to swing at strikes. It’s almost like Javy has been his hitting coach.
And STYMEEDONE needs to learn how to evaluate baseball correctly. Javy has been his hitting coach? They don’t resemble each other at all. Javy swings at everything. Most times, Torkelson doesn’t, especially if it’s a hittable pitch. The brain worm just snacked on STYMEEDONE yet again.
Wow, maybe a DFA for Javy next? Harris actually made a smart decision for a change
Except for the other many smart decisions, you are right
Harris’s “Smart” decisions…
ERod no-trade
cutting Spencer Turnbull
Jamier Candelario
Willi Castro
Picking up Jake Marisnick instead of Aaron Hicks
Kenta Maeda
Doing nothing to improve a terrible offense
Not bad for a year and a half of running the team.
Candelario played himself off the Tigers. If his defense had not nosedived along with his offense he would have come back.
Marisnick over Hicks? You are bitching about end of the bench guys. Marisnick was picked up because of his outstanding CF defense.
As far improving the offense. It is improved over last (27th in runs scored) currently it is around 20th in runs scored.
It is also funny that you did not mention
Trading for Vierling and Canha
Picking Tyler Holton off the scrap heap
Signing Urshela
Giving Colt Keith a starting spot
Signing Jack Flaherty
Candelario was far better than Maton. Harris had no other plan for 3B
The offense could only get better… but all he did was expect everyone to improve… Oh, he picked up Canha… a 35 year old DH. A real good guy for the future. LOL
Vierling is good.. Kody Clemens has been just as good. .
Canha is decent… for a 35 year old one year solution.
Holton? Everyone gets a mediocre reliever off the scrap heap every year.
Urshela … I suggested signing Urshela when they lost Candelario. Tiger fans said Maton was better. I like Urshela, but he’s a no power, no OBP, singles hitter.
Colt Keith? Should be at AAA. He might end up like Tork if they keep this up.
Flaherty has been amazing. I hope he can pitch 150 innings.
Melchez…based on their performance (Candy and Castro) and attitude/performance (Turnbull) none of those players showed enough to warrant getting anything more than an invite to spring training. Candy was worth a flier which you and I agree on but it was worth taking a chance on Vierling and Maton. Maton didn’t pay off but Vierling has.
Jubilation makes the same points I copy paste every time you and Stymedone start with your Harris bashing. In addition to the moves he referenced, Harris has also picked up Leonard for nothing and contrary to what you think had a great draft (there’s your opening for your Langford tirade). And…there is now a GM in place and feel free to point to all the “bad moves” Greenberg has made. Signing Maeda…the year is not over yet so give the guy a chance because he was great in the second half last year. He also signed Flaherty, BP arms, Urshela and traded for Canha. No bad moves there and the Flaherty signing was an extremely smart move. Maybe focus on what Greenberg is doing, not Harris and it will make you happier because he has done a great job so far.
Just a terrible post. all around.
Who replaced Candy, Castro and Turnbull? Maton, McKinstry and Maeda. Please don’t tell me that was an improvement.
Flaherty was a 1 year deal… he will probably be gone. Does zero for long term team building.
Canha is 35, again, nothing for long term team building.
Leonard is Nick Maton 2.0. He’s hitting .22 in A ball now.
Clark is up to .270 at A ball… 4 more years before we get Derek Hill 2.0
He let Lipcius walk also. He’s hitting over .300 with 14 homers in AAA for LA. He chose Kennedy over Lipcius.
Harris and Greenberg are clowns.
So the people who replaced the .200 hitters and 5.50 ERA pitchers had similar hitting and pitching profiles to the people they replaced. One could argue that Flaherty replaced Turnbull except Turnbull didn’t actually have a spot so really no one replaced him did they. And he was NOT a team player anyway so who wants that distraction.
So now Lipcius is a star? No.
Your crystal ball is out again predicting Leonard and Clark’s future now? Stop just focussing on the negative. There are lots of positives at the major league level, Skubal, Olson, Carp, Greene and in the minors, Jobe, Jung, McGonigle, Malloy for starters.
Won’t they have to make another move since he’s not on the 40 man?
Probably Easton Lucas who gets kicked off the 40 man in favor of Malloy. No one would feel too bad if they DFA’ed Baez or McKinistry either.
I, for one, wouldn’t miss either Javy or McKinstry either, but the obvious odd man out is Lucas. Maybe next man up, either Leonard or Kreidler get the honor of replacing one of the aforementioned two.
Tork isn’t a bust. He’s the victim of the worst hitting instruction program in the league. It’s been the worst most of my life. I think Travis Fryman was the last of the regular hitters the Tigers used to produce. Most of the Tigers prospects that found MLB success did so with other teams or outside help. Tork has the tools, he just needs another team’s coaches to unlock them.
Before trading him, get rid of said hitting coach(es). I agree, they’re useless. Too many players seem lost at the plate and they all have the skills to hit. Instead, they either bat sub-.250 w/ .500 OPS or they’re shipped to Toledo to figure things out.
There is no such thing as a bust unless it is self-inflicted. It isn’t Torkelson’s fault the scouts overrated him.
They’ve been cycling through hitting coaches for years. Two of the current three were also with the team last year. Then there was the lauded Scott Coolbaugh disaster in 2021-2022. The team hit under Joe Vavra in 2020 so maybe they should see if he’s up for a rendezvous. Wikipedia says he’s available. Even Leave ’em Loaded Lloyd McClendon would be an improvement!
They need someone to take over the entire organization’s hitting instruction and to get everyone on the same page, at all levels. I just can’t understand how they’ve been so inept for so long.
Couldn’t agree more. The philosophy of being a patient hitting team only works if the players are comfortable hitting behind in the count. I can’t count how many 1st pitch grooved strikes we let go.
Ironically for such a punch able face, a lack of punch may do him in.
He’ll look good in Toledo, blue and red !
Go Hens !!
He is a fat bust!
Great move, and it keeps the season in a positive trend. The Tigers are doing well with attendance and the summer season is just starting too. Tork ain’t cutting it, so this is a fantastic move.
Too bad they can’t option Javy to the minors….or he’d be goin right along with Tork
Straight swap with the A’s for Brent Rooker. A’s get a young player with potential and Detroit get an in form player with obvious pop
No, how would Torkelson help the A’s?
Package him with Jung and a bunch of pitching to the Mets for Alonso, Baty and Parada.
Rod Torfulson’s Armada Featuring Herman Menderchuk
Didn’t earn his keep…
He’s beginning to look like a AAAA player.
I think it’s time to give Vierling 3B. They keep bouncing him around… one day in CF, the next in right, the next at 3B… he has earned the right to stick at one spot. Urshella is a solid player, but he has very little pop. He can be utility this year… maybe have him play some short for Javy.
Versatility is more valuable
2020 draft was really difficult for many teams for obvious reason. Many high school players went to NCAA instead so that this draft was weaker. This also made 2023 draft much stronger as a result. It is still too early to tell, but the Orioles getting Kjerstad, Westburg, and Mayo from this draft is remarkable.
Tork will become a hr machine!
IF, the Yankees really want to make a run at Soto, they are totally primed for a salary for prospects trade in Stanton and DJ.
Why does no one else see it? This is a trade RUMORS site? It’s questionable if they have the prospects, but this would be a good year to do that. Open sesame on the purse strings. Buy some prospects.
Hire the Superfife!
Build a winner.
Build a dynasty!
Elsie, the Bordon cow, approved this message.
*Borden
What drugs do you take?
Deoxyribonucleic acid
I will admit your response was pretty funny and made me laugh.
Take a time machine back 5-7 years and maybe that makes sense. Why would Detroit need two DHs who can’t stay on the field in Stanton and Lemahieu and why would they trade the prospects they are trying to develop for them?
4 things in life are guaranteed
Death
Taxes
Tigers top draft pics and big money signing being busts
And as long as they keep developing 9th rd picks like Skubal and 16th rd picks like Carp that’s okay!
Carpenter is smart… he has his own hitting coach.
Is this still happening today?