TODAY: The Tigers announced today that Urshela has cleared outright waivers and has been placed on release waivers. In the likely event that Urshela clears release waivers, he’ll become a free agent and be eligible to sign with any of the league’s clubs for a pro-rated portion of the big league minimum.
August 16: The Tigers announced today that they have selected the contracts of infielders Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney, moves that were reported yesterday. In corresponding moves, outfielder Akil Baddoo was optioned to Triple-A Toledo and infielder Gio Urshela was designated for assignment. To open another 40-man spot, left-hander Easton Lucas was designated for assignment. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Urshela move on X prior to the official announcement.
Urshela, 32, reached free agency for the first time after the 2023 season. He had a solid four-year run in the big leagues from 2019 to 2022 but then had an injury-marred 2023 campaign. He got into 62 games with the Angels, hitting just two home runs before a pelvic fracture wiped out the second half of his season.
That was naturally going to impact his individual market but he also had the misfortune of being a part of one of the frostier offseasons in recent memory. Even big-name free agents lingered on the open market well into the new year. Many players below the superstar level ended up settling for very modest deals in the early parts of 2024. Guys like Michael A. Taylor, Enrique Hernández, Adam Duvall, Randal Grichuk and others settled for one-year deals of less than $5MM.
The Tigers were able to nab Urshela for a guarantee of just $1.5MM on a one-year deal. Though his 2023 season wasn’t great, they were likely excited to get a solid veteran at such a low price point. As mentioned, Urshela had a strong four-year run prior to 2023, spending time with the Yankees and Twins. In that stretch, he hit 54 home runs in 435 games and slashed .290/.336/.463 for a wRC+ of 118.
He spent most of that time at third base and generally had the reputation of a strong defender. Bizarrely, Outs Above Average hates him and gave him a grade of -17 in that 2019-22 period, but Defensive Runs Saved gave him a solid grade of +5.
If the Tigers got anything close to that kind of performance for their modest investment, it would have been a steal. Unfortunately, Urshela has not been able to bounce back as hoped. He has been in 92 games for Detroit this year with five home runs and a modest batting line of .243/.286/.333. That translates to a 73 wRC+, indicating he’s been 27% below league average at the plate this year.
Detroit is 7.5 games back of a playoff spot, which isn’t a totally hopeless position, but they are clearly focused on the future at this point. Prior to the deadline, they traded away Jack Flaherty, Carson Kelly, Andrew Chafin and Mark Canha. They are going to use the remainder of the schedule to get Jung and Sweeney exposed to major league pitching, which will nudge Urshela out of their plans.
Since the trade deadline has come and gone, they will have no choice but to place Urshela on waivers in the coming days. He has about $345K of his salary still to be paid out, meaning a claiming team wouldn’t be taking on huge amounts of money by grabbing him. However, given his performance both last year and this year, it’s possible that he passes through unclaimed. He has been hot of late, with a .265/.342/.412 batting line and 108 wRC+ in August, but that’s a sample of just 38 plate appearances amid a rough two-year stretch.
If he passes through unclaimed, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping that salary in place. If he ends up a free agent, the Tigers would be on the hook for that money. Any other club could sign him for the prorated league minimum, which would be subtracted from what the Tigers pay.
Lucas, 27, was just claimed off waivers from the Athletics in May. Since that claim, he has made three appearances for the Tigers with two earned runs allowed, two strikeouts and two walks. Combined with his time with the A’s, he now has 13 2/3 major league innings pitched with a 9.22 earned run average.
His minor league work this year has been far more interesting. Between the two organizations, he has thrown 49 Triple-A innings with a 3.31 ERA. The 11.2% walk rate is on the high side but he’s countered that with a 25.2% strikeout rate.
Lucas still has a full slate of options and less than a year of service time. For any club intrigued by his Triple-A numbers this year, he could be a long-term depth piece. Like Urshela, he will have to be placed on waivers in the coming days since the trade deadline has passed. Lucas has a previous career outright, which would give him the right to elect free agency if he eventually passes through waivers unclaimed.
Come on Yankees! Go grab him! Loved that guy!
agree
This makes sense. Jazz is out and LeMahieu still can’t hit so there are 3B AB’s to be had as well as at 1B where Rice has come down to earth
@pando. I want to hear John Sterling to call “Go Urshela the most happy fella!” one more time. mlb.com/video/00u4kt3yp17281SAW357/reels/gio-urshe…
Wow great call out. Mr Cashman please please. Yanks need Urshela, please get the guy
I’m surprised they are letting urshela go
Akil Baddoo and Zach McKinstry would have been my choices. Urshela hasn’t been very good, but still better than the other two.
McKinstry has more positional versatility plus he can run, but I understand your point, particularly after he failed 3 times,to get a bunt down.
And why was he bunting with two strikes?
When you are hitting in the 180 range they probably figured he was still more likely to get a bunt down than get a hit.
Both of them have years of control left. Urshela is an FA in 7 weeks. He’s the obvious player to let go.
OPS+ of 73, -.6 WAR (as in, “minus”) almost 33, playing on a cheap contract so it doesn’t cost much. He could revive, but…
Mckinstry at least has positive WAR because of his defense. Baez may be the other.
Nvm, didnt even know easton lucas was on the team
Lucas was in AAA
Was in Detroit for a couple minutes and mostly got shelled
He’s hit .203/.263/.290 (good for a 50 wRC+) since the ASB and he’s not exactly bringing stellar defense to the hot corner either.
He’s now hit .267/.304/.350 with 7 HRs in 553 PAs the last two years. The AVG isn’t horrible, but that’s really more from hitting .299 last year than anything.
Best days are definitely behind him at this point. He’ll be 33 this offseason and I’d be surprised if he gets a major league deal from any clubs. Sure, some ST invites and MiLB depth offers, but there’s not much hope for upside left at this stage of his career.
DFA’ing Urshela frees up spots on the 26-man and 40-man rosters. Easton Lucas only frees up a 40-man spot. Somebody must be going on the IL???
Edit: Baddoo going to Toledo. There’s the other 26-man spot.
Badoo is being optioned to Toledo for other 26 man spot
Pretty much as most here suspected, Giovani had no future in Detroit and was paid peanuts for a .273 lifetime hitter. Baddoo can now go crash into other OFers back in in Toledo. I’d imagine Jung will be a 3B and Sweeny at SS, sitting down Baez at the moment he may have figured out how to hit again…I’d DH him to find out.. This is more of a service time move by Pee Wee with 44 games left, one short of the minimum to keep both seen as rookies in ’25. No problem, baseball is a business. Pity they have to face Gerrit Cole in their debuts but hey, he won’t go nine innings.
Keep in mind that by having Jung & Sweeney maintain their rookie status’ for 2025 this helps the Tigers since if either of them win the ROY, they get an extra draft pick at the end of the first round in 2026. Not a bad strategy
true nuff.
Screw the draft pick. If either one is good enough to win ROY, I’d rather have them for six years, than five. I really don’t want to wait 5 years to find out if a supplemental pick works out. (We all know Illitch won’t be opening up the wallet to sign an expensive player.)
Like you say trial by fire facing Cole in their first game. What better way to test yourself though.
Well, there’s something to be said for throwing a kid off the end of the dock, but not if there’s a hammerhead shark circling around. One thing in their favor is there is really no book on them for Cole to study. He is mostly a location guy so they might get to him early before he figures them out.
Interesting. I thought it would be McKinstry. Bligh Madris has surprised some at 1st base with a little power. He’s the 1stBaseman now. Urshela was the other 1B option. Who will be the other 1B option now? Vierling? Keith? Is Tork about to come back? Does McKinstry play 1st?
Honestly, thought Urshela’s bat was better than McKinstry’s, but Gio is RH’d and Zach is a lefty.
Tigers have a slew of LH’d hitters. Will also be interesting to see what they do when Greene and Perez come back.
Ibanez has been playing a bit at first. He’s not too bad there. He hits lefties just fine and can platoon, with Madris getting the starts against right-handers.
Ibanez would be the backup 1st baseman to Madris until Tork comes back (maybe)
Andy Ibanez will be the rh 1st baseman. He played 1st against the Giants and KC. Would be nice if Tork could figure it out but… ♂️
Perez is out for the season it sounds like. IF he comes back it would be for last week of the season. Kinda surprised they didn’t move him to the 60 day with that in mind.
Yep, Gio and Canha were the 1B with Tork in Toledo. If Spencer has a good weekend with his pal Riley, both may return because the Tigers need a RH hitter not named Baez or Rogers/Dingler in the lineup. Not sure Tork wants to come back but he’d be called up in Sept. regardless so why not do it now?.
1B gig is Madris for the rest of the year. Tork has yet to show what they need to see for them to bring him back up–they need him to be able to battle against MLB pitching and he’s still unbelievably late against MLB-level fastballs. His HRs in AAA have largely been against change ups and offspeed stuff, and his approach has still been woeful with 2 strikes and situationally.
Tork simply doesn’t seem willing to make the adjustments needed or listen to the coaching staffs. He seems intent to do it his way until the end. It’s a shame.
You don’t hut 31 HR in a season by accident. The talent and natural strength is there. But there’s 0 doubt that without changes to his swing/stance, with better balance and use of his legs, that it will only get worse as time goes on. You can only hit for power with your upper body for so long.
It seems so obvious that Keith at 1B, Jung at 2B and McGonigle/Sweeney/Rainier/whoever on the left is your IF of the future.
Doesn’t seem obvious to me. Keith is holding his own at 2B. Let him learn and get better. Let Jung play 3B. Do the Tigers have to move every player thru every position? Flexibility is nice, but not needed by everyone.
Saw Sweeney debut last night. Big kid, as is Keith. Will be watching to see how Sweeney handles SS. Jung at 3rd too. I though Urshela was decent at 3rd but he actually was a – runs saved guy over there. A major league team absolutely needs good defense on the left side of the infield. Tigers have some work to do.
Probably Gio will end up on the Astros for their playoff run.
Will the Tigers ever learn on bad contracts?
Everyone has their share. So far Maeda has been the only real misfire for Harris/Greenberg and it was a minimal cost, unlike Baez.
You forget about $10M for Matt Boyd?
Yeah but Boyd got injured so we really don’t know how that signing would have turned out.
Getting injured is a risk with every player. We know how it worked out. Badly. Boyd will always be one of my favorites for his off field endeavors, though.
Maeda has been hurt by Hinchs’ infield shifts.
Check it out.
Maeda pitches to contact. He does not need the shifts. Review his games…. ground balls through the shifted infield is what scored runs against Maeda.
Maeda is a very good pitcher. How he works is NOT UNDERSTOOD by his manager.
STOP the shifts and you will discover Maeda is a great pitcher.
Akil Baddoo gets optioned to AAA on his birthday. Ouch.
Crappy birthday to you.
Crappy birthday to you…
And right after a game winning PH!
Back to the Stone age for Akil and his bro Yabba Da
Did you know that in Saudi Arabia they hate the Flintstones, but Abu Dhabi do.
Tigers must be ok with Captain Bligh holding down 1B for the rest of the season to let Urshela go.
Cruising around various baseball sites, the buzz is that Jung is going to be planted at 3B unless he starts butchering it. The swap moving Keith to 3B could come sooner than later if you have a pitcher’s revolt. And Jung has played some 2B in Toledo to keep him aware of being there. With McGonigle and Lee and a few others, it seems 2B will eventually become a hot prize. Keith impresses me as a guy who can play anywhere other than SS. Only Colt and his trainer know if his arm can still handle 3B. Since Tork would obviously be happier someplace else, Colt could end up there too. Just a reminder, Sweeny looks like a keeper on the tape I’ve watched,,,…he really caught fire with the Hens, frozen ropes to all fields…impressive.
I wonder if they will use some of the 2B surplus in the minors as trade bait at some point. Anderson is a 2B as well and looks like he might develop into a decent hitter.
Yep, Anderson too….I suppose that’s Pee Wee’s intention to use a couple of these guys as trade bait…or he is obsessed with 2Bmen for some reason…..he is from San Francisco. If I remember, Anderson was the sandwich pick between Clark and Mac…quite a trio before Mac got his hand broke.. I’m interested in how Riley’s time in Toledo is affecting Tork and if their friendship is still strong. Tork must be one the loneliest guys in the world seeing everybody around him heading back to Detroit and him stuck in Toledo….Toledo!
Even if they don’t see Tork as the future at 1B and plan to ship him out I think they need to play him to build up his trade value. If they do see him as part of the future then he should still be getting MLB at bats. I hope he figures his swing out…30 HR and 90 RBI would be a nice add for the team next year. Maybe he’ll be a September callup?
Studying the way the Yankees pitched Sweeney is what he should be doing for the rest of the season. They knew his weaknesses…..
J6-911 – whos playing 1st base in your lineup, Vierling or Malloy?
I love everyone brushing off Tork…Kieth is 23, Sweeny is 24 and everyone talks about their potential…Tork is also 24 and has already hit 30 HRs in bigs…yes he scuffles this year, but his is only 24 and still has huge upside
Dang tootin….but he and Hinch can’t stand the sight of each other from what I hear. Tork is embarrassed about what has gone down, tried to change some things, like going to RF more, but that’s not him and is back to being pull-happy. They should have made Miggy his mentor but Hinch wouldn’t go for that….control freak, moron.
Forget about the stolen WS ring and take a look at his past….baseball is numbers and his suck. What he is good at is conning front offices and fans…you are a victim…jelly?
Next year Hinch should have a decent team in front of him. That will be the test.
Ausmus had far better players than Hinch.
Ausmus was one of the worst managers of his era.
I think Hinch knows exactly what he’s doing. If you think A.J. gives Torkelson the fits, what do you think Jim Leyland would have done with him.
Ever face 95 mph heat? It is really, really hard to pick a pitch to swing at when it’s coming at you that fast.
Baltimore could use some bolstering of the farm pitching, time to bring Lucas back?
IMO, Cashman should have signed both Gio and Rosario, and now both are available, and I bet they get neither once again
Yeah outs above average is bizarre with their hate. Outs above average caught Urshela talking to it’s ex in the parking lot and has been stalking him ever since
I was surprised Urshela wasn’t traded at the deadline. He’s a decent 3B.
Respect to the Tigers for a reasonable bargain-hunting play. Respect to Urshela who seemed to make a positive impression on fans, other players, the organization. And respect to the Tigers for wanting to turn the last 1 1/2 months into a tryout period for guys like Jung and Sweeney.
I hope Urshela catches on elsewhere and next year turns out to be the comeback year the Tigers were hoping for in ’24.
Sweeny was smooth at SS last night and got a knock off Cole. Jung looks like a tough customer…..the good ones all have that cold stare when it gets down to brass tacks and ear wax. Meanwhile Navigato hit two more dingers last night….neither Riley or Tork were in the lineup on a Friday night…curious. Hinch already has Sweeny moving to 3B next week…..Jung will probably be in RF….throw the dart at the board, AJ Genius.
I don’t see Jung in the OF. I could see Keith at 1B and Jung at 2B though. I think the Tigers really want a bat at 3B. Jung is giving every chance to be that guy. If any moves occur, I bet it won’t be til next year.
Now that Torkelson and Jung are up, Urshela won’t be playing.
Its unfortunate because he’s the best 3B in Detroit and It just demonstrates the Tigers’ poor front office management.
McKinstry may be versatile; who cares? He’s not special at any position and even worse than Baez offensively.
Jace Jung’s family was at Comerica for his debut this weekend. The tv camera couldn’t stop focusing on his girlfriend. He won’t have to chase MLB groupies, trust me.
And Ulthat sets the stage for Urshela to pack a bag and cross the field back to the Yankees dugout 😉 Good luck to him.
Bring back Gio. Even on a losing Angel squad, I like him better than many of the other options.
Next year will be the tough choices for the team. Adding Greene and Perez today would be releasing Baez and Mckinstry. if it was my choice. Since they both play S.S who knows what will happen beyond not resigning Mckinstry. Will Baez get the automatic pass and guys that options available will have to play their butts off ? Probably.
I like what the Tigers are doing now and avoiding taking on some other teams pending F.A’s at huge prides. This Baez signing should cure any team of ever doing it, but I’ll be happy if Detroit is the only one it cures. Drafting H.S position players seems like a fantastic method to avoid it. 3 more years of Javy is a stunner.
Now paying a guy who’s down the road like Skubal is different because he’s been there his whole career. You not only know him the best you’ve had him during his learning low cost years. He’s a Boras player so that might be the prime inhibitor to his staying because he’s always waiting for the highest dollar. Sure Skubal could say I want to stay in Detroit, but then why have Boras ? Next year tough choices for Detroit, and that is a good thing.
Javier Baez is not going to be released and there’s no sense repeating the obvious reason. I have no idea why Zach McKinstry is still in the team. All the positions can be covered, his bat is irrelevant so he’s not an acceptable substitute for Baez or any other position.
Gio would be an upgrade offensively over Hayes at 3B
Maybe tge Guardians might claim?
Maybe Urshelo can help the Braves if Riley misses time?
Called the signing. We’ll see if it helps.
What a mess.
Too many bodies for the 40 man roster come December……
All rookies or near rookies.
No room to sign tradable FAs next off-season.
Those same guys need to prove who is best at the minor league level, not on the MLB roster. The Tiger FO need to not be afraid of passing on a player who could be successful elsewhere. Stop hoarding.
By doing so, they hurt players’ careers and lives.