Brad Eldred

The Tigers announced that they released Brad Eldred from their Triple-A roster and that he has elected to sign with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan (Twitter link). Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net first reported the deal three days ago (Twitter link).

Eldred, 31, appeared in five games for the Tigers this year and also has MLB experience with the Pirates and Rockies. The 6'6" first baseman has a .268/.336/.546 batting line with 251 home runs in 11 minor league seasons. He already has 24 home runs at Triple-A Toledo this year.

The Tigers have designated Brad Eldred for assignment to make room for the returning Delmon Young, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com.  Eldred has been placed on outright waivers and can be claimed by any club but is likely to return to Triple-A Toledo, Beck tweets.

Eldred, 31, got off to a ludicrously hot start for Toledo, hitting .388/.444/1.013 with 13 homers in 90 plate appearances.  Eldred's major league stint with Detroit didn't last long as the slugger only saw time in five games.  In parts of eight Triple-A seasons, Eldred has a slash line of .260/.327/.537.

Young was placed on the restricted list on April 28th after being arrested for aggravated harassment following an altercation at the team hotel in New York.  The departure of Eldred leaves Young as the sole right-handed power bat off of the Tigers' bench and might lead to the 26-year-old seeing more time at DH.