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Keston Hiura

Rockies Option Michael Toglia, Designate Aaron Schunk, Select Keston Hiura

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The Rockies announced three roster moves Saturday, including the selection of Keston Hiura’s minor league contract to the active roster.  In corresponding moves, Colorado designated infielder Aaron Schunk for assignment and optioned Michael Toglia to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Toglia’s demotion is the most noteworthy of the transactions, as the former first-rounder has been the Rockies’ everyday first baseman.  After struggling in limited playing time in 2022-23, Toglia had a borderline breakout over 458 plate appearances in 2024, hitting .218/.311/.456 with 25 home runs.  While this still translated to just a 98 wRC+, Toglia showed some strong power and contact numbers, as well as an outstanding 11.8% walk rate.

Those promising signs have evaporated this season, however, amidst the disaster that is the 2025 Rockies season.  Toglia has hit just .194/.266/.349 with six home runs over 207 PA, with his walk rate dropping to only slightly above the league average.  The swing-and-miss problems that have persisted throughout his brief MLB career have continued, as Toglia has struck out a league-leading 81 times in those 207 PA.

Against these extreme struggles, Toglia will head back to Albuquerque to see if he can get himself on track.  The hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League isn’t exactly the most accurate representation of batting prowess, but posting some good numbers would do well to help Toglia’s confidence in preparation for another call-up later in the year.  As Toglia approaches his 27th birthday in August, it is also fair to wonder if the Rox still view him as a potential long-term answer in the lineup, or if first base could be one of the many positions that may be reviewed when the team takes stock after what might be a record-setting nightmare year.

Hiura was an even more highly-touted prospect during his days in the Brewers’ farm system, as Hiura was viewed as one of the sport’s top minor leaguers.  An outstanding 2019 rookie season seemed to answer that promise, yet Hiura has since hit only .203/.287/.384 over 736 Major League plate appearances since Opening Day 2020.  Like Toglia, Hiura has been very prone to strikeouts, with a 36K% to show for his big league career.  Hiura elected free agency after being cut loose from the Angels last season, and he joined Colorado on a minors deal this past winter.

Toglia was the Rockies’ first-round pick in the 2019 draft, and Schunk went in the second round, selected 62nd overall.  Schunk made his Major League debut last season, and has a .230/.254/.311 slash line to show for 127 PA during the 2024-25 seasons, while playing at second, third, and shortstop.

Kyle Farmer, Orlando Arcia, and Tyler Freeman are utility types on the Rockies’ roster, so even though Schunk is a homegrown product, the Rox felt he was an expendable piece.  Schunk was already designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster back in February, so if he clears waivers again, he can choose free agency rather than accept another outright to Albuquerque.

Rockies To Sign Keston Hiura, Nick Martini To Minor League Deals

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The Rockies have agreed to minor league deals with infielder Keston Hiura and outfielder Nick Martini, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Both players will receive an invite to Colorado’s major league spring camp. Hiura is represented by CAA Sports, while Martini is represented by Meister Sports Management.

Hiura, 28, has shown huge power potential in the majors. Unfortunately, that has been undercut by a massive strikeout problem. At this point, he has 1,084 major league plate appearances. 50 of those resulted in homers but 390 ended with a strikeout, a 36% punchout rate.

In 2024, he was only in the majors briefly, as the Angeles had him on the roster for a few weeks in July. He got 27 plate appearances in 10 games, hitting .148 with ten strikeouts. He also stepped to the plate 364 times at the Triple-A level, between the Tigers’ and Angels’ systems, hitting 26 home runs but striking out 29.4% of the time. Defensively, Hiura came up as a second baseman but his glovework hasn’t been well regarded at that spot. That’s led him to spend more time at first base, with a few stops in left field along the way.

With the big strikeouts and lack of defensive contributions, Hiura hasn’t managed to contribute much in his career yet. However, he’s a fine enough depth add for the Rockies. They’ve lost over 100 games in two straight seasons now, so competing in 2025 will be a challenge. There could be a path to playing time in the club’s first base/designated hitter mix. Kris Bryant will be one option there but he’s coming off three straight injury-marred seasons. Michael Toglia is also in the mix but he’s fairly Hiura-esque himself, having hit 25 home runs last year with a 32.1% strikeout rate.

Perhaps an injury to someone in that group, or someone in the corner outfield mix, could open up some playing time for Hiura. If he gets a roster spot, watching him hit at Coors Field could make for a good show. He is out of options but has less than four years of service time.

Martini, 35 in June, has a far less extreme profile. He has 575 career plate appearances over five separate seasons. His 9.6% walk rate and 21.7% strikeout rate are both slightly better than average. His .252/.336/.400 batting line leads to a 101 wRC+, indicating he’s been very slightly above average as a hitter in his career. Defensively, he’s played all three outfield slots, though mostly in left. His glovework there has been graded just a shade below par.

The outfield mix in Colorado projects to include Brenton Doyle, Nolan Jones, Sam Hilliard, Jordan Beck, Greg Jones, Sean Bouchard, Zac Veen and others. If Martini gets a roster spot at any point, he is out of options but has less than three years of service time.

11 Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

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Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Outright Assignments: Hiura, Short

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Catching up on some outright assignments from around the league today…

  • The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve assigned infielder Keston Hiura outright to Triple-A. Hiura was designated for assignment earlier this week to make room for the return of infielder Luis Rengifo from the injured list. The ninth overall pick of the 2017 draft and a former consensus top-20 prospect in the sport, Hiura impressed with a big rookie season in 2019 where he slashed an impressive .303/.368/.570 in 84 games with the Brewers while playing second base, though he went on to struggle badly on both sides of the ball over the next two seasons with a combined slash line of just .192/.279/.362 in 120 games. Hiura move primarily to first base headed into the 2022 season and had a decent season where he posted a 115 wRC+, but a massive 41.7% strikeout rate led Milwaukee to part ways with the youngster. Hiura spent all of the 2023 season in the minors but resurfaced in Anaheim this year for ten games, going 4-for-27 with ten strikeouts and no extra base hits as a fill-in second baseman for the Halos.
  • The Braves announced today that they’ve assigned infield Zack Short outright to Triple-A. A 17th-round pick by the Cubs in the 2017 draft, Short was swapped to the Tigers in a trade that sent Cameron Maybin to Chicago during the shortened 2020 season and debuted for Detroit the following year. After struggling badly in brief cameos at the big league level in 2021 and ’22, Short got a lengthy run in the majors last year and slashed a lackluster .204/.292/.339 in 110 games in a bench role for the Tigers. He’s played for three teams in 2024 since getting designated for assignment by Detroit back in November. He was claimed by the Mets and kept on their 40-man roster throughout the offseason but appeared in just ten games before being dealt to the Red Sox, who themselves employed Short for just two games before trading him to Atlanta. During his time with the Braves, Short demonstrated solid on-base ability but hit just .148 with minimal power, giving him an overall slash line of .148/.313/.204 in 69 trips to the plate. Short figures to remain with Atlanta as non-roster depth option going forward, though he’ll be eligible for minor league free agency at years’ end if not added back to the 40-man roster by then.

Angels Reinstate Luis Rengifo, Designate Keston Hiura

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The Angels are designating infielder Keston Hiura for assignment, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (X link). The move opens an active roster spot for the reinstatement of Luis Rengifo from the 10-day injured list. The Halos now have two vacancies on their 40-man roster.

Rengifo missed around three weeks with inflammation in his right wrist. It doesn’t seem all that serious. The Halos fortunately managed to get him back a week before the deadline, giving him a few games to demonstrate he’s at full health. The switch-hitting Rengifo is one of the better offensive options who should be available this summer. He’s hitting .315/.358/.442 across 269 plate appearances.

While he’s unlikely to maintain a .349 average on balls in play, Rengifo should still be an above-average hitter. He makes a ton of contact and topped 15 homers in 2022 and ’23. Over the past two and a half seasons, he owns a .275/.325/.437 line over more than 1200 trips to the plate. He has destroyed left-handed pitching while turning in league average results against righties. Rengifo isn’t a great defender anywhere, but he’s capable of bouncing around the infield and occasionally logging corner outfield reps.

Rengifo is making $4.4MM this season. He’s controllable through arbitration for one more season. MassLive reported yesterday that the Red Sox have shown some interest, though they’re likely one of many teams that’ll be in touch with the Halos. Speculatively speaking, the Yankees, Pirates and Royals are a few others that would make sense as suitors for Rengifo.

Hiura got the call in conjunction with Rengifo’s IL placement. The former #9 overall pick went 4-27 (all singles) and struck out 10 times in as many games. That was Hiura’s first major league work since 2022. Since an excellent rookie campaign five years ago, he’s a .203/.287/.384 hitter with a 38.5% strikeout rate at the MLB level.

The UC Irvine product has continued to hit well against Triple-A pitching, but he hasn’t carried that over against MLB arms. He owned a solid .270/.346/.536 slash over 68 minor league contests with the Tigers and Angels before being called up. He’s out of options, so the Halos couldn’t send him back to the minors without taking him off the 40-man roster. It’s unlikely they’ll find a trade partner, so Hiura is likely to hit the waiver wire this week. He has already cleared outright waivers once in his career and could elect free agency if he goes unclaimed again.

Angels Place Luis Rengifo On 10-Day IL, Select Keston Hiura

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The Angels announced that infielder Luis Rengifo has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 4) due to inflammation in his right wrist.  In corresponding moves, the Halos selected the contract of infielder Keston Hiura from Triple-A, and moved right-hander Andrew Wantz to the 60-day injured list.

Rengifo was removed from Wednesday’s game after appearing to injure himself on a swing. Per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register on X, the club said he had some wrist soreness and would be going for imaging. The X-rays found no break, per Fletcher on X yesterday, but it seems the inflammation and soreness are enough that the club will put him on the shelf for at least a little while.

How he progresses in the coming weeks will be an interesting situation to monitor as he is one of the most straightforward trade candidates this summer. The Angels are 36-50 and one of the few clear sellers this year. Rengifo has just one year of club control beyond this one, making $4.4MM here in 2024 with another pass through arbitration upcoming. The Halos are considered to have a poor farm system, making it unlikely that they will return to contention by next year.

He was a solid contributor for the Halos in the previous two seasons but has seemingly taken a step forward here this year. He slashed .264/.315/.436 over 2022 and 2023, with that production translating to a 108 wRC+. Here in 2024, he currently sports a line of .315/.358/.442 and a 127 wRC+.

At least some of that is probably luck, as Rengifo had a .289 batting average on balls in play in the 2022-23 period but is up to .349 this year. But it’s still his third straight season of producing above-average offense. He also provides plenty of defensive versatility, having played all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base. He’s not considered an especially strong defender anywhere, but the versatility is still attractive to clubs. He’s also added a base-stealing component to his game with 22 swipes this year, more than the 18 he had in his entire career coming into this season.

Those on-field contributions, as well as his salary and extra year of club control, will make him very attractive if he’s healthy. The trade deadline is on July 30, so he has lots of time if this is just a minor issue. But if he suffers any sort of setback, the Angels might miss their window to capitalize on his trade value. Injured players can still be traded but it’s rare that they actually happen as the offers usually get dropped to reflect the uncertain health status.

In the meantime, the Angels will have to cobble a lineup together without Rengifo. He has mostly been playing second and third base this year, with Anthony Rendon, Miguel Sano and Brandon Drury all spending time on the injured list. Rendon is still on the IL but Sano and Drury are healthy now and likely to play third and second base, respectively. Luis Guillorme is around as a bench infielder.

Hiura, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Angels just a few weeks ago after being released by the Tigers. He reported to Triple-A Salt Lake and has been on an absurd tear since, hitting 12 home runs in 19 games for a line of .360/.429/.853.

But hitting home runs has never been the problem for Hiura. He has always put the ball over the fence but has also been struck out in huge numbers at the same time. In over a thousand plate appearances in the majors, he has 50 long balls but a 36% strikeout rate. Even while going on that insane speed run with the Bees in the past few weeks, he’s been punched out 28.1% of the time.

For the Halos, there’s little harm in bringing him up to see if they can catch lightning in a bottle. They have been using Willie Calhoun as their primary designated hitter for the past two months. He has a passable line of .273/.337/.391 in 178 plate appearances this year but with just two homers, not the kind of pop that clubs usually hope to get from their DH. Hiura is in the DH spot today with Calhoun on the bench.

The Angels might also be tempted to put Hiura at second base sometimes, as that’s where he played when he first came up as a prospect. But his glovework was considered poor and he has spent more time at first base in recent years. But he did still get a bit of time at the keystone while in Salt Lake, so it’s perhaps not off the table. Nolan Schanuel is having a subpar year at first, hitting .239/.309/.352, and has almost no minor league experience. The club shot him to the majors last year after just 22 games on the farm as they were trying to stay in the playoff race, skipping him over Triple-A entirely. If Hiura is hitting well, perhaps a stint in the minors for Schanuel isn’t out of the question either.

If things don’t go well with Hiura, he is out of options and will have to be removed from the 40-man to be nudged off the active roster. But if things click, he can theoretically be retained for three arbitration seasons beyond this one.

As for Wantz, he was just placed on the 15-day injured list a few days ago with right elbow inflammation. His status is still unclear but the fact that he has been quickly transferred to the 60-day IL is ominous. He’ll now be ineligible to be reinstated until early September.

Angels Sign Keston Hiura To Minor League Deal

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The Angels informed reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) that they’ve signed infielder Keston Hiura to a minor league contract. He’ll report to Triple-A Salt Lake after being released by the Tigers last week. He is a CAA client.

Hiura is a Southern California native who starred at UC-Irvine. The Brewers selected him ninth overall in the 2017 draft. Hiura was a top prospect who looked like a budding star when he hit 19 homers in 84 games as a rookie for Milwaukee during the ’19 season. That huge debut showing came with a 30.7% strikeout rate that unfortunately previewed massive swing-and-miss problems. Hiura’s strikeout rate increased in each subsequent season, leading to a cumulative .205/.293/.394 slash between 2020-22.

The Brewers outrighted Hiura off their 40-man roster on the eve of the 2023 season. He spent the year in Triple-A and qualified for minor league free agency at year’s end. Hiura signed a minor league deal with Detroit and played in 49 games for their top farm team. He slumped to a .232/.312/.401 batting line across 199 trips to the plate. Hiura walked at a strong 10.6% clip but fanned 28.1% of the time and only hit six homers. The Tigers released him in conjunction with their decision to option former first overall pick Spencer Torkelson, who’ll play regularly at first base in the minors.

While Hiura didn’t have a great couple months with the Tigers, he has a strong minor league résumé. Hiura owns a .289/.382/.550 batting line in nearly 1100 Triple-A plate appearances over parts of five seasons. He blasted 23 homers in 85 contests as recently as last year.

Initially drafted as a second baseman, Hiura scuffled defensively and has moved primarily to first base. The Tigers played him exclusively at first base or designated hitter. Whether the Angels will give him any work at the keystone isn’t clear, but Hiura offers an alternative to struggling first baseman Nolan Schanuel. Last year’s #11 overall pick is hitting .211/.279/.333 over 231 plate appearances in his first full professional season.

Tigers Designate Buddy Kennedy For Assignment, Release Keston Hiura

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy, which was reported on yesterday. To open a spot on the active roster, they optioned first baseman Spencer Torkelson, a move that was also previously reported. To open a 40-man spot for Malloy, infielder Buddy Kennedy was designated for assignment. The Tigers also released first baseman Keston Hiura, with Torkelson taking over as the regular first baseman for Triple-A Toledo. Evan Woodbery of MLive was among those to relay the Hiura news on X.

Kennedy, 25, was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals in February. He has spent most of this year on optional assignment, only stepping to the plate 13 times in the big leagues. In 163 plate appearances for the Mud Hens, he has drawn walks at a strong rate of 11.7% but produced a tepid line of .234/.331/.383. That translates to a wRC+ of 88, indicating he’s been 12% below league average.

The Tigers will now have a week to trade Kennedy or pass him through waivers. If the past year is any indication, he should have plenty of interest around the league. Kennedy spent most of his career with the Diamondbacks until he was designated for assignment in September of last year. He then bounced to the Athletics, Cardinals and Tigers via waiver claims in the next few months.

The interest is understandable when looking at Kennedy’s combination of plate discipline and positional versatility. He’s always drawn a fair amount of walks, taking a free pass 16.8% of the time with Arizona’s Triple-A club last year. He slashed .318/.444/.481 for Reno last year, a mark that led to a 133 wRC+ even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He’s also spent time at all four infield spots, though just two innings at shortstop, and has appeared in left field as well.

He is in his final option year but could be stashed in the minors for the next few months by any club willing to give him a 40-man roster spot. The offense hasn’t been quite as impressive this year but it’s been a fairly small sample and he’s just a few months removed from being a popular waiver claim target. If he were to clear waivers, he has a previous career outright, which will give him the right to elect free agency rather than accept another outright assignment.

Hiura, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason and has been playing regularly for the Mud Hens. He has hit six home runs but also been punched out in 28.1% of his plate appearances. His .232/.312/.401 line translates to an 83 wRC+. That has generally been the formula with Hiura throughout his career. He has 50 major league home runs in 1,057 plate appearances but also has a massive 36% strikeout rate in the big leagues.

With Torkelson now taking over the first base gig for Toledo, Hiura will return to the open market and see what opportunities are out there for him. He hasn’t been in especially good form this year but the power potential is always intriguing.

Keston Hiura Won’t Make Tigers, Has Upward Mobility Clause

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4:30pm: Petzold tweets that the upward mobility clause dates are March 26, June 1 and August 1.

4:10pm: The Tigers announced today that they have reassigned right-hander Trey Wingenter, left-hander Andrew Vasquez, catcher Anthony Bemboom, infielder Keston Hiura and outfielders Bligh Madris and Ryan Vilade to minor league camp, indicating that no one in that group will make the club’s Opening Day roster.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press takes a look at the moves and notes that the organization plans to have Hiura serve as the primary first baseman for Triple-A Toledo. However, the wrinkle in that plan is that his minor league deal has an upward mobility clause, also known as an assignment clause. There are multiple dates where the Tigers must ask the other 29 clubs if any is willing to give Hiura a roster spot. If any of them say yes, the Tigers either have to call him up themselves or trade him to the team that wants him.

That means that the Tigers can only keep him in Triple-A if the other teams all pass on the chance to take him. Petzold doesn’t provide specifics about the dates when the clause will be triggered, but he does note that one of them is next week.

The 27-year-old has had a feast-or-famine career thus far, as he has shown huge home run power but also a worrying penchant for strikeouts. He has 1,057 plate appearances at the major league level, all with the Brewers from 2019 to 2022. He struck out in 380 of them, a 36% rate which is well above par. The league-wide average was 22.7% in the majors last year, for reference. But Hiura did hit 50 home runs in that time.

Last year, Hiura was stuck in Triple-A. He hit 25 homers in 367 plate appearances at that level while keeping his strikeout rate to a more passable 24.5% clip. But he never got called back up to the big leagues and hit minor league free agency at season’s end, signing a minor league deal with the Tigers.

Here in the spring, he batted .323 for the Tigers with two homers in 34 plate appearances. He only struck out at a 23.5% rate but it’s a small sample size and spring stats are always to be taken with a grain of salt as opposing pitchers may not be major league caliber or may be experimenting as they get ready for the season.

Hiura doesn’t have a strong path to playing time in Detroit. He came up as a second baseman but was a poor defender there and spent more time at first base and left field last year. The Tigers have Spencer Torkelson entrenched at first for the foreseeable future. The designated hitter slot will likely be used to rotate their outfielders through, with Kerry Carpenter perhaps seeing the most time as a DH while Mark Canha, Parker Meadows and Riley Greene are on the grass. The bench will be taken up by backup catcher Carson Kelly and utility infielder/outfielders Andy Ibañez, Zach McKinstry and Matt Vierling.

The Tigers would surely like to keep Hiura around as depth but the other 29 clubs will have multiple opportunities to take a chance on him. The Rays just lost one player from their first base/designated hitter mix as it was reported today that Jonathan Aranda requires surgery for a broken finger. The Yankees may be without DJ LeMahieu to start the season after he fouled a ball of his foot. Hiura wouldn’t be able to step in as the everyday third baseman but could provide another bench bat while Oswaldo Cabrera covers the hot corner. The Angels have Nolan Schanuel as their first baseman despite the fact that he was just drafted last summer, and he’s also currently dealing with some back tightness.

There’s also the possibility for platooning, as Hiura has significant reverse splits in his career. He’s hit just .201/.283/.323 against southpaws for a 64 wRC+ but .253/.332/.508 against righties for a 122 wRC+, despite being a right-handed hitter. For any club that feels they are weak against righties, Hiura will be there for the taking. His deal comes with a $2MM base salary if he’s in the majors.

Tigers Sign Keston Hiura To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have signed free agent Keston Hiura, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s a minor league deal, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Petzold adds that the CAA Sports client will earn $2MM plus incentives if in the majors.

Hiura, 27, has put up huge power numbers but also worrying strikeout totals. The Brewers selected him ninth overall in 2017 and he debuted in the big leagues with that club in 2019. He hit 19 home runs in just 84 games in what was later revealed to be the “juiced balls” season. His 30.7% strikeout rate was on the high side but he was a 22-year-old rookie and it was hoped he could bring that down as he matured and got more exposure to big league pitching.

But instead, the opposite happened. The strikeouts kept mounting and he was frequently optioned to the minors. He got into 200 big league games from 2020 to 2022, hitting 31 homers but also getting punched out in 38.5% of his trips to the plate. He came up as a second baseman but his glovework was considered poor. He gradually spent more time at first base and left field, less-demanding positions from a defensive point of view but ones where the offensive expectations are higher.

Going into 2023, he had exhausted his option years while the Brewers had Rowdy Tellez and Luke Voit blocking his path to playing time at first base and an abundance of corner outfielders as well. They put him on waivers at the end of March and he passed through unclaimed. He and the club had already agreed to a $2.2MM salary and no other club was willing to take that on. He technically had the right to reject an outright assignment since he had over three years of service time, but he lacked the five years of service time necessary to both reject the assignment and keep the money.

Instead, he reported to Triple-A Nashville in order to keep that salary in place. He made a few trips to the minor league injured list and played 85 Triple-A games last year. He hit 23 home runs in that time while keeping his strikeout rate to a 24.5% rate. That’s obviously far better than his time in the major leagues, but a more modest improvement compared to his previous Triple-A stints. From 2019 to 2022, he struck out in 29.1% of his 508 Triple-A appearances.

Hiura never got the call to the big leagues and qualified for free agency at season’s end. For the Tigers, there’s little harm in bringing him aboard via this minor league deal to see how he looks. The power potential is unquestionable and he could be a nice under-the-radar pickup if he’s able to get the strikeouts under control.

He actually has tremendously reversed splits for his career, so would be best served being in the lineup against righties, despite being a right-handed hitter. He’s hit .201/.283/.323 against southpaws in his career but .253/.332/.508 the rest of the time, leading to a split of 64 versus 122 in terms of wRC+.

The Tigers have Spencer Torkelson at first base while their corner outfield and designated hitter time should be split between Riley Greene, Mark Canha and Kerry Carpenter. Torkelson has hit lefties better in his career thus far: .225/.299/.458 batting line and 106 wRC+ compared to a .220/.304/.379 showing and 91 wRC+ against righties. That arguably creates a path for Hiura to earn some at-bats but the Tigers won’t be eager to platoon Torkelson since he’s a former first overall pick and still developing, with the potential to be a key part of their future. Canha and Greene both have fairly even splits while Carpenter is best against righties.

Hiura is somewhat blocked at the moment but injuries are inevitable in a long baseball season. If he’s mashing in Triple-A again and the Tigers find themselves with a hole in their lineup, he might get a shot at filling it. If he’s selected to the roster, he is out of options but he could be controlled beyond this season if things go especially well. He has three years and nine days of service time, meaning that he would be three years from free agency even if he made the Opening Day roster. If he were added a few weeks into the season, he wouldn’t be able to reach the four-year mark this year, thus pushing his free agency back another year.

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