Former Yankees third baseman designated for assignment

The Tigers announced Friday that they have selected the contracts of infielders Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney, moves that were reported Thursday. 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 before 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 would naturally impact his 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 $5M.

The Tigers were able to nab Urshela for a guarantee of just $1.5M 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 before 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.

It would have been a steal if the Tigers got anything close to that kind of performance for their modest investment. 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 hopeless position, but they are focused on the future. Before the deadline, they traded away Jack Flaherty, Carson Kelly, Andrew Chafin and Mark Canha. They will use the remainder of the schedule to expose Jung and Sweeney 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 still has about $345K of his salary to be paid out, meaning a claiming team wouldn’t be taking on vast amounts of money by grabbing him. However, given his performance both last year and this year, he may pass 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 enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping that salary in place. The Tigers would be on the hook for that money if he becomes a free agent. 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 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. He has thrown 49 Triple-A innings between the two organizations with a 3.31 ERA. The 11.2% walk rate is high, 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. He could be a long-term depth piece for any club intrigued by his Triple-A numbers this year. 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.