Report: Chase Lee Optioned to Triple-A by DetroitTigers

According to an initial report from MLive's Evan Woodbery, the Detroit Tigers have sent right-handed pitcher and former Alabama reliever Chase Lee to Triple-A Toledo. Woodbery added the club has promoted pitcher Keider Montero. He first reported Lee did not have a locker in the clubhouse.

The team officially confirmed the moves almost an hour later. Lee made his Major League Baseball debut on April 22. Since then, the former Crimson Tide standout has made eight appearances, working to a 1.00 earned run average. He last pitched in MLB on Mother's Day.

Tuesday is the second time Lee has been optioned to Toledo in a week. He was first sent down on May 8 as the corresponding move for outfielder Brewer Hicklen. Lee was called back up last Saturday when right-hander Casey Mize landed on the injured list.

These procedural moves are not uncommon with young players. Montero himself has been up and down multiple times since the start of the 2025 regular season. Teams are able to send and recall players five times in an option year before subjecting them to waivers.

If five options are exceeded during a campaign in which a player has options remaining, he must be designated for assignment and passed through waivers before the organization can demote him to the minor leagues.

Lee was traded to the Tigers by the Texas Rangers organization midway through last season, having made it as far as Triple-A while under Texas' umbrella. Tuesday's move is less an indicator of the team's satisfaction with his performance to date than it is that these things happen when a player can be optioned and other roster holes need to be filled at a given moment.