Tigers outright Manuel Margot, release Kenta Maeda

The Tigers announced they’ve activated veteran outfielder Manuel Margot from the 10-day injured list and sent him outright to Triple-A Toledo. He was placed on waivers earlier this week and already went unclaimed. Detroit also placed Kenta Maeda on unconditional release waivers after designating him for assignment last week. Once he clears waivers, he’ll be a free agent. Margot’s removal from the 40-man roster drops their count to 38.

Margot signed a split contract at the end of Spring Training. Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Wenceel Pérez were injured, leaving the Tigers scrambling for outfield depth. Margot started five games through the season’s first week and a half, but inflammation in his left knee sent him to the shelf on April 8.

Javier Báez kicked out to center field and has had an excellent start to the season, hitting .309/.350/.479 in 28 games. Zach McKinstry is rotating between third base and the corner outfield. He’s out to a .291/.375/.427 start over 32 contests. Kerry Carpenter is playing right field regularly, while Riley Greene is locked into left field. Báez and McKinstry probably won’t remain this productive, but the Tigers have little reason to take either out of the lineup while they’re playing well. While Detroit could’ve used Margot off the bench while optioning a younger hitter like Justyn-Henry Malloy or Jace Jung, they elected to stick with their current position player group.

Margot has well over three years of service time to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Tigers didn’t provide any indication that he’d do that, however. His contract pays at a $200K rate for time spent in the minors (and a prorated $1.3M for his time on the MLB roster or injured list). He’d join Akil Baddoo, Brewer Hicklen, Jahmai Jones and Ryan Kreidler among outfield depth in Toledo if he accepts the assignment.

Maeda’s release was the expected outcome. Teams have five days following a DFA to try to line up a trade, but that rarely happens with veterans on lofty salaries. The Tigers needed to find a trade partner by Tuesday or place Maeda on waivers. He would’ve been able to decline an outright assignment without forfeiting any salary, so the Tigers simply released him.

The 29 other teams technically have an opportunity to grab Maeda off waivers, but doing so would require assuming the remainder of his $10M salary. That obviously isn’t happening. They’ll wait until he clears and becomes a free agent. If Maeda signs elsewhere, his new club would only be responsible for the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for whatever time he spends on the MLB roster. The Tigers will pay the remainder of the salary.

It closes the books on a disappointing year-plus tenure in the Motor City. Detroit signed Maeda to a two-year, $24M free agent deal during the 2023-24 offseason. The former Cy Young runner-up had fanned 27% of opponents with a 4.23 ERA during his walk year with the Twins. While it looked like a solid rotation pickup, Maeda’s production tanked immediately in Detroit. He allowed a 6.09 ERA over 112 1/3 innings a year ago, losing his rotation spot in the process. Maeda opened this season in low-leverage relief and didn’t fare any better, giving up eight runs (seven earned) over eight innings. He allowed nine free baserunners — six walks and three hit batters — while recording eight strikeouts.