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Detroit Tigers: Good Bye JaCoby Jones. Hello Victor Reyes. What’s Next?

By Michael Sicilia |
DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 10: JaCoby Jones #21 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates with Harold Castro #30 of the Detroit Tigers after hitting an inside-the-park home run against the Chicago White Sox during the seventh inning at Comerica Park on August 10, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 10: JaCoby Jones #21 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates with Harold Castro #30 of the Detroit Tigers after hitting an inside-the-park home run against the Chicago White Sox during the seventh inning at Comerica Park on August 10, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
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A few weeks ago, I spoke about the Detroit Tigers’ need for an outfield reboot and there has been some subsequent shuffling.

First, the Detroit Tigers sent struggling outfielder Victor Reyes down to Triple-A Toledo.  Apparently, he must really like the first-class accommodations of Major League Baseball as he promptly found his stroke to the tune of .391/.482/.543 at the plate with 7 walks in this 56 plate appearance, notable because that is extremely out of character from his 3.8% career walk rate.

JaCoby Jones meanwhile continued to struggle, as those flashes of offense we saw the last couple of years appear to be out of his grasp. In the last 14 days, he has managed just .200/.286/.200 and for the season contributing an abysmal OPS+ of 30.

Now the roles are reversing as Reyes has earned a recall from General Manager Al Avila and his trusty cohorts, and JaCoby Jones looks like he has found his Mikie Mahtook season at age 29, demoted to Toledo for some Tony Paco’s before he ends up unceremoniously being released at season’s end, latching onto a new organization for depth on a minor league deal.

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – Center fielder Victor Reyes loses the ball in the sun. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – Center fielder Victor Reyes loses the ball in the sun. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Enter Victor Reyes for his last chance tryout for the 4th outfielder position next season. Turning 27 in October and entering his arbitration years, Victor is giving a golden opportunity to prove he can be a serviceable major league player. Sustained improvement in plate discipline and some power must be part of the equation this go around for me to consider moving forward with him as he becomes more costly.

Any reasonable performance and his roster spot should be secure for the rest of this season as CF depth is a real issue with Baddoo being the only other real option on the roster with Hittin’ Harold Castro able to spell the position in a pinch. What if Victor Reyes flames out quickly again? Let’s take a look at the options that Detroit has on their 40-man roster.

Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers /

Detroit Tigers prospect Derek Hill

While I am still extremely doubtful he hits enough to be a major league regular, Derek Hill warrants at least a look if he continues this .302/.373/.509 start with the MudHens.  I think they should have given him a look now for a week or two while he has the numbers and confidence and sees what happens but this front office love affair with Reyes just could not be denied. Daz Cameron, another popular name that fans often call for is struggling out of the gate as he returns from injury. I want to see his call-up earned and in another few weeks that could be the case but his time is not now and Hill is in front of him at the 1/4 pole but that could change easily by the half-mile marker.

Derek Hill has shown extra-base power with three doubles, a triple with the pair of home runs, and his walk rate is at 9.8%, which his highest since Low-A in 2017. He already has been spent time being the 27th man on the roster whenever the Tigers have needed the position filled and his ability to play all three positions in the outfield and already familiar with the spacious Comerica Park, you might as well see what he can do with more playing time.

Hill’s all-or-nothing style in the outfield has created some of these web gems.

Catchers
Catchers /

Eric Haase & Daz Cameron

The red hot emergence of local hero Eric Haase who seems to be a passable outfielder while splitting reps with Jake Rogers and Wilson Ramos (who is back on the IL)  behind the dish makes the corner outfield position potentially more productive from an offensive standpoint and puts Nomar Mazara in play to be the next outfielder to be shown the door. If Mazara isn’t providing power then he really has no place on the roster.

His defense is not Nick Castellanos/Christin Stewart bad with a respectable  RTOT/YR of 5 so far this season, but not nearly enough that 4 extra-base hits in his 78 PA’s warrants a roster position. What would I do next? Calling up Derek Hill in the next 7 to 10 days assuming he doesn’t fall off a cliff to split the CF time with Reyes while having Grossman in one corner spot with Reyes/Haase holding down the other while sprinkling in some Akil Baddoo is more serviceable now for this team as well as being able to evaluate what is needed for the 2022 season.

It just makes sense. Perhaps AJ Hinch can just say this loud enough in a hallway that Al Avila can overhear it and steal the idea as his own. While I was all for the Nomar Mazara signing and giving him an opportunity to see if that bright prospect status might be late-blooming, it has become apparent there just isn’t enough for a future in Detroit and moving on sooner rather than later seems prudent.

If Mazara earns a reprieve over the next couple of weeks or the front office is settled that Hill doesn’t warrant a real look, which I can understand because I don’t think there is a major league bat there either, then it’s on to Daz Cameron once his bat gets going. Stay tuned to see how this situation plays out over the next couple of months!

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