Detroit Tigers add shortstop Jermaine Palacios in waiver claim

Detroit Tigers claim shortstop Jermaine Palacios off waivers.

The Detroit Tigers have officially made the first acquisition of the Scott Harris era, bringing in shortstop Jermaine Palacios. The Tigers opted to designate right-handed pitcher Drew Hutchison for assignment as the corresponding move.

This move brings in a 26-year-old infielder for the Detroit Tigers to keep around moving forward. There’s going to be a plethora of roster moves and transactions this offseason, but this first move already seems to have some good vibes to it.

The initial reaction on the Twins’ side of things was that they were losing an underrated player. There are plenty of tweets from Twins faithful that make it seem like losing Palacios is not just another name off the 40-man.

So, what are the Tigers getting in Palacios? Is there a reason to get excited about the first player Harris has brought in, even if he’s not the next superstar or top prospect? Let’s dive into Palacios and what he brings to the table.

What kind of benefit will Jermaine Palacios bring to the Detroit Tigers?

Palacios made his big league debut with the Twins in 2022 but has been with the organization since the 2014 season. He’s a primary shortstop which could raise some questions in the Tigers organization after Hinch piloted the idea that Báez being the future at shortstop as a “good outcome.”

But Palacios can also shift around the infield. Per a tweet from Chris Brown of  Woodward Sports (and formerly MCB), between the Triple-A and MLB levels in 2022, he played every position except catcher and center field. Palacios even pitched, as the tweet linked above shows.

Palacios logged 30 games for the Tigers, where he slashed .143/.184/.229 over 77 plate appearances while striking out in 27 of those at-bats. Not the type of performance the Twins were likely hoping for. Sounds like Kody Clemens 2.0 with those numbers…plus Palacios “pitches,” too.

Reading a little deeper, Palacios logged 102 games with the Twins Triple-A affiliate, the St. Paul Saints. He managed a much better-looking .283/.341/.462 slash line over 428 at-bats. He picked up 28 doubles and added 14 home runs, with 60 RBI with Triple-A St. Paul.

While the MLB translation was not good in 2022, there is still reason to view this as a good pickup for the Tigers. He’s got the tools to be a big leaguer, and the question is if they will hold up in the long term. That being said, let me jump into a quick swing breakdown.

Detroit Tigers’ recent waiver claim Jermaine Palacios’s swing breakdown.

Palacios starts with open feet, and the front knee bent with some twitch in the foot into his leg. He keeps the hands higher, set with the bat bouncing the shoulder while the hands twitch. It’s an open lower half with open feet, and the lower half is slightly closed off.

He uses a big leg kick, sinking into his load as the pitch is delivered. Palacios gets the foot down and does a good job rotating through contact as he drives through the zone. It appears that he’s got a good feel for the barrel, being able to adjust & match planes with pitches to drive them.

Here’s an open-side look of his swing on a pitch he destroys for a home run.

You’ll see that front foot closed off, which appears closed, but looking at your standard centerfield camera angle, you can see that he’s slightly open to start. The hands are tighter to the chest, and they drift back ever so slightly with his load and stride.

Palacios gets on plane with this pitch and drives it for a home run pull-side. He uncoils the swing well. It looks like a swing that could play well. The question is, what’s next for Palacios? A new organization, a new development staff, and a fresh start could do him well.

Expect Palacios to be in Triple-A and serve as a utility man role with the Tigers as of right now. Please do not hold me to that since there are likely a bunch of pending roster moves. But my immediate thought would be that he starts with the Mud Hens and ends up serving as an extra call-up to try and translate Triple-A success to the big leagues.

I’d expect him to be plugged into several spots, not sticking to shortstop only. Time will tell, but the first move that Harris makes, bringing in Palacios, looks like a promising one.