Former Tigers draft pick lands back in AL Central after 2024 trade to Dodgers

Chicago White Sox v Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox v Detroit Tigers | Mark Cunningham/GettyImages

The Detroit Tigers may be seeing a familiar, recently-departed face in an American League Central rival's dugout at some point in 2025.

The Chicago White Sox have signed infielder and former Tigers draft pick Andre Lipcius to a minor-league contract that includes a non-roster invite to Spring Training. Lipcius, selected by the Tigers in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft, developed in their system and made his MLB debut for Detroit at the end of the 2023 season, slashing .286/.342/.400 over a 13-game stint in the big leagues.

Lipcius was traded the following offseason to the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations, and the Dodgers outrighted him to Triple-A Oklahoma City just before Opening Day in 2024. He spent all of last season with Oklahoma City, where he hit .271/.351/.458 with 25 home runs in 140 games before electing minor league free agency at the end of the season.

Detroit likely sent Lipcius to the Dodgers before last season with a belief that there were superior infield options within the Tigers organization. Ultimately, he became a casualty of the Tigers' stacked farm system and got squeezed out of their long term plans.

Former Tigers draft pick Andre Lipcius lands back in AL Central after 2024 trade to Dodgers

The change of scenery didn't work out for Lipcius with the Dodgers last season as far as getting some more Major League experience, but perhaps his fate will change with the struggling White Sox in 2025.

Lipcius is a solid Triple-A depth add for the White Sox, having compiled a .276/.360/.444 slash line in more than 1,200 Triple-A plate appearances. It's likely he begins the season in Triple-A Charlotte, but if he impresses during spring training, there's a chance he cracks Chicago's Opening Day roster as a utility infielder given his experience at first, second and third base.

In the meantime, while their own Major Leauge infield situation still seems relatively fluid, the Tigers will have to hope the initial decision to trade Lipcius doesn't come back to bite them in AL Central competition next season.

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