Tigers have chance to stick it to hated Yankees over Trey Sweeney's MLB growth

When Trey Sweeney was selected by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft, he probably never dreamed that he would be making his Major League debut against the team that drafted him. But that's exactly what happened for the 24-year-old shortstop, who was called up to the big leagues for the first time by the Detroit Tigers for their Aug. 16 game against the Yankees.

The Yankees parted ways with Sweeney, a top-10 prospect in their organization, in 2023, when they committed to Anthony Volpe as their shortstop of the future. Sweeney was traded last winter to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who in turn flipped him to Detroit at the deadline as part of the Jack Flaherty trade.

The Tigers called Sweeney up to the majors after just 11 games with Triple-A Toledo, just in time for Detroit to go on a 9-4 run that included a season-high six-game win streak from Aug. 23-28. Now, he has all but cemented himself a key piece of the youth movement that has invigorated the Tigers' clubhouse and catapulted them over the .500 mark and back into the American League Wild Card conversation.

Trey Sweeney fills void for Tigers at shortstop in wake of Javy Báez injury

Sweeney's offensive numbers don't exactly jump off the page, due in part to his continued struggles against left-handed pitching. In 10 MLB games, he is hitting .194 with one home run, zero walks and eight strikeouts. But his defense is, in the words of Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, "rock solid."

Sweeney also addresses the Tigers' need for left-handed hitting, specifically at shortstop. He already figured to platoon with fellow shortstop Javy Báez in 2025, but Báez going down with a season-ending hip injury earlier this week made Sweeney's presence on the Tigers' roster even more valuable.

The Tigers don't face the Yankees again in 2024, but as long as Sweeney can continue to improve upon his game in 2025 and beyond, he will have plenty more chances to show the Yankees they made a mistake in letting him go.

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