Tigers make corresponding roster moves after Trey Sweeney, Jace Jung promotions

On Thursday night, multiple Tigers beat writers reported that Detroit would be calling up two of their top prospects: No. 5 Jace Jung and No. 20 Trey Sweeney. Some Tigers fans have been waiting to see Jung in the majors since spring training, when he batted .318 over 18 games, but Sweeney is still a completely fresh face in the organization, having just come over in the Jack Flaherty trade at the deadline.

But now is the right time for the Tigers to give some of their top prospects their major league debuts. They're not pushing for a playoff spot, so all they can do this year is see how this team could look in 2025.

Jung and Sweeney's promotions were reported but not official, leaving some room to speculate about who the Tigers would be forfeiting in order to clear the roster space. Jung is a second/third baseman and Sweeney is a shortstop, so the Tigers had some options. Could this finally mark the end of Javy Báez's tenure in Detroit? Bligh Madris is a first baseman but does have minor league options. Utility man Zach McKinstry is hitting below .200.

Turns out, none of those players would be the ones to get the axe. The Tigers made the promotions official on Friday afternoon, and in the corresponding move they optioned Akil Baddoo back to Triple-A (again), and designated Easton Lucas and Gio Urshela for assignment.

Tigers officially call up Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney, DFA Gio Urshela in corresponding move

Baddoo getting sent down is never entirely surprising anymore, but this does mark the end of his fourth stint in the majors this season. To make matters worse, it comes just a few days after got to be the hero and walk off the Mariners in pursuit of a Tigers sweep. Also, Aug. 16 is also Baddoo's birthday. Ouch.

Urshela, however, is surprising. McKinstry seemed like the most likely option, as he's making the league minimum in pre-arb this season, and he's batting .191 with a .565 OPS. However, the Tigers are enamored, perhaps to a fault, with their rotating infield configurations and place a heavy emphasis on young, versatile players. Urshela's versatile and has been hitting better than McKinstry this year, but apparently the Tigers would rather risk eating what's left of his $1.5 million deal than part ways with a guy who has never really figured out how to make it work in Detroit.

However, this shouldn't distract from Jung and Sweeney getting their debuts. We'll see if they'll be able to translate their Triple-A success to the majors and earn themselves more permanent spots on the roster in 2025.