Tigers news: Detroit trades infielder to Phillies, re-signs reliever after DFA

Infielder Buddy Kennedy came over to the Tigers from the Cardinals just two games into spring training, after he was DFA'ed and claimed off waivers by Detroit. He didn't stand out much in Lakeland, batting .211 over 12 games, so they sent him down to Triple-A Toledo for the time being, giving them a depth option to call up in the event of injury to the big leaguers.

Gio Urshela went down with a hamstring strain on April 19 and Kennedy was recalled as the corresponding move. It was a little surprising, given that the Tigers had Jace Jung and Justyn-Henry Malloy (who has since been called up) waiting in the wings, but up until that point in April, Detroit had already weathered series losses and two split series, so fans just had to shrug and see if anything would come of it.

Kennedy pinch-hit in his Tigers debut on April 20 and drew a walk, but the next day he got an RBI on a sac fly in his first at-bat, and then he homered in his second, his second major league homer and first since June 19, 2022, when he was with the Diamondbacks.

He tapered off after that, just getting one more hit and one more RBI in his next four games before he was sent back to Toledo. On Friday, the Tigers traded him to the Phillies in exchange for cash after batting just .234 with a .714 OPS in Triple-A.

Detroit Tigers news: Buddy Kennedy traded to Phillies for cash, Miguel Díaz re-signed

In other small transactions news, the Tigers re-signed reliever Miguel Díaz to a minor league deal after he was released by the Astros in late May. This marks Díaz's second stint with the Tigers; he was DFA'ed back in March on Opening Day after failing to make the 26-man roster and scooped up by the Astros. He pitched just one clean innings in the majors on April 5 but was DFA'ed just a few days later, cleared waivers, and was sent back to Houston's Triple-A team.

Díaz was with the Tigers for two years from 2022-2024, pitching just under 18 cumulative major league innings for a 2.45 ERA in 2022 and 0.64 ERA in 2023. He didn't fare as well in the minors, though, with a 4.29 and 5.05 ERA respectively, and his tenure with the Astros was even worse: 9.64 ERA over 14 innings.

The Tigers bullpen is in pretty good shape, although Alex Faedo was just moved to the 15-day IL with hip inflammation, but if another injury befalls the relief core, Díaz could make his return to Detroit.