Tigers' Sunday night roster move still has fans asking Zach McKinstry questions

Justyn-Henry Malloy is no longer on the Detroit Tigers' 26-man roster. Zach McKinstry still is. And, quite frankly, it makes very little sense.

The Tigers and the New York Yankees were allowed to carry a 27th player for the Little League Classic on Sunday night, which the Tigers used to reinstate Riley Greene from the injured list. The Tigers had to option or DFA a player to get the roster down to 26 before Tuesday's series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, and it was widely assumed that McKinstry would be that player.

Except he wasn't. Instead, the Tigers chose to option Malloy, the rookie outfielder and designated hitter, back to Triple-A Toledo after benching him for Sunday's game against the Yankees.

Tigers' decision to option Justyn-Henry Malloy to Triple-A Toledo still has fans asking Zach McKinstry questions

To give credit where it's due, McKinstry is on a bit of a hot streak, hitting .308 with five doubles, a triple and two stolen bases over the last two weeks. He had key hits in back-to-back games over the weekend, including a game-tying RBI-single as a pinch-hitter in the 10th inning Sunday. However, let's not lose sight of the big picture here.

Malloy hit .217 with eight home runs, 21 walks and 74 strikeouts in 57 games with the Tigers, posting a .698 OPS. Meanwhile, McKinstry has hit .197 with a .575 OPS, three home runs, 17 walks and 61 strikeouts in 87 games. Sure, Malloy's 36.3% strikeout rate is mildly concerning; but he has still managed to get on base more than McKinstry has this season, and he's done it in 30 fewer games.

McKinstry is a veteran utility player who gives the Tigers more defensive flexibility, which is likely their primary motive for keeping him on the roster. In theory, the recent returns of Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter give them more hitting; but without Malloy, the Tigers have only four right-handed hitting position players (not including the two catchers): Torkelson, Javier Báez, Andy Ibáñez and Matt Vierling.

Malloy made his MLB debut with the Tigers earlier this season, when he was called up to replace the struggling Torkelson. He has already spent 181 games in Toledo in 2023-24, and he has been one of the Mud Hens' best hitters over the past two seasons. The 24-year-old could return when rosters expand from 26 to 28 players at the beginning of September, at the very least.

In the meantime, McKinstry will inevitably cool off and, more often than not, the Tigers will be wishing they still had Malloy's bat in the lineup.

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