This maligned Tigers player may be facing his last chance after Matt Vierling injury

It truly has been a nightmare of a year for versatile Detroit Tigers utilityman Matt Vierling. The fan favorite seemingly can't catch a break. A clutch three-run homer on Friday reminded everyone of why Vierling has ingratiated himself with the fanbase, but just days later, fans got the news they've most closely associated with Vierling this season. He'll be hitting the injured list again, this time with a pesky strained oblique.

Vierling's misfortune opens the door for a much maligned youngster to get another shot in the bigs, and perhaps this will be his final opportunity. Trey Sweeney will be getting the call-up from Triple-A Toledo to replace Vierling on the active roster, and, as Detroit has done many times this season, their lineup configuration will shuffle again with Javy Baez likely moving back to center field the majority of time while Sweeney mans short.

Matt Vierling's injury opens the door for one last opportunity for Trey Sweeney to secure his future with the Tigers

Once a highly thought of prospect, the former New York Yankees farmhand made his way to the Motor City by way of Los Angeles when the Dodgers acquired Jack Flaherty from the Tigers at last season's trade deadline.

Given an opportunity upon his arrival in Detroit, the youngster struggled in his 36-game major league debut, slashing just .218/.269/.373. It's not uncommon for youngsters to struggle in their first taste of big league action, and despite the overall struggles Sweeney did flash some power, cracking four homers in 110 at-bats.

That was enough for Detroit to give him a shot as the starting shortstop in 2025, and Sweeney fell flat. Still striking out over 26% of the time, Sweeney's slugging percentage took a 70-point tumble this year versus last, while he's hitting an even worse .208 on the year.

The 25-year-old has put together some solid work at Triple-A, however, with a .326/.442/.512 line. That doesn't erase the fact that his major league performance has been so atrocious, and the underlying data doesn't provide any reason to believe it will get better.

From metrics like average exit velocity and barrel percentage to chase rate and whiff rate, Sweeney has been solidly below average, and, in some cases, bottom of the barrel when it comes to big league hitters. That means his poor performance can't be easily explained away by growing pains or "bad luck."

Vierling hitting the IL opens the door for yet another shot, but Kevin McGonigle, the No. 5 overall prospect in all of baseball, continues to tear the cover off the ball at Double-A Erie. It is a foregone conclusion that Sweeney is simply keeping his seat warm unless there's a massive turnaround in his performance down the stretch.