Tigers castoff Ryan Vilade just got a major lineup promotion in World Series Game 3

The World Series is headed to Florida, with the Brewers leading the Rays 2-0. Tampa manager Kevin Cash said Game 3 will be "all hands on deck" as the Rays try to send the series back to Milwaukee.

Game 2 reminded everyone who still needed reminding that the Brewers are relentless. Starter Logan Henderson gave up four runs in the first inning, but Milwaukee slowly but surely chipped away at the lead. A Sal Frelick homer tied it, then Cooper Pratt picked up the go-ahead single to make up for a defensive gaffe in the first that snowballed into those four runs.

The Rays made their own mistakes, too. A Jonathan Aranda error in the fourth allowed the Brewers' third run to score.

He's paying for it in Game 3. Cash took him out of the lineup and replaced him at first base with none other than former Tigers utility man Ryan Vilade, batting second. If you told a Tigers fan Ryan Vilade would one day be hitting second on a World Series team, you would've been laughed out of town.

He only spent 17 major league games with Detroit on-and-off throughout 2024, but he became particularly hated by fans when he botched a diving play against the Mariners in August that year, which gave Seattle a walk-off win.

He's been a member of six major league organizations and only played in 28 big league games from 2021 through 2025 ... and then he joined the Rays.

Former Tigers utility man Ryan Vilade gets bumped up to No. 2 in Rays' World Series Game 3 lineup

There are two former Tigers in Tampa: Vilade and Liam Hicks, who was taken by the Marlins in the 2024 Rule 5 draft before being traded to the Rays at this year's deadline. Hicks is undeniably the bigger regret for Detroit, because who would've thought that Vilade would ever find a true second (more like sixth) life in Tampa?

That's just what the Rays do. There are a few teams in baseball who are known for being uncannily good with reclamation projects — the Dodgers, the Guardians, and the Rays among them — and it's a unique and oftentimes infuriating skill.

Vilade made the Rays' Opening Day roster after being traded from the Reds in exchange for cash in November 2025. He wasn't an everyday guy, but he was still productive through 96 games, with a .245 average, .750 OPS, 11 homers, and 43 RBI.

He's appeared in five postseason games so far and has just one hit ... a go-ahead homer against the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS.

The Tigers simply weren't going to pull this kind of potential out of Vilade, and it might prove to be a flash in the pan by next season. There's nothing to regret here, but it still stings.

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