Tigers' praise for Ben Malgeri has fans wondering what took them so long to promote him

After giving Trei Cruz just five at-bats worth of leeway, the Tigers sent him back down in favor of unranked outfielder Ben Malgeri, who had been getting a lot of attention from fans for his .296 average and .897 OPS in Triple-A Toledo. Based on Triple-A performance alone, Malgeri looked like the obvious first call, but Cruz — maybe thanks to his top prospect status — was higher on the totem pole.

It's hard not to feel a little bad for Cruz, who barely lasted a full series and whose family was in attendance the whole time only to never see him collect his first major league hit. But Malgeri wasted absolutely no time trying to communicate to the Tigers that he should've been the first call all along.

He swung at the first pitch he saw on June 23 against the Yankees and singled. He ended up picking up another hit in that game (another single), and his first RBI on a sac fly the next day.

AJ Hinch said of Malgeri after that first series: "He's hit his way here. I mean, look at what he's done over the last few years. He's just continued to open eyes when given opportunities."

So ... what took the Tigers so long to bring him up in the first place?

Tigers' might've unlocked something with Ben Malgeri but are clearly taking it slowly with his development

Malgeri appeared only as a substitute right fielder in the Tigers' 8-0 win over the Astros on Friday, with Kerry Carpenter getting the start there against Houston righty Spencer Arrighetti, and he came in as a replacement for James Outman in the ninth on Sunday against lefty Josh Hader. Malgeri ended up getting two plate appearances as the game went into extras, and he walked both times.

We'd venture to guess that the Tigers are slowly auditioning Malgeri as their replacement lefty killer as Jahmai Jones continues to struggle, and they're in no rush to make a clean swap when Wenceel Pérez seems pretty severely injured after a freak training room accident. Malgeri clearly hasn't had enough opportunities yet, but based on what we've already seen, we'll take his walks over Jones' strikeouts any day.

Things aren't looking great for the Tigers and their hopes of recovering their 2026 season right now. Malgeri is certainly still on a short leash, but at some point — if they're solidly out of content midway through July, perhaps — they may as well just let the kid play.

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