Tigers' surprise Colt Keith move brings former top prospect out of the doghouse

The Tigers had a number of players on taxi after their series against the White Sox wrapped up, including top prospect Max Anderson. It raised questions as to what the Tigers might be looking out for that would necessitate a roster move. Maybe they would finally give Anderson his shot, however brief, at the majors this season? Were they keeping an eye on an injury they hadn't disclosed?

Disappointingly, their roster move on Monday confirmed it was the latter. River Ryan was called up to make his Tigers debut and Troy Melton went onto the IL with arm fatigue. No surprise there, given Melton's early exit against the White Sox. But former top prospect Jace Jung was also called up to cover for Colt Keith's absence; he went onto the IL with a thumb sprain.

Jung is certainly the most underwhelming option the Tigers could've gone with, but they clearly wanted to avoid having to make a 40-man roster move. He got his first at-bat since May on Monday night and struck out on five pitches.

Could this be a last chance for Jung before the Tigers try to trade him in the offseason, or is he already viewed as an easily-stashable Quad-A player for the long-term?

Tigers make surprise roster move as Colt Keith goes onto the IL; Jace Jung recalled

Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic wrote in June, "It's odd that Jung still has only 132 MLB at-bats over three seasons. When he's been up, playing time has been sporadic. He's never really gotten a true run, and it feels like he's in the dog house for some reason."

Jung underwhelmed when he was first called up to the majors in 2024, but it was kind of lost in the fact that the Tigers were in the middle of their miracle run. His follow-up efforts in 2025, though on-and-off, were even worse. The Tigers gave Colt Keith some run at third last season, which certainly led fans to believe they were giving up on Jung.

He's been passed over for promotions a few times this season. Hao-Yu Lee and John Peck both got calls before Jung did. He hasn't been hitting exceptionally well in the minors in the meantime — .227 with a .765 OPS in 133 games in Toledo.

The Tigers aren't quick to give up on their former top prospects, but with Jung it might be more of a forced quiet quitting. He wouldn't fetch much in a trade, and a little depth never hurt anyone, but it doesn't seem like he factors into Detroit's future plans at all.

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