The Tigers will be sending a starting first baseman Spencer Torkelson down to Triple-A before tomorrow's game against the Rangers, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports. The move opens up a 26-man roster spot Justin-Henry Malloyhis impending promotion to the major leagues was reported by Petzold earlier today.
Torkelson did not play in two of the Tigers' last three games, even before today's 8-4 victory over the Red Sox, the manager of Detroit. AJ Hinch had a non-committal answer when asked about the possibility of selecting Torkelson in the minors. As it turns out, the speculation was true, and Torkelson is now headed to Triple-A Toledo for the first time since his 2022 season.
In July of that year, Torkelson was hitting just .197/.282/.295 when the Tigers sent him back to the minors for six weeks to try to get on track. Although he didn't hit much better after being recalled in September, some improvement was evident last season, when Torkelson hit .233/.313/.446 with 31 home runs over 684 plate appearances. This translated to a respectable 107 wRC+, and given that Torkelson had the strongest fastball and barrels in the league, there were high hopes that he would fully break out in his third MLB season.
Unfortunately for Torkelson and the Tigers, his numbers have changed dramatically in the other direction. Torkelson has just a 71 wRC+ on four homers and a .201/.266/.330 slash line, and his hard contact metrics and walk rates all fluctuated significantly below the league average. Things have gotten worse over Torkelson's last 10 games, with just three hits to show for his last 40 trips to the plate.
This deep drop left the Tigers with no choice but to see if the first pick of the 2020 draft could find itself early in the minors. Torkelson's option comes though Kerry Carpenter on the 15-day injured list and likely facing an extended layoff due to a stress fracture in his back, however given his numbers, an argument can be made that the Tigers' system will be improved rather than disrupted if someone other than Torkelson takes over. in the beginning.
Torkelson entered the season with one full year and 137 days of MLB service time. Another full season in the majors would have put Torkelson in a better position to earn Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility, based on where the Super Two threshold has typically fallen over the past 15 seasons. While the boundaries have come down a bit over the past five years, spending even a month in Toledo could knock Torkelson out of the Super Two conversation entirely.
This undoubtedly worries Torkelson and his management at the Boras Corporation, and Tigers president of baseball Scott Harris considered Super Two implications among the many factors involved in the decision to option Torkelson to Triple-A. What both sides can agree on, however, is that Torkelson's future earning potential will be further impacted if he can't consistently hit at the Major League level, so some time in the minors may be necessary at this stage of Torkelson's tenure. work. It should not be overlooked that Torkelson is not yet 25 years old, and his baseball development already has the unexpected roadblock of a canceled 2020 minor league season.
Mark Canha, Gio Urselaor Andy Ibanez could get time at first as Detroit will now shuffle its roster in search of more production. Malloy figures to play as a corner outfielder or DH, and if Urshela starts playing more often at first base, it opens up more playing time for the hot-hitting third baseman. Matt Vierlingcurrently in a timeshare in third place and in the middle.
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