Tigers call up prospects Jung, Sweeney

The Tigers are getting a late-season youth infusion with two of their top infield prospects. Jace Jung, the Tigers’ No. 5 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s updated midseason rankings, and No. 20 prospect Trey Sweeney were promoted from Triple-A Toledo on Friday for their Major League debuts against the Yankees.

The Tigers officially announced the moves Friday afternoon. Infielder Gio Urshela was designated for assignment to open a spot for Jung on the 26- and 40-man rosters. Outfielder Akil Baddoo was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to open a 26-man roster spot for Sweeney. Jung will start at third base and bat fifth Friday, while Sweeney starts at short and bats eighth.

“We’re giving some promising young players an opportunity here,” manager A.J. Hinch said Friday. “Getting them promoted on the same day is unique, but also a step towards getting them some experience and getting them an extended look at this level the [final] six weeks of the regular season.”

The Tigers don’t normally do midweek promotions barring injury replacements, but the moves coincide with a notable date: With 45 days left before the end of the regular season, players without Major League service time can be called up Friday and remain through the season while retaining their rookie status for next year.

Jung, the Tigers’ first-round pick in 2022 after a standout college career at Texas Tech, is the younger brother of Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung, and sits 64th on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list. The left-handed hitter with a hard-nosed style of play and a unique left-handed swing slashed .257/.377.454 with 14 home runs, 60 RBIs and a 117 wRC+ at Toledo this season, with a brief interruption in June on the injured list with right wrist soreness. The 23-year-old posted a .912 OPS against right-handed pitching.

“We’ve always liked the offensive profile,” Hinch said. “Obviously he’s a threat at any given time. He’s handled right-handed pitching. He defends himself against lefties. He’ll put the ball in play. He’s a really good competitor. We liked what we saw in [Spring Training] with the DNA, the makeup of him and how he handles this level.

“He’s been itching to get to this level since he left college. He’s a high-accomplished player who has been everything as advertised.”

Jung has spent most of the season at third base, having shifted from second base during last year’s Arizona Fall League. He still got occasional playing time at second, but he’s expected to work primarily at the hot corner in Detroit, where Colt Keith has blossomed into the everyday second baseman while building a case for AL Rookie of the Year consideration.

Sweeney joined the Tigers system upon arriving from the Dodgers in the Jack Flaherty trade on July 30. He hit the ground swinging with Toledo, batting .381 (16-for-42) with six doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs in 11 games, nine at shortstop. Like Jung, the 24-year-old Sweeney is a left-handed hitter who does particular damage against righties with an .866 OPS, making him a potential complement at shortstop with Javier Báez, whose go-ahead two-run home run in Thursday’s eighth inning powered Detroit to victory.

“With Trey, the defensive profile has always been really good, and you can’t deny the short burst of performance that he’s had while he’s been a Mud Hen,” Hinch said. “Even leading into the trade, when we talked about getting him, we talked about his ability to impact the game on multiple sides of the ball, not just a defensive specialist but also a left-handed bat, middle-of-the-field player with bat-to-ball skills. He’s got some power. He can direct the ball left-center field, which is always sort of your traditional view of a good hitter who can handle moving the ball around the field. He certainly has played up to all of the conversations around him.”

The 32-year-old Urshela looked like a shrewd addition in Spring Training after a broken pelvis ended his 2023 season with the Angels. Signed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal, the veteran third baseman provided some experience to Detroit’s infield while allowing Jung to finish his development in Toledo. But after a solid start to the season, albeit without much of his old power, his production began to tail off around mid-June. He hit .200 with a .549 OPS from June 21 on, and was batting .243 with five homers, 37 RBIs and a 73 OPS+ for the season. While never particularly fast, his average sprint speed reached a career-low 25.3 feet per second according to Statcast, ranking him among the bottom eight percent of players. With 325 plate appearances, he fell well shy of the 500 needed to kick in the incentives in his contract.

“Gio is the consummate pro,” Hinch said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked. He’s worked. He’s come off the bench when we’ve needed him to. He changed positions when first base reps opened up, and does it with a smile on his face.

“I was told when we signed him by a lot of people in the industry that he would turn into one of my favorite players, and they were right. He’s such a fun pro to be around. But these jobs often create situations that you have to make tough decisions.”

With Urshela gone, Báez and Ibá?ez are the only positional players over 30 on the Tigers roster. Kenta Maeda (36) and Shelby Miller (33) are the Tigers’ only 30-year-olds on the pitching side.