The Tigers have sent outfielder Trei Cruz through outright waivers and assigned him to Triple-A Toledo, per Chris McCosky of Detroit News. Detroit designated him for assignment two days ago when they selected Brett Callahan.
Cruz, 28, was a third-round pick in the 2020 draft. As a prospect, he didn’t garner too much attention, apart the mention of his family connections as the son of José Cruz and the grandson of José Cruz. He seemed to have a breakout in the minors last year. He hit 13 home runs and drew walks at a huge 18.1% pace, helping him put up a .279/.411/.456 line and 149 wRC+. He got some help from a .349 batting average on balls in play but it was still enough for the Tigers to give him a 40-man spot in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
This year has been an unfortunate step back. He did get to make his major league debut but went hitless in five plate appearances, striking out in three of those. In 70 Triple-A games, he has just two home runs and a 10.2% walk rate, the latter stat being above average but not nearly as impressive as last year’s work. That has led to a .230/.306/.309 line and 68 wRC+.
That performance got him pushed off the Detroit roster, even though he is in his first of three option years. The other 29 clubs also passed on the chance to claim him and stash him on the farm. This is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, meaning he does not have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of David Rodriguez-Munoz, Imagn Images
