The Tigers will field the first baseman Spencer Torkelson Down to Triple-A before tomorrow’s game with the Rangers, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press Reports. The move opens up a 26-player roster spot Justin Henry Malloywho informed Petzold of his impending promotion to the major leagues earlier today.

Torkelson has not played in two of the Tigers’ last three games, and prior to today’s 8-4 win over the Red Sox, he was Detroit’s coach AJ Hinch Get a fairly noncommittal answer when asked if Torkelson’s selection to the minors is a possibility. As it turned out, the speculation was correct, and Torkelson will now head to Triple-A Toledo for the first time since the 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. While he wasn’t much better after his September call-up, 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 some of the best ball rates and hard hitting barrels in the league, there was a lot of optimism that he would fully explode in his third MLB season.

Unfortunately for Torkelson and the Tigers, his numbers have swung sharply in the other direction. Torkelson has just a 71 wRC+ from four homers and a .201/.266/.330 slash line, and his hard contact metrics and walk rates have swung well below the league average. Things have gotten particularly bad over Torkelson’s last 10 games, as he has only appeared three hits in his last 40 trips to the plate.

This deep slump has left the Tigers no choice but to see if the first overall pick of the 2020 draft can once again find himself with a stint in the minors. Torkelson even comes with an option Kerry Carpenter He is on the 15-day injured list and may face an extended layoff with a stress fracture in his back, but looking at his numbers, it can certainly be said that the Tigers’ lineup would improve somewhat if someone besides Torkelson took over at first base.

Torkelson entered the season with a full year and 137 days of MLB service time. Another full season in the major leagues would have put Torkelson in very good 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 last 15 seasons. While the limits have dropped slightly over the past five years, one month in Toledo could take Torkelson out of the Super Two conversation entirely.

This is undoubtedly a concern for Torkelson and his representatives at Boras Corporation, and Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations, certainly counted the Super Two ramifications among the many factors involved in the decision to option Torkelson to Triple-A. However, what both parties can agree on is that Torkelson’s future earning potential will be more negatively impacted if he is unable to achieve sustained major league success, so it may be necessary to spend some time in the minors at this still early stage in Torkelson’s career. . Professional life. This should not be overlooked as Torkelson is still not even 25 years old, and his baseball development has already hit an unexpected hurdle in the form of the canceled 2020 minor league season.

Mark Kanha, Geo Urshelaor Andy Ibanez He could get some time at first base as Detroit will now shuffle its lineup in search of more overall production. Malloy plays as a cornerback or DH, and if Urshela starts playing more at first base, it opens up more playing time at third base for hot-hitting infielders. Matt Ferlingcurrently in the timeshare at third base and center field.