48 hours after claiming him, the Tigers placed the outfielder back on waivers.
LAKELAND, Florida — Just 48 hours after being claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants, outfielder TJ Hopkins has been designated for assignment by the Detroit Tigers.
Following the Tigers’ one-year signing of veteran infielder Gio Urshela on Thursday, Hopkins’ spot on the 40-man roster became necessary.
Hopkins left Arizona late on Tuesday night for Florida, where he arrived on the practice field shortly after passing his physical on Wednesday morning. However, his time in Tigertown might not last long. Now that he’s back on the waiver wire, a claim could send him to a different camp. The Tigers may outright him to Triple-A Toledo and extend an invitation for him to return to Lakeland for the remainder of camp if he is not claimed.
In the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft, the Cincinnati Reds selected 27-year-old Hopkins from the University of South Carolina. He had a great season in 2023 with Triple-A Louisville, but in his brief big-league stint with the Reds, he went 7-for-41 with 17 strikeouts.
To make room on the roster, the Reds traded him to the Giants in December of last year. When the Giants acquired Otto Lopez, an infielder, last week, they waived him.
After claiming Hopkins, the Tigers designated free agent Kolton Ingram, a left-handed reliever. Now, both players are in limbo on the waiver wire. They may or may not make it back to Lakeland.
Prior to the release of the information regarding Urshela and Hopkins, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch stated on Thursday morning, “We’ve seen these guys get bounced around on waivers from team to team, especially this time of year.” That must be difficult for those guys.
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Tigers Outbid the Red Sox for the Former Yankee infielder Despite the Low Price Tag
Even though the Boston Red Sox’s spring training games start this Friday, they still have a few expensive items on their wish list.
In addition to looking to add a right-handed bat with positional versatility, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow should still be in the market for starting pitching. There’s no reason not to sign Jordan Montgomery.
Up until Thursday afternoon, there didn’t seem to be much progress on the former front, but there did seem to be some on the latter.
The Detroit Tigers and infielder Gio Urshela have reached an agreement on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “Urshela, 32, is a versatile player who should contribute at third base. Additionally, Detroit has been looking for left-handers this winter, and his ability to hit them.”
Just one day prior to his signing, Chris Cotillo of MassLive disclosed that the Red Sox were interested in Urshela’s market, but they were unable to distinguish themselves in the competition due to their lack of aggression.
In 62 games during the previous season, Urshela hit.299 with 11 extra-base hits, including two home runs, 24 RBIs, and a.703 OPS despite missing a large amount of time due to a pelvic fracture. After eight seasons, he has a career.277 average and 103 OPS+.
The seasoned infielder would have effectively taken Bobby Dalbec’s spot on the team by playing at least corner infield for the Red Sox.
Urshela is more proficient both offensively and defensively. A player who would have been a valuable depth piece and an extra right-handed bat off the bench would have cost Boston pennies.
