Tigers Reunite with Former Fan Favorite Infielder in Trade with Nationals
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The Detroit Tigers have made an early season trade which will bolster their infield depth and reunite them with a familiar face who spent a number of years in the organization earlier in his career.
According to a report from Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic and others, the Tigers have acquired minor league infielder Zack Short from the Washington Nationals for either cash considerations or a player to be named later.
Short is going to report to Triple-A Toledo and is not being placed on the 40-man roster, therefore a corresponding move should not be needed. Though he was not drafted by Detroit, Short has a ton of experience with the club and spent a few years in the Motor City early in his career.
Short Has Experience Playing for Tigers Before
Short was acquired by Detroit in a trade with the Chicago Cubs back in 2020 after originally being drafted by Chicago in the 17th round of the 2016 MLB draft. He made his big league debut with the Tigers early on in the 2021 season and would play 61 games that year, but struggled to a -0.7 bWAR and slash line of just .141/.239/.282 before being sent back down for most of 2022.
In 2023, he played 110 games for Detroit and improved a bit with a slash line of .204/.292/.339 with seven home runs and 33 RBI for a bWAR of 0.5. His time with the Tigers came to an end when he was claimed by the New York Mets that offseason.
Overall he has played 241 big league games including 22 last year for the Houston Astros, and with Detroit struggling with infield depth right now, he could get his shot.
Tigers May Need Short to Step In This Year
While Short has obviously not been much of a factor at the plate throughout his career, he is capable of holding his own defensively, and now that Javier Báez is dealing with an ankle injury and could be out for a month or so, adding a depth piece like this makes a lot of sense.
Short is not going to add a ton into the lineup if he is called upon to give Detroit some innings, but having an experienced player like him who has proven to be able to get it done with the glove waiting in the wings could be helpful.
He's worth keeping an eye on over the next several weeks.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.