Minor League Baseball

Detroit Tigers Demote Top Prospects Thayron Liranzo, Hao-Yu Lee to Minor League Camp

While catcher Thayron Liranzo losing his spot in major league camp was expected, infielder Hao-Yu Lee was supposedly competing to make the Detroit Tigers' MLB roster.
Sam Connon|
Lakeland, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee (85) bats during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
Lakeland, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee (85) bats during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

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Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers have assigned infielder Hao-Yu Lee and catcher Thayron Liranzo to minor league camp, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

MLB Pipeline has Liranzo ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Tigers' farm system. Liranzo is also ranked No. 81 in the preseason top 100, which slots him in at No. 11 among catchers.

Lee, meanwhile, opens 2025 as Detroit's No. 8 prospect.

The transaction was made official after Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Neither Liranzo nor Lee appeared in the contest.

Lee, who Detroit acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2023 trade deadline, was batting .143 with a .488 OPS through 12 spring training games. He hit .298 with an .851 OPS in Double-A last season.

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi predicted in February that Lee would make his MLB debut in 2025, comparing him to Placido Polanco. The infield logjam of Gleyber Torres, Javier Báez, Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney – plus utility men Zack McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez – just proved too much for the 22-year-old to push through before Opening Day, though.

As for Liranzo, he wasn't expected to break camp with the Tigers. Jake Rogers and Dillon Dingler will split time behind the plate to open the regular season.

Liranzo came over from the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer as part of the Jack Flaherty trade. The 21-year-old hit .315 with a 1.031 OPS in High-A following the move.

Despite batting .188 in spring training, Liranzo boasted a .913 OPS thanks to his four walks and three extra-base hits.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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