The Tigers have designated outfielder Tyler Collins for assignment and selected the contract of fellow outfielder Alex Presley from Triple-A, per a team announcement.
Collins, a member of the Detroit organization since it selected him in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, ranks sixth among Tigers in plate appearances this year, but he hasn’t been productive in those 146 trips. The out-of-options 26-year-old has slashed a meek .200/.288/.338 with four home runs and a 31.5 percent strikeout rate (with an 11.5 percent walk rate), giving him a 72 wRC+ that’s significantly worse than his unspectacular career mark (87) across 529 PAs. On the other hand, Collins has bounced back from subpar 2016 in center field, having accounted for three Defensive Runs Saved and a 2.8 UZR/150 over a small sample size of 169 innings. In the event someone trades for Collins – which manager Brad Ausmus indicated is a possibility (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com, on Twitter) – that team could control him for the long haul, as he’s not eligible for arbitration until 2019 and won’t become a free agent until 2022.
Presley first joined the Tigers on a minor league pact last July, but he only picked up at-bats with the club and was designated for assignment in late August. The 31-year-old re-signed with the organization on another minors pact over the winter and is now in line to make his Detroit debut. Presley has not performed well offensively at Triple-A this year (.213/.278/.303 in 171 PAs), however, and has also scuffled in the majors. In 1,239 combined plate trips with the Tigers, Pirates, Twins, Astros and Brewers, Presley has batted .253/.295/.382. The lefty-swinger will take Collins’ place as a third center field option to join right-handers JaCoby Jones and Mikie Mahtook, both of whom have offered uninspiring production this year.
partyatnapolis
i’ll always remember the time he gave the fans the middle finger
Ironman_4life
The fans do also. Rip Tyler’s short lived career …
Goop Pooberson
i impulse bought a tyler collins jersey immediately after that. may he live on in obscurity in my closet forever
T-Bacon77
I will always remember the time he gave my daughter a ball @ the end of a game in Louisville. No way he’s a better option than Presley.
Ironman_4life
Kudos to your daughter. Such a great gesture from a player. Maybe its a move just to spark a fire. They can play a lot better than they have been…
MiggyCabby24
They need to send down Mahtook too. Bring up Den Dekker, he can’t be any worse than those two.
GarryHarris
Alex Presley may not be doing well in the minors but, he absolutely deserved to be on the roster after Spring. Tyley Collins and Mikie Mahtook did not.
I do like Mahtook but he should be sent down to learn to hit and keep Matt den Decker in the minors for the same reason.
What ever happened to Billy Burns and Leonys Martin?