The Tigers announced Wednesday that they’ve designated first baseman Renato Nunez for assignment in order to open a roster spot for infielder Zack Short, who has been recalled from the team’s alternate training site. Detroit also plans to activate right-hander Spencer Turnbull from the Covid-19 list later today, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com points out, which necessitates this morning’s 40-man move.
Many were surprised to see the Orioles cut Nunez loose over the winter rather than pay him a raise via arbitration. He’d slugged 43 long balls for Baltimore from 2019-20, including a 31-homer campaign back in 2019. However, as a below-average defender at both infield corners with contact issues and a generally sub-par OBP, Nunez went unclaimed on waivers despite his obvious power. He ultimately landed a minor league deal in Detroit and had his contract selected 10 days ago.
Nunez, 27, showed off that power by homering twice in 29 plate appearances as a Tiger, but the same OBP, strikeout and defensive concerns were present. The Tigers slotted him at DH (four games) more than first base (three), as he split his time in the field with both Harold Castro and Jonathan Schoop. Nunez punched out eight times in his 29 trips to the plate against just one walk, resulting in an overall .148/.207/.444 batting line. Nunez paired that output with a .188/.212/.344 slash in 33 spring plate appearances, which likely also played into the decision.
The Tigers will have a week to trade Nunez or attempt to pass him through outright waivers, although even if he goes unclaimed this time around, he can still opt for free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s already cleared waivers once before.
The 25-year-old Short will be making his big league debut the first time he gets into a game with the Tigers. Acquired from the Cubs last summer in a trade that sent Cameron Maybin to Chicago, Short is a former 17th-round pick who emerged as one of the top 30 prospects in the Cubs’ system from 2019-20, per Baseball America. He ranks 24th among Tigers farmhands right now over at MLB.com, where he’s regarded as a plus defender at multiple positions and an above-average runner with gap power. He hasn’t hit for a great average in the minors but draws tons of walks (16.4 percent), which has resulted in a .241/.377/.405 line in his minor league career.
Well, that lasted like 5 days
Interesting
Not sure if I understand this one…..
Agreed. very short leash when they have absolutely no one to play 1B.
Ahh yes, designate power hitter for Adam Everett 2.0 on a team that can’t score runs…
Do you mean Carl? Adam was definitely not a power hitter
read Professor’s post again. To translate for you, he says that Nunez got designated for someone who hits like Adam Everett, Zack Short. Not difficult to miss.
Fact is Professor is incorrect. Nunez got designated to make room for Turnbull. No roster move needed for Short as the Tigers are allowed a 27th man for the DH.
Oh my bad. No need to be rude about it.
“The Tigers announced Wednesday that they’ve designated first baseman Renato Nunez for assignment in order to open a roster spot for infielder Zack Short”
Hmmm
Harold Castro, Schoop, goodrum at 1b? You would think a major league team could find a 1b.
LOL
Actually, not correct. Short can be added without penalty for today’s DH. Nunez getting DFA’d creates a roster spot for Turnbull who was out due to COVID and thus did not count against the Tigers 40 man roster.
Short was not announced as the 27th man. The Tigers’ exact wording: “To make room for Short on the active roster, INF Renato Nunez was designated for assignment.”
Steve, did you even read Evan Woodbury’s text? It clearly says Nunez was DFA’d for Turnbull. Short as the 27th man makes perfect sense and would not facilitate a corresponding move as he’s already on the 40-man of the Tigers. I don’t even see any mention of such a statement you quote from the team in your post.
We don’t link to formal team announcements because most come in the form of press releases to our email. In the Tigers’ case, they also announce theirs on Twitter, so you can see their verbatim wording I referenced on their Twitter feed.
Woodberry is inferring — and likely correct in doing so — that this will also serve as the corresponding 40-man move for Turnbull. The Tigers have not made any such formal announcement.
Teams are always careful to specify players who are promoted as extra men for doubleheaders. The Tigers themselves did so with each doubleheader they played in 2020. If you prefer Woodberry’s word over mine — as it seems you do — he also indicates in another tweet that he expects Short to stick around beyond today’s pair of games. He’s inferring there, just as I am, because the Nunez DFA and Short promotion are the only moves formally announced by the team today. Obviously, there are additional roster announcements coming down the pipeline.
This is a much more in-depth discussion than I expected to have on a pretty run-of-the-mill roster move, haha.
What you wrote is that activating Turnbull “will necessitate a 40-man move”, which it wont. Nunez was already that move.
I intended to indicate that Turnbull’s pending activation ostensibly necessitated this morning’s move. I can see where my wording was misleading, however. I updated that.
Again, though, the Tigers’ only announcement thus far is: Nunez DFA, Short recalled. Obviously there are additional announcements coming.
Nunez sounds like a perfect fit for the yankees. Based on their appetite for Odor, he passes the sniff test.
They don’t need anymore DH only players
Could have signed Cron back! While Cron’s bat has been slow to start, he at least has a track record, and can play the position defensively.
totally agree, however its too obvious a move for avila.
If a 30 home run guy can’t beat harold freakin castro for a roster spot, that says a lot about his other baseball skills. Faith in Hinch!
LOL
This is a message that if you can’t hit your weight, you are worthless. Next up: Jacoby Jones and Niko Goodrum.
Phillies need some RH power off the bench. They should claim him
Why keep another .180 hitter with some power at 1B when they already have Schoop! And Schoop can also play 2B and 3B.
I like the addition of Zack Short. See if he can develop into a super-utility type. Unfortunately, the Tigers already have a bunch of these minus the “super” part!
Now that Willie has come back to earth with his bat, the Tigers are recognizing he is only adequate defensively at SS. If Short can take his walks in the majors, I could see him getting regular ABs when Goodrum plays elsewhere.
I’m writing on the former A’s Nunez . He should get himself signed in Mexico . Have fun ask hitters where he could revamp his swing . Work on pitch recognition , and 1B fielding . Put up numbers then look to Asian leagues for money in 2022 .
Why would a guy who’s had success in the big leagues the last 2 years do that? The tigers refuse to give him a real chance. I’ll be laughing when he’s playing for a contender everyday by the end of the year while the tigers take up last place yet again.
Defense means little if you aren’t scoring runs. He was actually very good at first the few games he played there. This feels like Hinch is trying to be the smartest guy in the room. A team that can’t score runs doesn’t have room for a 30hr guy? Give me a break! Meanwhile goodrum with his 200 avg and 40% strike out rate plays everyday. Jones adds nothing to the team and didn’t get released. And I love all the silly line ups and moving people around. And you call up Short when Harold Castro hardly plays? None of this makes sense. At the very least Nunez gives you power off the bench late in games.
I’m not impressed with Hinch at all. The tigers don’t look like they are having fun and haven’t shown any growth this year. I think Hinch won in Houston because he had a ton of talent.
The Orioles need to re-sign Nunez for depth. I know there is really no place to put him on the field now but Mountcastle is really struggling so they can put him at 1B to spell Mancini every once in a while. Maybe a power bat off the bench.
Tigers need guys who can walk, hit, get on base, play multiple defensive positions at an above average level etc…Gone are the days of the beer softball league Tigers teams where they manned 4-6 lumbering DHs in the field just to get their big boppers in the lineup and greatly sacrificing defense that overworked their pitching rotations and bullpens. Tigers need a ‘little ball” game to complement the boom and bust power game where they get swept, then sweep a playoff team, then get swept again.
Getting on base and walking mean nothing if you don’t score runs. Grossman has scored 5 times from the lead off spot through 15 games. If this were the days of Fielder, Cabrera, etc. I would agree, but it’s not. Having guys play multiple positions also means little if they can’t produce runs. Just because something is a trend doesn’t make it better. Little ball means nothing if you don’t have speed and situational hitters.
The tigers never had more than 2 or 3 dh types on the field, but they won a lot when they did. I will take a three run homer with an error over stellar defense any day with no run production any day.
Tigers are prob going for one more elite draft pick. Then hopefully next year will sign quality free agents resulting in a competitive team.
Not the move we were hoping for here.