1:22PM: The Braves signed Leonard to a minor league contract, KPRC2’s Ari Alexander reports.
7:53AM: The Tigers released Eddys Leonard from the Triple-A Toledo roster, according to the infielder/outfielder’s MLB.com profile page. Leonard has spent the parts of the last two seasons in Detroit’s organization and re-signed a new minor league deal last December after being non-tendered and removed from the club’s 40-man roster.
A veteran of six minor league seasons in the Dodgers’ and Tigers’ farm systems, Leonard has yet to crack the big leagues during his pro career. His chances at a call-up in 2024 might’ve been marred by injuries, as an oblique strain and a hamstring strain limited Leonard to only 82 total games (67 in Toledo, and 15 on the Tigers’ A-level teams as part of rehab assignments).
When Leonard did play, he hit .263/.326/.455 with 10 homers over 282 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. This performance came on the heels of a .302/.374/.530 slash line in 171 PA with Toledo in 2023, so Leonard may have increasingly little to prove in the upper minors. However, he hit poorly in Spring Training this year, perhaps costing himself a prime opportunity to break camp with a Tigers team was looking to fill some roster holes due to injury.
The 24-year-old Leonard will now return to the open market, looking to land with a team in need of some versatile depth. Shortstop is Leonard’s primary position, but he has also seen a lot of time at second and third base and in center field, plus a handful of games in the other two outfield positions. In 2024, Leonard stuck almost exclusively to infield work, which may have been related to his injury concerns rather than a distinct shift towards becoming an infield-only player.
Which one? Did they release one Eddys Leonard or all five Eddys Leonard?
One Eddys, Leonard. Or maybe they released Eddy’s Leonard. Heck, I’m still trying to figure out Dennys Reyes.
Dennys Reyes! the big sweat. when he was 12 he approached famous Panama hat wearing scout named Brito who had signed Fernando Valenzuela and said I’m a good pitcher, you should sign me! Brito replied that he only signed lefties and Dennys was a righty. the big sweat taught himself to throw left handed and pitched for like a decade as a loogy! awesome story
You can say that again
Dennys Reyes! the big sweat! when he was 12 he approached famous Panama hat wearing scout named Brito who had signed Fernando Valenzuela and said I’m a good pitcher, you should sign me. Brito replied that he only signed lefties and Dennys was a righty. so, he taught himself to throw left handed and pitched for like a decade in the show as a loogy. awesome story
Dennys Reyes, named after the place where he was conceived like Paris Hilton, L.A. Reid, Seattle Sutton, and Jersey Mike
It was Eddy’s imaginary friend, Leonard
I was hoping they would keep him around. He is an interesting player but it’s starting to become a numbers game with good minor league infielders in Detroits minor league system. It will be nice when they get to Detroit and push out dead weight like Baez.
Good minor league infielders?? LOL. Why aren’t they on the MLB roster then? The Tigers don’t have a player capable of playing 3B, a SS that can hit over .200, a 1B with any sort of power or fielding ability and a 2B that can’t field and doesn’t hustle. Do you think the Tigers like having bad major league infielders? They have these guys because their infielders in AAA are terrible, oh and Harris cannot evaluate talent.
Tho I am not a fan of Harris, if Harris and his team cannot evaluate talent, then there is a systemic problem among evaluators, as the Tigers are rated the #1 system. My complaint lies in his inability to fill the holes on the immediate team. Instead, Harris does nothing until a prospect is ready to (hopefully) fill the spot.
“Not a fan of Harris” is the most ridiculous & incorrect statement I’ve seen in a while. He’s turned a losing organization with few prospects into a playoff team & top 5 minor league organization. It’s just so off the mark you must just be one of those arm chair guys who thinks he knows baseball but all his friends know he’s an idiot.
You weren’t a fan of his from day one, STYMEEDONE! You’re a biased idiot. Go back and stick your head in the sand. You never ever gave him a chance to flourish. Guess you absolutely hate the fact that he has!
The Tigers rebuilt the farm under Avila. All the young players filling out their roster were drafted under him, even Jobe. You must be new to following this team to be unaware of this. Harris has continued to draft well, it seems. Sorry that I didn’t give an opinion that you agreed with. I will refrain from your keyboard warrior tactics of calling you names, as I am not a teenager. Please remind me of all the things that Harris did to reinforce the team at last years All-Star break. Making the playoffs was entirely on Hinch and Fetters, both hired by Avila.
They are rated #1 by only one source. I would think that the Red Sox have a better overall system than the Tigers. But who really knows?
Detroitdave84…LOL. Yes because Carpenter, Green, Rodgers, Torkelson, Meadows, Skubal, Perez are his players right? GTFO with your nonsense. Harris has made one move that has helped this organization so far that’s signing Flaherty last year. What else has he done? Your baseball IQ is close to zero.
Wow tigerfanf4ever. Name something that Harris has done that has helped this current roster other than Flaherty. I doubt you can.
Most of the roster is his responsibility after the successful reworking of the farm system. Hey, STYMEEDONE, time for you to cut yet another check, make it payable to BadMojo, another idiot and your minion.
It’s called development BadMojo. Lee was in AA last year, Jung showed he’s not ready this spring, McGonigle is a year away and Rainer just got drafted. Like Styme said they have the number 1 rated farm system.
It takes time to develop replacements front within so fir the Tigers coming out of a rebuild that means stopgaps like they have now at 3B and SS or signing players to supplement like Torres. I agree with Styme that they should have done more to fill the gap on offence but I’m glad they did not go get Bregman for a lengthy expensive contract.
Lee was in AAA? You might want to check that again. Jung wasn’t a Harris pick and will probably never be an everyday MLB player. McGinigle might, sniff the majors next year but he won’t contribute. Mean while the team is failing to capitalize on providing a team around the best SP in the American League. They are just wasting his years so fool a like you can keep supporting them. Or do you think have players that hit below .200 starting at 3 or 4 different positions is the secret to winning? Not to mention, this team is possibly the worst fielding team in all of baseball. Must suck that your parents are siblings.
Lee was a AA which is what I said. He’s in AAA this year.
They have most of those .200 hitters in the lineup because of injuries. If the fielding has gone down then again, injuries (Meadows, Vierling). But they have McKinistry, Greene and Rogers still there so things are not as bad as you make them out to be.
Go take your meds Colavito.
Nice fit for the White Sox
He wouldn’t make them any worse. That’s for sure.
Can I buy a vowell please Pat?
The talent appears to be there, but this guy has been designated off the 40-man roster by the Dodgers and then the Tigers. Now he has been released even though he’s not even taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. Kinda suspicious for a guy who just turned 24.
Maybe it’s his injury history or perhaps personal problems that are overshadowing his talent.
Pretty sure there are roster limits in AAA. Having just acquired Brewer, someone had to go.
He’s just a 4A guy & the minors are filled with them. Tigers are playing Kreidler who is a classic 4A player who can play D but can’t hit.
likely a perceived lack of focus and work ethic on the part of the player. Way too laid back for a kid who hasn’t made it yet
I remember when Tiger fans were saying how great this guy was going to be. LOL, fun times… fun times.
Another great addition by Scottie Harris.
That development team and analytics team in Detroit is just churning out some great talent, wouldn’t you say? They are taking first round picks and turning them into utility players.
Who cares as long as they contribute, they keep improving and make the playoffs.
You really think this roster can make the playoffs?
It already showed it can
Scott Harris has been POBO for two drafts. Which of his first round picks have become utility players?
But from some of the players they’ve acquired under Harris (Jack Flaherty and TylerHolton in particular), I’d say development has been good at the parent club level. The minors have also been good (see Jaden Hamm), but it will take years to see the fruits of that development.
That may be true, but Harris inherited a solid farm, and he is not being judged solely as a farm director. His trade record is uninspiring, and virtually nonexistent. He’s running 50/50 on his FA signings. His evaluation of current team personnel is lacking. (How do you not protect Gage Workman from the rule 5, when the team’s biggest needs are a RH bat and a 3B?!) He has failed to fill the current holes in the lineup. They made the playoffs, and other than lucking into the Flaherty contract, made the IF weaker, and assigned the closer to the minors.
Gage bats left handed.
You are right about the farm he inherited. Al could draft but so can Harris which is why they are the #1 ranked farm system. I’m a big Workman fan but he was stalled at AA. I like Leonard too but someone has to go. Don’t forget that those FA signings for Flaherty and Lorenzen have led to trades to get good young players in Lee, Sweeney and Liranzo so your 50% is misleading. He screwed up the Erod trade for sure. Foley has not pitched great since late last year and lost velocity. 3B got screwed up by being too focused on Bregman and then Vierling getting hurt and Jung underperforming. There were other options or they could have pivoted to look for a SS.
I agree they need another bat and because of that I’m not sure why they wouldnt give Malloy a chance or go grab someone like Robert, instead of sticking Margot and Kreidler in there.
I still think they make the playoffs though with the pitching leading the way again.
I was hoping they would have protected Workman, but he had been in the minors for five years and only reached AA. It was a leap for someone to promote him to the majors after only one good minor league season. But the Cubs took him and he earned a spot on the team with a great spring.
Oh my gosh what drivel, coming from the #1 Scott Harris hater, STYMEEDONE. You will never give him credit for what he’s done. The only thing you got right was he inherited a strong farm system. He reworked the development of that farm system to the point that instead of it all eventually becoming a dead wood laughing stock like it was during the Randy Smith/Dave Dombrowski/Al Avila eras, he’s actually produced major league talent. The farm system was as much a joke as you are pre Harris. But you won’t take those hater glasses off and see what he has actually accomplished. Until and if you do, you’ll have no credibility in your assessment of Harris.
Eddy’s Leonard was a cash player bought as the Dodgers were releasing him. It was a no risk acquisition & it gave Leonard 2 more years to develop & make the team. He failed so no harm no foul.
AA sign him to a minor league contract and let’s see if we can develop him. Everybody knows Atlanta needs depth, especially middle infield depth.
Just got your wish 25.
Crystal ball dude!
Used to be many Eddie Leonards’ sandwich shops in Washington DC,
What happened to the Walgreens logo the Nats were using?
It could be Detroit couldn’t find a trading partner for him and decided it might be best for him to try to find a place to play.
Harris does seem to have a hard time finding teams that will trade with him.
Just letting the Braves get more free talent.
The Braves just fleeced the Tigers without giving anything up.
He doesn’t need to be a star—just a league-average bat with multi-position defense to return massive surplus value.
Hes not yet though so I’m not sure how that counts as fleeting.
@Motor City Beach Bum
Fleecing isn’t about the present—it’s about securing potential value at zero cost. Leonard posted a 119 wRC+ in Triple-A over the past two seasons, and his positional versatility adds further upside. The Tigers let that asset walk for nothing, while the Braves made a zero-risk acquisition. If he even approaches league-average production, Atlanta extracts surplus value while Detroit loses optionality. The move’s success isn’t measured by what Leonard is today, but by the potential value gap created by Detroit’s miscalculation.”
I like Leonard a lot and think he should have gotten a chance out of spring training last year. I like what the GM and POBO have done in Detroit for the most part but I don’t get how Brewer Hicklen trumps Leonard.
Having said that “fleecing” implies something going back the other way like in a trade…like Houston fleeced the Tigers in the Verlander trade or Detroit fleeced the Marlins in the Cabrera trade.
I do agree that Leonard still has lots of potential to contribute but until he makes good on that there is no miscalculation or “fleecing.”
Everyone thought Jack got fleeced when he bought those magic beans but look how that turned out. Kind of like when no one could believe the Tigers got Meadows from TB for two prospects 😉
All your Eddys now Leonard to us 🙂