The Tigers’ already thin third base situation became even thinner today after the organization announced that rookie third baseman Jace Jung would be optioned to Triple-A Toledo and will not make the Opening Day roster.

The Tigers optioned Jung and left-handed reliever Sean Guenther — both members of last year’s postseason roster — to Triple-A Toledo before Monday’s game in the fifth round of roster cuts in spring training.

His locker was already cleaned out in the clubhouse on Monday morning at the TigerTown complex.

“All these are personal and emotional,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Monday in the dugout at Joker Marchant Stadium. “It just gets harder and harder as the camp goes on, because the expectations from the players are real. Jace, in particular, was very disappointed.”

Detroit Free Press

With Jung out for at least the time being, manager AJ Hinch noted that we would see some different rotations at third base given different situations. Zach McInstry will likely see the majority of the time at third against right-handed pitchers, with Andy Ibáñez getting the start against left-handed pitchers. It’s also possible that Javy Baez will find time at third until a more long-term, permanent solution is settled.

And that long-term option could still very well be Jung, who surprisingly struggled at the plate this spring, hitting .121 (4-for-33) with one home run, four walks, and 10 strikeouts across 14 games in spring training. All of this happening after Jung’s defense was what was originally standing in the way of maintaining a consistent presence on the big league roster.

Meanwhile, Guenther was also bad in his own right, posting a 17.18 ERA with two walks and four strikeouts across 3⅔ innings in five relief appearances.