With no viable options at the minor league level, the Tigers opted to bring back veteran second baseman Jonathan Schoop on a one-year, $4.5 million dollar deal according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Despite falling behind in Statcast’s standards, Schoop slashed well with Detroit last season hitting .278/.324/.475 with eight home runs in 177 plate appearances. Perhaps needless to say, it’s a decent deal for both Schoop and the Tigers who again currently don’t have a younger option ready in the minors which is, even more, the case after DFAing Sergio Alcantara last week and subsequently losing him to the Cubs today.
Travis Demeritte designated for assignment
Speaking of DFA, to make room Schoop on the 40-man roster, the Tigers designated outfielder Travis Demeritte for assignment.
Demeritte served as one half of the return the Tigers received from Atlanta (the other being pitcher Joey Wentz who’s still with the organization) for reliever Shane Greene. However, despite any success he’s had in the minors (.286/.387/.558 in 399 plate appearances), Demeritte was never able to transition that success to the Big League level slashing .217/.284/.323 with three home runs in 219 plate appearances.