TODAY: The Tigers announced today that Urhela has cleared waivers outright and has been placed on waivers. In the event that Urhela clears waivers, he will be a free agent and eligible to sign with any major league club for a limited portion of the major league minimum.
August 16: The Tigers today announced that they have chosen the contracts of the midfielders Jace Jung again Trey Sweeneymoves reported yesterday. In the corresponding movements, outfielder Akil Baddoo optioned to Triple-A Toledo and an infielder Gio Ursela he was chosen for the assignment. To open another 40-man spot, the left-hander Easton Lucas he was chosen for the assignment. Robert Murray of FanSided reported Urhela’s departure from X before the official announcement.
Urhela, 32, has reached free agency for the first time since the 2023 season. He had four solid years in the major leagues from 2019 to 2022 but then had an injury-plagued 2023 campaign. He appeared in 62 games with the Angels, hitting just two home runs before a pelvic fracture ended the second half of his season.
That would have impacted his individual market but he also had the misfortune of being part of one of the most frozen seasons in recent memory. Even agents without big names stayed on the open market until the new year. Many of the players below the top tier ended up getting very modest deals at the start of 2024. Guys like Michael A. Taylor, Enrique Hernández, Adam Duvall, Randal Grichuk and others settled on one-year deals under $5MM.
The Tigers were able to secure Urhela for only $1.5MM guaranteed on a one-year contract. Even though his 2023 season wasn’t great, they may have been happy to get a solid veteran at such a low price. As mentioned, Urshela had a solid four-year run before 2023, spending time with the Yankees and Twins. During that time, he hit 54 home runs in 435 games and slashed .290/.336/.463 with a wRC+ of 118.
He spent most of that time at third base and generally had a reputation as a tough defender. Oddly, Outs Above Average hates him and gave him a grade of -17 during that 2019-22 season, but Defensive Runs Saved gave him a solid +5 grade.
If the Tigers could get anything close to that kind of performance with their modest investment, it would be a steal. Unfortunately, Urhela was not able to bounce back as expected. He has appeared in 92 games for Detroit this year with five home runs and a modest .243/.286/.333 batting line. That translates to a 73 wRC+, which shows he’s been 27% below league average at the plate this year.
Detroit is 7.5 games back of a playoff spot, which isn’t a completely hopeless situation, but they’re clearly focused on the future at this point. Before the deadline, they traded Jack Flaherty, Carson Kelly, Andrew Chaffin again Mark Canha. They will use the rest of the draft to get Jung and Sweeney exposure in big league games, which will take Urhela out of their plans.
With the trade deadline having come and gone, they will have no choice but to place Urshela on waivers in the coming days. He has about $345K in salary yet to be released, meaning a team that wants him won’t be taking big bucks for him. However, given the way he played last year and this year, he may have gone undrafted. He’s been hot of late, with a .265/.342/.412 batting line and 108 wRC+ in August, but that’s just a sampling of 38 plate appearances over a rough two-year stretch.
If he passes without a request, he has enough additional service time to refuse a direct assignment while keeping that salary in place. If he ends up being a free agent, the Tigers will be in the headlines for that amount. Any other club can sign him for the league’s maximum fee, which will be deducted from what the Tigers are paying.
Lucas, 27, was recently asked to be decommissioned from the Athletics in May. Since that claim, he has made three appearances for the Tigers allowing two earned runs, two strikeouts and two walks. Combined with his time with the A’s, he now has 13 2/3 major league innings pitched with a 9.22 earned run average.
His minor league career this year has been very interesting. Between the two organizations, he threw 49 Triple-A innings with a 3.31 ERA. The 11.2% walk rate is on the high side but counter that with a 25.2% strikeout rate.
Lucas still has full options and less than a year of service. For any club impressed by his Triple-A numbers this year, he could be a long-term piece. Like Urhela, he will have to be sidelined in the coming days now that the trade deadline has passed. Lucas has a straight forward career, which could entitle him to free agency if he eventually clears waivers without being claimed.
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