BOSTON – Luke Ritter typically does one of three things at the plate.
Two are good, one is bad.
The Detroit Tigers signed Ritter on Friday, April 17, to a minor-league contract, assigning him to Triple-A Toledo. The 29-year-old utility player remains in search of his MLB debut as he embarks on his seventh season in the minor leagues.
Ritter hits home runs and draws walks at above-average rates, but he strikes out too often. He has extensive experience at second base, third base, first base, left field and right field, plus nine innings at shortstop.
Before joining the Tigers, the right-handed Ritter played in the New York Mets’ organization from 2019-25.
He spent parts of the past four seasons in Triple-A Syracuse, hitting .237 with 52 home runs (3.8% home-run rate), 174 walks (12.6% walk rate) and 422 strikeouts (30.6% strikeout rate) across 339 games.
From 2022-25, Triple-A players averaged a 3.1% home-run rate, 11.1% walk rate and 22.7% strikeout rate.
In 2025, Ritter hit .225 with 11 home runs, 51 walks and 138 strikeouts in 115 games at the Triple-A level. He spent 265 innings at third base, 241⅔ innings at second base, 169 innings in left field, 88 innings in right field, 83 innings at first base and one inning at shortstop.
The Los Angeles Angels signed Ritter to a minor-league contract in mid-January 2026 after he became a minor-league free agent in early November 2025. He was released by the Angels in late March at the end of spring training.
Ritter spent 27 days on the open market.
Eventually, the Tigers picked him up for Triple-A depth.
The Mets selected Ritter in the seventh round – at No. 208 overall – in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Wichita State.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers sign power-hitting Luke Ritter to minor-league contract
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
