ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The Detroit Tigers made a controversial roster move.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres returned Tuesday, June 2, after missing the past 27 games while recovering from a left oblique strain, forcing a 26-man roster move to activate him.
The Tigers optioned infielder Hao-Yu Lee to Triple-A Toledo.
In doing so, the Tigers kept shortstop Zack Short.
“He’s going to be back,” manager A.J. Hinch said of Lee before Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, facing left-hander Steven Matz. “I don’t know when, but I expect him to learn from this and be more comfortable the next time he gets his next opportunity.”
During his stint with the Tigers, Lee hit .205 with two home runs, four walks and 24 strikeouts across 32 games, posting a .579 OPS. The 23-year-old also registered minus-three defensive runs saved over 131⅔ innings at second base, while also spending 66⅓ innings at third base.
“He definitely needs to play both,” Hinch said of Lee at second and third base. “I stuck with second base a little bit because of Kevin [McGonigle] at third and the way we’re using shortstop with Shorty and Z-Mac [Zach McKinstry]. He can play both, which we’re going to keep open to give him an opportunity when something opens up.”
There’s no doubt Lee is a better hitter than Short.
But Short – a 31-year-old journeyman who would’ve needed to be designated for assignment because he doesn’t have any minor-league options remaining – is an above-average defender at shortstop, giving the Tigers three shortstops on their roster with Short, McGonigle and McKinstry.
Both Lee and Torres are right-handed-hitting second basemen.
Torres hasn’t played for the Tigers since May 2.
This story will be updated.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers demote Hao-Yu Lee – not Zack Short – as Gleyber Torres returns
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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