Ben Malgeri Called Up

[Peter Welch]

Tigers have called up 26-year-old righty-hitting organizational soldier OF Ben Malgeri from Toledo and optioned Trei Cruz back to Toledo and placed pitcher Burch Smith on the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Peter

[Roger King]

It must be disappointing for Cruz as he didn't even get his first major league hit.  I assume this is because the Tigers are facing 2 LH starters in a row to finish the series with the Yanks.

But this again seems to be about Hinch's obsession with match-ups.  I remain unconvinced this is good for young/rookie players to be shuttled back & forth after only a handful of at bats just so Hinch can do the chess thing.  Or even for a guy like Jones, as we've said.  Always being asked to come through as a pinch-hitter at key pressure points of the game rather than just being a more traditional platoon guy who plays a full game once or twice a week and can settle in a bit more.

On Tue, Jun 23, 2026 at 3:06 PM Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Tigers have called up 26-year-old righty-hitting organizational soldier OF Ben Malgeri from Toledo and optioned Trei Cruz back to Toledo and placed pitcher Burch Smith on the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Peter

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[Peter Welch]

I think the Cruz call-up was sort of a gimmick so that he could say he got to be a 3rd-generation player in the majors.  It was pretty cool for him and his family.  Too bad he didn't get a hit or even a walk in his brief time with the Tigers.  He's on the 40-man roster so it's not like the Tigers had to DFA anyone or put anyone on the 60-day IL to make room for him so he was also an easy quick call-up after Perez got hurt.  

Sadly, Cruz is not really even a replacement-level major league player and he certainly wasn't doing anything with Toledo to merit a call-up (plus he's been injured most of the season).

Malgeri has good numbers with Toledo (.296/.401/.496) with 9 homers in 250 AB.  His K rate is 24.9% and walk rate is 12.8%.  He has a 1.076 OPS vs. lefties this season with 5 homers in 65 AB so I'm guessing Hinch is hoping he can be the lefty masher that Jones hasn't been this year.  Malgeri can also play all 3 OF positions competently so he has more value defensively than Jones.

Peter

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From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2026 3:25 PM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Ben Malgeri Called Up

 

[Mike Coveyou]

Given the experience with Lee, I wonder if there is any reliable way of telling if a player will play better after a second call up than he had during what seemed to be a failed first call to the majors?

I'm inclined to think Workman probably won't ever be a reliable major league hitter, but I'm not sure of this.  I won't be surprised if he never dons a Tigers uniform again, but another call up wouldn't greatly surprise me, either.  I'd express the same ambivalence about Cruz.

Another thought about Lee: if he continues hitting and playing reasonably well at 2B, does this lessen the likelihood of Torres being signed again?

Mike Coveyou

Mike Coveyou

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[Peter Welch]

Funny how Workman has continued to mash in AAA after being demoted.   He is a classic AAAA player.   Beats up on AAA pitching but can't hit major league pitching.  Major league pitchers can really exploit your weaknesses as a hitter better than minor league pitchers.

I'm sure if Workman was called up again he'd have trouble making contact, would strike out 50+% of the time, and could barely hit above .180.

Peter 

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From: Mike Coveyou <mcov...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 23 June 2026 17:07:05

[Michael W]

I’m really happy for Malgeri.  He’s never really been a prospect, but as he got older he’s mastered minor league pitching.  He’s an organizational soldier who has earned a chance, at least to say he played in the majors.  It’s possible that his peak will bring him over replacement level for a couple of years, and he can be a useful spare part.

Michael