Jace

Jung

Jung has had a couple of stints with the big league club in the past week, but he’ll take the shuttle back to Toledo with Zack Short returning on Friday. Jung, 25, has hit just .167 (1-for-6) with zero RBI and one run scored in his limited action with the Tigers this season.

Jung was called up on April 29th when Javier Baez (ankle) went on the injured list, but was sent back to Triple-A on May 3rd when Zack Short was called up from Triple-A. Now, Jung will get another shot with Gleyber Torres (oblique) landing on the injured list.

It’s not great timing for Torres to get hurt, as the Tigers already have Zach McKinstry and Javier Báez on the IL. McKinstry, though, is almost ready to return. The Tigers can still mix and match Hao-Yu Lee and Jace Jung at second.

Jung was called up to replace Javier Baez (ankle) on Wednesday and started at designated hitter, going 0-for-2 with a walk. Jung will now head to the bench on Thursday with Colt Keith at DH and Hao-Yu Lee back in the lineup at third base and batting seventh.

It’s notable that Jung gets the call instead of an outfielder with Javier Báez landing on the shelf with a sprained ankle. The 25-year-old is back in the big leagues for the first time since hitting .190/.315/.230 with six RBI in 55 games for Detroit over the previous two years.

Jung handled himself well this spring, hitting .286/.405/.371 in 42 plate appearances. He also walked six times and struck out five times. He had a solid season at Triple-A in 2025, but he has not shown himself to be an MLB-ready hitter at this stage. Perhaps this year changes that.

McGonigle’s ability to generate consistent hard contact in tandem with elite contact skills at such a young age makes it strangely difficult to imagine a future where he isn’t an impactful fantasy contributor. That future might become reality in a few weeks on Opening Day. The 21-year-old prodigy’s path to a spot on Detroit’s season-opening roster got easier with Trey Sweeney sidelined with a shoulder injury and leaves super utility specialist Zach McKinstry as the lone obstacle in his way. A strong performance in Grapefruit League exhibition contests would make it extremely challenging for the Tigers to ship him back to the minors. He’ll be a popular sleeper candidate in all fantasy drafts this spring, especially if he starts making some noise at the dish. Here is the full lineup: Jahmai Jones (RF), McGonigle (SS), Gleyber Torres (2B), Colt Keith (3B), Jake Rogers (DH), Jace Jung (1B), Trei Cruz (CF), Eduardo Valencia (C) and Corey Julks (LF).

Jung was only with the Tigers for five days in his latest stint with the club. The 24-year-old will head to Triple-A to finish 2025 with Justyn-Henry Malloy taking his roster spot. Jung may need to change organizations to get a chance at a full-time gig in 2026.

With Colt Keith (ribs) landing on the injured list, Jung will get another opportunity to show what he can do at the big league level. Jung has hit just .111/.245/.111 with zero homers and three RBI in 53 plate appearances with the Tigers this season.

The 24-year-old Jung, who got into 18 games for the Tigers in April and May, is 11-for-28 with two homers this month, and he’s hitting .289/.372/.489 in his last 47 games for Toledo. It’s probably not going to get him a late callup, but the surge won’t hurt his positioning going into 2026.