Trei

Cruz

Cruz had five hitless plate appearances for the Tigers in mid-June and will try to do better than that this time around as a replacement for James Outman.

Cruz went hitless in two games with the Tigers after receiving his promotion Friday. The 27-year-old will likely get another shot at some point this summer, but for now, Ben Malgeri will take his spot on the roster.

Cruz was hitting .228/.326/.333 over 144 plate appearances with Toledo. The third-generation MLBer will bat ninth tonight in his MLB debut. He has no real fantasy upside at this time.

The versatile 27-year-old is the son of Jose Cruz Jr. and the grandson of Jose Cruz. Selected by the Tigers in the third round of the 2020 draft, this will be the first trip to the big leagues for Cruz. He was slashing just .228/.326/.333 with two homers, 16 RBI, one stolen base and a 39/18 K/BB ratio over 144 plate appearances at Triple-A Toledo. He’ll provide the Tigers with versatility off the bench.

Cruz was a long shot to win a roster spot, so this isn’t a huge surprise. He hit .279/.411/.456 in 127 minor league games in 2025 with 13 home runs and 17 steals. He can play multiple positions on the diamond and could be an option for the Tigers at some point in the season.