The Tigers announced that they have recalled the catcher/first baseman Eduardo Valencia. In a corresponding move, the outside player Jahmai Jones selected for assignment. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase reported on Valencia’s promotion ahead of the club’s announcement.
Although a substitute Dillon Dingler he was not mentioned in today’s steps, they are related to him. Dingler took a foul ball in his hand yesterday and was ejected from his place in the game Jake Rogers. The club later announced to reporters, including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, that X-rays on Dingler’s hand came back negative. Dingler is not on the injured list but will probably miss a day or two. The Tigers don’t want to play Rogers as their only catcher, even for a few days, so they added another backstop.
Valencia, 26, will make his first major league start if he enters the game. He was added to Detroit’s 40-man roster in November so he wouldn’t be available in the Rule 5 draft. The player who came out of Venezuela, seemed to have a bright spot in 2025. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he scored 24 runs in 103 games. He hit .311/.382/.559 with a wRC+ of 159. This year’s offense has been very good but not as strong. He has 16 home runs in 76 games, a .267/.353/.486 line and a 122 wRC+.
Despite that solid performance from the striker’s box, Valencia’s stock is divisive. Baseball America ranks him 27th in the program, describing him as a poor defender behind the plate and at first base. FanGraphs is very strong and ranked him #8 in the offseason, but even that company noted that Valencia may end up playing a role. Meanwhile, Valencia gives the Tigers more cover behind the plate. It could be a short stint in the majors if Dingler’s arm feels right in the coming days.
Adding that extra catcher means Jones loses his roster spot. The Tigers got good results out of him in the shortstop role last year. Signed to a minor league deal through the 2024-25 offseason, Jones was called up in June last summer. He went on to hit a whopping .287/.387/.550 with a wRC+ of 159. A righty pitcher, he does a lot of damage to lefties, with a .288/.393/.577 line and a 167 wRC+ in the split.
He couldn’t pass that up until 2026. He has a slim .137/.219/.221 line on the year. Part of that is due to a .190 batting average on balls in play but he’s also suddenly hitting at a 33.3% clip, a big jump from last year’s 21.3% pace. He has been better against lefties but his .154/.250/.256 line is still very poor.
Given those major issues, it’s no surprise that he was left off the list. Since he’s out of costs, that means he’s been in DFA limbo, which could last for a week. The waiver process lasts 48 hours, so the Tigers can take five days to assess trade interest, but they can immediately call him up if they choose.
Maybe there are clubs out there who have a plan to bring him back to last year’s form, but it’s possible that clubs have been hit hard this year. Jones has a straight forward career so he will be eligible for free agency if he is targeted again.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
