Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Agrees to deal with Detroit
Rotowire
The Tigers and McKinstry avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.65 million contract Friday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
McKinstry had been eligible for salary arbitration for the first time. The 29-year-old slashed just .215/.277/.337 with four home runs and 16 stolen bases over 118 games for the Tigers in 2024. He's slated to fill a utility role again next season.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Tallies three hits in loss
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McKinstry went 3-for-4 with a double in Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Angels.
McKinstry was the only Detroit player with multiple hits, and the lack of production around him prevented him from accumulating any counting stats. While the utility player can pop on occasion, McKinstry is generally not much of an offensive threat, and his lack of consistent playing time limits his fantasy ceiling.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Smacks fourth home run
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McKinstry went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer in Saturday's 13-4 win against the White Sox.
McKinstry went deep off John Brebbia in the ninth inning, his first home run since July 7. McKinstry in the middle of a five-game hitting streak with five RBI and two stolen bases in that stretch. The 29-year-old utility man sees sporadic playing time and carries a paltry .603 OPS through 90 games this season.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Picks up steal in win
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McKinstry went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Cubs.
McKinstry notched a steal in his second straight game, but this was his first start in three contests. He's put together a decent August, going 13-for-45 (.289) across 15 games while adding three steals and four RBI. The 29-year-old is at a .199/.259/.320 slash line with 11 steals, three home runs, 19 RBI and 25 runs scored across 251 plate appearances for the year.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Provides spark Saturday
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McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Yankees.
McKinstry batted ninth and provided an unexpected lift, as he came into the contest batting just .188 for the season. The utility man is now a career .215 hitter across 355 MLB games, so he's pretty much settled in as a low-impact offensive player who offers value to his team through his defensive versatility. That keeps McKinstry's fantasy appeal fairly limited.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Retreating to bench
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McKinstry is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.
McKinstry will hit the bench for the series finale after he had started in each of Detroit's last three games while going 3-for-12 with two doubles, one walk and two runs across those contests. Though McKinstry's bat has warmed up in August, the Tigers still seem to view him mostly as a utility player. His playing time is likely to take a hit once Detroit gets Riley Greene (hamstring) back from the injured list, perhaps as soon as this weekend or early next week.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Playing time trending up
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McKinstry will start at shortstop and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Giants.
McKinstry will be filling in for a resting Javier Baez on Sunday, but the 29-year-old McKinstry could begin to gain more traction in a regular role in the outfield after Wenceel Perez (oblique) joined Riley Greene (hamstring) on the injured list Saturday. The utility man is included in the lineup Sunday for the sixth time in seven games and has picked up starts at shortstop, second base, third base and in left field during that stretch. He's getting on base at a .348 clip since the beginning of August.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Reaches three times in win
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McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday's win over Seattle.
McKinstry walked in his first trip to the plate and later added an infield single in the top of the eighth before stealing his ninth base of the campaign. The second baseman reached three times on the night while posting his first multi-hit performance since July 13 against the Dodgers. McKinstry has now hit safely in each of his last four games and is batting .313 (5-for-16) to open the month of August.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Triples, steals base Sunday
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McKinstry went 1-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers. He also stole a base.
McKinstry showed off his speed in the last game of the first half, as he recorded his third triple of the season and seventh stolen base. The utility player got the start at shortstop with Javier Baez (back) held out, though Baez is not expected to need a stint on the injured list. McKinstry will slot into a reserve role after the All-Star break if Baez is healthy, which limits the former's fantasy upside.
McKinstry will start at third base and bat sixth in Thursday's game against the Guardians, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Even with Javier Baez (back) returning from the injured list Monday, McKinstry has been able to retain a near-everyday role in the Detroit infield, at least against right-handed pitching. McKinstry will draw his fifth consecutive start Thursday, with the 29-year-old having picked up three starts at third base and two at shortstop during that span. Third base could end up being the primary home for McKinstry if he hits well enough to retain a regular spot in the lineup, as Matt Vierling is capable of filling in as an outfielder while Parker Meadows (hamstring) is on the shelf.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Delivers big blast Sunday
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McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and three total RBI in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Reds.
McKinstry delivered his third home run of the season in a surprisingly strong offensive performance. The utility player is still batting just .186 this season with a .550 OPS, and the two hits Sunday snapped an 0-for-14 streak over his last six games. McKinstry has some value to the Tigers due to his versatility, but that doesn't translate to a ton of fantasy value.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Taking seat Saturday
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McKinstry isn't in the Tigers' lineup for Saturday's game versus Cincinnati.
McKinstry has failed to record a base hit in 14 at-bats over his last five contests, and he'll now sit down for the second game in a row Saturday. Ryan Kreidler will start instead at shortstop and bat ninth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not in Friday's lineup
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McKinstry isn't in the Tigers' lineup Friday versus the Reds.
McKinstry has gone 0-for-14 over his last five games, so he'll get a chance to regroup Friday while Ryan Kreidler starts at shortstop and bats ninth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Absent from starting nine
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McKinstry is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins.
McKinstry continues to split shortstop work with Ryan Kreidler in the wake of Javier Baez's (back) injury. McKinstry is 4-for-29 (.138) since June 11.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Hitting bench Sunday
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McKinstry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
With southpaw Tyler Anderson on the hill for the Angels, the lefty-hitting McKinstry will duck out of the lineup. Ryan Kreidler will step in for McKinstry at shortstop.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Idle against lefty
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McKinstry is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies.
McKinstry will avoid a matchup with Ranger Suarez on Tuesday, yielding to Ryan Kreidler at shortstop. McKinstry had started in each of the Tigers' last two games, going 4-for-7 with a solo homer and two doubles.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in easy win
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McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Sunday's 11-2 win over the White Sox.
McKinstry was one of four Detroit players to go deep and perhaps the most surprising one, as this was just his second of the season across 51 games. The utility player is batting only .185, and while he's seeing more playing time right now with Javier Baez (back) on the injured list, McKinstry may be better suited to a reserve role due to his limited offensive abilities.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Idle Friday
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McKinstry is not part of the starting lineup for Friday's game against the White Sox.
After starting four of the Tigers' last five games at shortstop, McKinstry will yield to Ryan Kreidler on Friday. McKinstry has two hits in his last 23 at-bats and has struck out nine times during that span.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Idle against RHP
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McKinstry is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Houston.
McKinstry will give way to the righty-hitting Ryan Kreidler at shortstop Friday even with right-hander Hunter Brown on the mound for the Astros. It'll be Kreidler's third start since Javier Baez (back) got injured, while McKinstry has only had two starts during that stretch.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Moves to bench against lefty
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McKinstry is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
Since Javier Baez sat out Sunday's 10-2 win over the Brewers before being placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with lumbar spine inflammation, McKinstry and Ryan Kreidler have both picked up a pair of starts at shortstop. Though manager A.J. Hinch suggested that the two shortstops wouldn't work in a strict platoon, both of McKinstry's starts have come against right-handed pitching. Kreidler, meanwhile, will start at shortstop Thursday versus lefty Patrick Corbin, after Kreidler was previously included in the lineup Tuesday, when southpaw Mitchell Parker was on the bump for Washington.
