Baddoo cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday.
Baddoo will remain within the Tigers organization after being designated for assignment Dec. 10. 2024 was the outfielder's worst season yet in the majors, recording a .521 OPS and just five RBI across 82 plate appearances. The 26-year-old may factor to be a four-A player as he has posted a .802 OPS in 123 games for Triple-A Toledo since the 2022 season.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Pushed off 40-man
Rotowire
The Tigers designated Baddoo for assignment Tuesday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
With the signing of Alex Cobb becoming official Tuesday, the Tigers needed to create room on their 40-man roster, so Baddoo will end up as the roster casualty. Baddoo slashed just .137/.220/.301 in 31 big-league games last season, though his .758 OPS and 29 stolen bases in Triple-A could be enough to attract attention from another organization.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Returns to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Tigers optioned Baddoo to Triple-A Toledo on Friday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
With Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney joining the active roster, Baddoo was sent back to Toledo. Baddoo went 3-for-13 with an RBI double during his five-day stint with the Tigers.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Back in majors
Rotowire
The Tigers recalled Baddoo from Triple-A Toledo on Saturday.
With Wenceel Perez (oblique) headed for the injured list, the Tigers will call upon Baddoo to make up for the lost depth in their outfield unit. The 25-year-old has gone just 7-for-60 in the majors this season, though he owns an .847 OPS in 75 plate appearances since being optioned to Triple-A on July 12.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Sent down to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Tigers optioned Baddoo to Triple-A Toledo on Friday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Baddoo was called up Monday to replace Austin Meadows (hamstring). After going 0-for-7 in three games after the promotion, Baddoo will surrender his active roster spot to Ryan Vilade.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Called up, starting Monday
Rotowire
The Tigers recalled Baddoo from Triple-A Toledo on Monday. He'll start in left field and bat eighth in the Tigers' series opener versus the Guardians.
Baddoo returns to Detroit's 26-man active roster as a replacement for Austin Meadows (hamstring), who was placed on the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. Though Meadows had been operating as an everyday player for the brief time he was up with the big club, Baddoo projects to serve as a fourth outfielder behind primary starters Riley Greene, Wenceel Perez and Matt Vierling. Baddoo will crack the lineup Monday, however, while Vierling gets a day off.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Expected to rejoin roster
Rotowire
Baddoo is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Toledo prior to Monday's game against the Guardians, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
He was demoted last week in favor of Parker Meadows, but Baddoo now appears likely to rejoin the active roster as a replacement for Meadows, who is set to land on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain. Baddoo has turned in a .582 OPS over 62 plate appearances in the big leagues this season.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Tigers optioned Baddoo to Triple-A Toledo on Friday.
Baddoo has played sparingly lately and produced just a .582 OPS with the big club this season. He's clearing out to make room on the roster for Parker Meadows.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Blasts second home run
Rotowire
Baddoo went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 11-2 win over the White Sox.
Baddoo went deep in the first inning with a runner on base for his second home run of the season. However, he wasn't able to add anything else to his box score, which is reflective of his struggles overall this season. The outfielder is batting just .132 across 16 games and has mostly fallen into a reserve role for the Tigers.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Playing time trending down
Rotowire
Baddoo is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
Baddoo has now made just two starts in a stretch of seven games and appears to be fading into a fourth-outfielder role after he had begun to see steady playing time in late May. His downturn in playing time appears to be a byproduct of Justyn-Henry Malloy's move into a near-everyday role since his June 3 call-up from Triple-A Toledo.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Out of Wednesday's lineup
Rotowire
Baddoo is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Rangers.
Baddoo has already started six games since being called up by Detroit last week, and he's gone 3-for-19 with a homer, two walks and seven strikeouts. Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and Zach McKinstry will start from left to right in the outfield Wednesday.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Day off Saturday
Rotowire
Baddoo is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Red Sox, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Baddoo will get a day off after he went 1-for-8 with a solo home run and four strikeouts over the first two games of the series. Matt Vierling will enter the lineup in right field and bat leadoff against Boston.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Hits first homer of campaign
Rotowire
Baddoo went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 5-0 win against Boston on Thursday.
Baddoo was called up from Triple-A on Wednesday to fill the roster spot of Kerry Carpenter (back), who was placed on the injured list. Baddoo got into both games of a doubleheader and hit a sacrifice fly in his first game back in the majors, which he topped with a fifth-inning long ball Thursday. Baddoo isn't going to be an everyday lineup replacement for Carpenter, but he should get occasional starts against right-handed hurlers.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Back up from Triple-A
Rotowire
The Tigers recalled Baddoo from Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Baddoo is up as a roster replacement for Kerry Carpenter (back), who was placed on the 10-day injured list. The 25-year-old outfielder has spent virtually all of 2024 with Toledo, slashing .253/.360/.473 with six home runs and 16 stolen bases. Baddoo could see a little action in the outfield versus righties while he's up with the Tigers.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Brought up to big club
Rotowire
The Tigers recalled Baddoo from Triple-A Toledo on Saturday.
Baddoo wasn't able to make the Tigers' Opening Day roster after going 3-for-25 with 13 strikeouts during spring training. The 25-year-old is slashing .257/.366/.478 with 11 stolen bases, four triples, four home runs and 16 RBI over 134 plate appearances in Triple-A. He appeared in 112 games with Detroit last season, posting a .218/.310/.372 line with 11 home runs, 34 RBI and 14 steals over 357 plate appearances.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Tigers optioned Baddoo to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday.
Baddoo went just 3-for-25 with 13 strikeouts at the plate this spring. The 25-year-old has really struggled at the big-league level over the last two seasons following a promising rookie campaign.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Struggling this spring
Rotowire
Baddoo, who went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins, is now batting .167 this spring.
Baddoo has just three singles in nine games this spring. The struggles are less than ideal for the 25-year-old, as he's fighting for a bench role in camp. Riley Greene, Parker Meadows and Mark Canha seem to be locked into starting outfield spots, and given Baddoo's poor play so far, he may find himself at Triple-A Toledo to begin the season.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: May start year at Triple-A
Rotowire
Baddoo is a candidate to begin the 2024 season at Triple-A Toledo with Detroit's outfield now deeper than in previous years, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Baddoo made 357 plate appearances for the Tigers in 2023, though he may be unable to match that in 2024. Parker Meadows has emerged as the presumptive center fielder of the future, and Riley Greene should slide over to right field in his return from September Tommy John surgery. The team also added veteran Mark Canha during the offseason, and he figures to play left field. Baddoo could give the Tigers a left-handed bat and some speed off the bench, though the versatile Matt Vierling could also serve as a fourth outfielder. Either way, Baddoo's fantasy stock has dropped as the Detroit outfield has gotten deeper.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Agrees to terms
Rotowire
Baddoo and the Tigers agreed to a one-year, $1.55 million deal Thursday to avoid arbitration, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
The righty-hitting outfielder may struggle to top the 357 plate appearances he received in 2023, as the Tigers' outfield will be better than it has been in recent seasons, with the addition of Mark Canha and emergence of Parker Meadows. Baddoo should still get starts against lefties. He is a career .233 hitter and had 11 home runs with 14 steals and a career-low 24.9 percent strikeout rate last year.
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Tigers' Akil Baddoo: Likely to be retained for 2024
Rotowire
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris indicated Tuesday that Baddoo will be tendered a contract for the 2024 season, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Baddoo was believed to be a non-tender candidate this winter after slashing just .213/.302/.331 in 582 combined plate appearances between 2022-23, but he is only projected to make around $1.7 million in 2024 -- his first year of arbitration eligibility -- and the Tigers are hopeful that he can recapture his 2021 form. That year, as a rookie, Baddoo put up a .766 OPS with 13 homers and 18 steals across his first 124 major-league games. "He still very much fits in," said Harris. "There is a role for him. We're not an organization that wants to give up players that can affect the game in that way for nothing."
