Donny Sands Clears Waivers, Outrighted to Triple-A
Detroit Tigers catcher Donny Sands has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers designated Sands for assignment on Dec. 22 to make room on the 40-man roster for relief pitcher Shelby Miller. Acquired in a trade with the Phillies last offseason, Sands wasn't able to reach the majors with the Tigers in 2023, hitting .225 with five home runs and a healthy 12.1% BB% across 371 trips to the plate with Toledo. The backstop's lone big-league experience came with four plate appearances with the Phillies in 2022, walking once and striking out once in that time. He will once again likely serve as Triple-A catching depth for the Tigers behind Jake Rogers and Carson Kelly at the MLB level.
The Detroit Tigers have designated catcher Donny Sands for assignment. A roster move was required following the club's signing of reliever Shelby Miller on Friday as Sands is the 40-man roster casualty. Acquired from the Phillies prior to the 2023 season, Sands did not appear in the big leagues last season and hit .225 with five home runs and one stolen base across 89 games with Triple-A Toledo. His lone MLB time came in the form of three games and four plate appearances with the Phillies in 2022 while he walked and struck out once apiece in that time. The Tigers have seven days to find a trade partner or simply release the 27-year-old backstop. They could also attempt to keep him on a non-roster minor-league deal.
Nick Maton, Matt Vierling, Donny Sands Head To Detroit
The Detroit Tigers acquired infielder Nick Maton, outfielder Matt Vierling and catcher Donny Sands from the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday in exchange for reliever Gregory Soto and infielder Kody Clemens. With Soto now in Philly, it will likely be Alex Lange taking over Detroit's primary closing duties in 2023. Maton, a utility infielder who has hit .254/.330/434 in his two seasons with the Phillies, could see more playing time in his new home, but he's unlikely to make much of a fantasy impact. Vierling, a right-handed hitting outfielder, will give the Tigers some outfield depth against southpaws. Sands, the Phillies' No. 21 prospect per MLB Pipeline, made his big-league debut in 2022 but played in just two games. He's a contact-first hitter that has added some more loft to his swing recently. The 26-year-old projects as a backup catcher for Detroit.
