I was shocked when I checked Baseball Reference and saw that Trey Sweeney played 118 games this season. I don’t know why I was surprised by that, but for a guy who got a significant amount of reps in this season, he made very little impact. Sweeney did show flashes toward the end of the regular season in 2024. The farther away we get from that run, the harder it is for me to evaluate. Everyone was seeing the ball well. Everyone was hitting, and every pitcher on the staff was going out there, putting up zeros. The vibes were so high, and the team was so hot that it was difficult to come away from that run, knowing the real version of some of these players.
Trey Sweeney had nearly 300 at-bats this season, and I think we have an idea of who he is. Tracy Sweeney just isn’t a major league player. I’m not even angry at Scott Harris for thinking that there’s potential there. He has actual pop in his bat and is a serviceable defensive shortstop, but he’s just not consistent enough at the dish. In fact, among qualified players, he had some of the worst numbers of any player in baseball at the plate this season.
I should probably go into greater detail about what didn’t work for Trey Sweeney this season, but Detroit Tiger fans are smart. You guys saw what I saw. Under normal circumstances, I’d be willing to go with a let-it-ride vibe towards Trey Sweeney and give him another opportunity to get it going at the big league level. Still, Sweeney has always been something of a pawn. Javy Baez emerged this year, which is something I don’t think the organization expected. They were able to play him at short and obviously move him around the diamond, putting him at centerfield. But the fact is, whoever is playing short for this team is just a Band-Aid until Kevin McGonigle arrives at the Big level. Hopefully, that’s going to be sooner rather than later.
I can’t even see Trey Sweeney as one of those players who fell through the cracks or as one of the players Detroit failed to develop properly. He wasn’t some highly touted prospect when the Tigers acquired him, and quite frankly, he probably ended up giving them more than any of us ever expected. The fact that he was the starting shortstop when this team made the playoffs for the first time in a decade is ultimately going to be the answer to a great trivia question one day.
I’ve lauded the Tigers because I think that they’re current approach to player development is better than it’s ever been, but Trey Sweeney is one of those who fall into the mulligan category. I don’t think there’s a whole lot you can do with a guy like this. I’ll get mad at the organization when they take a player with a high ceiling and rush him to the big leagues and don’t get the most out of them. This is not how I feel about Mr. Sweeney. He’s one of those guys that I give a lot of credit to just for finding his way to the big league level. As frustrated as I can get with some of the current pieces that the Tigers have, I do not doubt that they’re going to be contributors here for a long time. I can’t say that about Trey Sweeney, and unlike Parker Meadows, who did admittedly spend a good chunk of the year banged up, I can’t really blame health for his struggles. He just doesn’t have it, and that’s OK.
FINAL GRADE: F