TODAY: The Tigers announced today that Urshela has cleared outright waivers and has been placed on release waivers. In the likely event that Urshela clears release waivers, hell become a free agent and be eligible to sign with any of the leagues clubs for a pro-rated portion of the big league minimum. August 16: The Tigers announced today that they have selected the contracts of infielders and DeMar DeRozan Jersey , moves that were . In corresponding moves, outfielder was optioned to Triple-A Toledo and infielder was designated for a signment. To open another 40-man spot, left-hander was designated for a signment. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Urshela move prior to the official announcement. Urshela, 32, reached free agency for the first time after the 2023 season. He had a solid four-year run in the big leagues from 2019 to 2022 but then had an injury-marred 2023 campaign. He got into 62 games with the Angels, hitting just two home runs before a pelvic fracture wiped out the second half of his season. That was naturally going to impact his individual market but he also had the misfortune of being a part of one of the frostier offseasons in recent memory. Even big-name free agents lingered on the open market well into the new year. Many players below the superstar level ended up settling for very modest deals in the early parts of 2024. Guys like , , , and others settled for one-year deals of le s than $5MM. The Tigers were able to nab Urshela for a guarantee of just $1.5MM on a one-year deal. Though his 2023 season wasnt great, they were likely excited to get a solid veteran at such a low price point. As mentioned, Urshela had a strong four-year run prior to 2023, spending time with the Yankees and Twins. In that stretch, he hit 54 home runs in 435 games and slashed .290/.336/.463 for a wRC+ of 118. He spent most of that time at third base and generally had the reputation of a strong defender. Bizarrely, Outs Above Average hates him and gave him a grade of -17 in that 2019-22 period, but Defensive Runs Saved gave him a solid grade of +5. If the Tigers got anything close to that kind of performance for their modest investment, it would have been a steal. Unfortunately, Urshela has not been able to bounce back as hoped. He has been in 92 games for Detroit this year with five home runs and a modest batting line of .243/.286/.333. That translates to a 73 wRC+, indicating hes been 27% below league average at the plate this year. Detroit is 7.5 games back of a playoff spot, which isnt a totally hopele s position, but they are clearly focused on the future at this point. Prior to the deadline, they traded away , , and . They are going to use the remainder of the schedule to get Jung and Sweeney exposed to major league pitching, which will nudge Urshela out of their plans. Since the trade deadline has come and gone, they will have no choice but to place Urshela on waivers in the coming days. He has about $345K of his salary still to be paid out, meaning a claiming team wouldnt be taking on huge amounts of money by grabbing him. However, given his performance both last year and this year, its po sible that he pa ses through unclaimed. He has been hot of late, with a .265/.342/.412 batting line and 108 wRC+ in August, but thats a sample of just 38 plate appearances amid a rough two-year stretch. If he pa ses through unclaimed, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright a signment while keeping that salary in place. If he ends up a free agent, the Tigers would be on the hook for that money. Any other club could sign him for the prorated league minimum, which would be subtracted from what the Tigers pay. Lucas, 27, was just claimed off waivers from the Athletics in May. Since that claim, he has made three appearances for the Tigers with two earned runs allowed, two strikeouts and two walks. Combined with his time with the As, he now has 13 2/3 major league innings pitched with a 9.22 earned run average. His minor league work this year has been far more interesting. Between the two organizations, he has thrown 49 Triple-A innings with a 3.31 ERA. The 11.2% walk rate is on the high side but hes countered that with a 25.2% strikeout rate. Lucas still has a full slate of options and le s than a year of service time. For any club intrigued by his Triple-A numbers this year, he could be a long-term depth piece. Like Urshela, he will have to be placed on waivers in the coming days since the trade deadline has pa sed. Lucas has a previous career outright, which would give him the right to elect free agency if he eventually pa ses through waivers unclaimed. LaMarcus Aldridge Jersey