Manuel Margot, an outfielder, will not be returning to the Detroit Tigers when his injury rehab assignment is finished.
The organization said Wednesday that Margot was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo after clearing waivers and being restored off the disabled list.
Margot could have refused the task outright, but she decided to take it instead.
If the Tigers had decided to bring Margot back to the major leagues, the most likely candidates to be optioned would have been third baseman Jace Jung and infielder/outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy.
Their move on Wednesday gives them some time until outfielder Matt Vierling, who is presently with the Mud Hens on a rehab assignment, returns.
In an effort to strengthen the Tigers’ lacking outfield depth, Margot, 30, was signed just before Opening Day. Before sustaining a knee injury on April 7, he was 6-for-19.
The Tigers’ willingness to take the chance of losing Margot shows how convinced they are in Vierling’s development.
Parker Meadows and Wenceel Pérez, both outfielders, are still on the 60-day injured list and have not yet started their rehab assignments.
In other news, six days after designating right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda for assignment, the Tigers put him on unconditional release waivers. There is no likelihood that another team would pick up Maeda’s pay, thus the transfer is a simple formality before Maeda becomes a free agent.
