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The Detroit Tigers are bringing up a catcher from the minors.
The Tigers called up catcher Eduardo Valencia from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, July 9. The move came after news of starting catcher Dillon Dingler's hand contusion, which didn't land Dingler on the injured list but has him day-to-day and out of the lineup, for now.
The Tigers designated Jahmai Jones for assignment to make room for Valencia on the roster. The move allows the team to fill a catching need on the roster without putting Dingler on the injured list.
Jones, 28, had a breakout season in a limited role for the Tigers in 2025, slashing .287/.387/.550 over 150 plate appearances, mostly as a designated hitter.
A specialist against lefties, the right-handed Jones had 16 extra-base hits against left-handed pitching in 2025, emerging as a go-to pinch-hit batter and platoon designated hitter.
[ Tarik Skubal wants Tigers to buy at trade deadline – but they're in tough spot ]
His production fell precipitously in 2026, however. Among Tigers with at least 100 plate appearances this season, Jones sported the lowest batting average (.137) and the lowest slugging percentage (.221), striking out in one-third of his at-bats and hitting just two home runs in 57 games.
"Jahmai obviously had a really tough run early this season," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Thursday. "He had a hard time either getting on the fastball or sitting off-speed, and he found himself a lot of times in between, and the at-bats got less productive and he just looked less and less comfortable."
Valencia, 26, will immediately fill the role of backup catcher now that Dingler is day-to-day, with Jake Rogers stepping up as the starter in the meantime. Valencia, who has yet to make his MLB debut, has shown some power in Toledo, slashing .267/.353/.486 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs over 331 plate appearances.
Valencia has been in the Tigers organization since 2018 and brings some positional versatility, starting in 47 games as a catcher, 23 as a first baseman and six as a DH for Toledo in 2026.
"He's swinging really well, and he's done a great job behind the plate, too," Dingler said Thursday. "The biggest thing is just to try to get him as comfortable as possible, because I know when I came up, that was a big thing."
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers DFA Jahmai Jones, bring up Eduardo Valencia from Toledo
Continue reading...
The Tigers called up catcher Eduardo Valencia from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, July 9. The move came after news of starting catcher Dillon Dingler's hand contusion, which didn't land Dingler on the injured list but has him day-to-day and out of the lineup, for now.
The Tigers designated Jahmai Jones for assignment to make room for Valencia on the roster. The move allows the team to fill a catching need on the roster without putting Dingler on the injured list.
Jones, 28, had a breakout season in a limited role for the Tigers in 2025, slashing .287/.387/.550 over 150 plate appearances, mostly as a designated hitter.
A specialist against lefties, the right-handed Jones had 16 extra-base hits against left-handed pitching in 2025, emerging as a go-to pinch-hit batter and platoon designated hitter.
[ Tarik Skubal wants Tigers to buy at trade deadline – but they're in tough spot ]
His production fell precipitously in 2026, however. Among Tigers with at least 100 plate appearances this season, Jones sported the lowest batting average (.137) and the lowest slugging percentage (.221), striking out in one-third of his at-bats and hitting just two home runs in 57 games.
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"Jahmai obviously had a really tough run early this season," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Thursday. "He had a hard time either getting on the fastball or sitting off-speed, and he found himself a lot of times in between, and the at-bats got less productive and he just looked less and less comfortable."
Valencia, 26, will immediately fill the role of backup catcher now that Dingler is day-to-day, with Jake Rogers stepping up as the starter in the meantime. Valencia, who has yet to make his MLB debut, has shown some power in Toledo, slashing .267/.353/.486 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs over 331 plate appearances.
Valencia has been in the Tigers organization since 2018 and brings some positional versatility, starting in 47 games as a catcher, 23 as a first baseman and six as a DH for Toledo in 2026.
"He's swinging really well, and he's done a great job behind the plate, too," Dingler said Thursday. "The biggest thing is just to try to get him as comfortable as possible, because I know when I came up, that was a big thing."
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers DFA Jahmai Jones, bring up Eduardo Valencia from Toledo
Continue reading...
