Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Sitting after three straight starts
Rotowire
Valencia is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Valencia started the last three games -- all against left-handed pitchers -- and went 5-for-11 with two home runs, a double and four RBI, but he'll head to the bench Sunday while the White Sox send righty Sean Burke to the hill. The Tigers haven't yet cleared the way for Valencia to receive a full run of at-bats against right-handed pitching, but with a 1.291 OPS through his first 54 plate appearances in the majors, it wouldn't be a surprise if he soon gets a look in a near-everyday role between catcher and DH.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Pops another home run Saturday
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Valencia went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the White Sox.
While he's stuck behind Dillon Dingler on the depth chart, Valencia has managed to carve out some standalone fantasy value with his bat. The 26-year-old rookie has gone deep twice in his last three games and has six home runs overall through 18 contests to go along with a robust 1.291 OPS. Dingler has been excellent in his own right, so Valencia is highly unlikely to surpass him as Detroit's top catcher anytime soon. The Tigers could find more opportunities to get both sluggers into the lineup by using one as the DH, however.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Drives in four
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Valencia went 2-for-5 with two doubles, four RBI and one run scored in Sunday's 11-0 win over the Athletics.
Valencia has gone 9-for-19 with five extra-base hits and eight RBI over five contests since his recall from Triple-A Toledo on Monday. The catcher isn't guaranteed to get a ton of playing time behind Dillon Dingler, but Valencia is at least making a good case for himself. Over a couple of stints in the majors this season, the 26-year-old is batting .452 (14-for-31) with four home runs, three doubles, 11 RBI and nine runs scored across 11 games.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Huge effort Tuesday
Rotowire
Valencia went 4-for-5 with two home runs, an additional run scored and four total RBI in Tuesday's 14-0 win over the Orioles.
Valencia was just recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Monday, and in his first game action since then, he made quite the impression. The rookie homered in his first MLB at-bat back on July 9, and he now has four long balls in only seven games in the majors. Valencia is unlikely to keep up this torrid pace, though he has hit 17 homers in 81 games with the Mud Hens, so the 26-year-old has some definite pop in his bat. With Jake Rogers having been DFA'd on Tuesday, the Tigers seem set to ride with Valencia as the backup to Dillon Dingler for the rest of the season.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Sent back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Tigers optioned Valencia to Triple-A Toledo following Sunday's game against the Orioles.
Valencia was recalled from Triple-A shortly before the All-Star break to provide catching depth behind Dillon Dingler, but the former will head back to Toledo after Gleyber Torres (oblique) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Valencia did well at the plate during his short major-league stint, going 5-for-12 (.417) with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Goes deep against Philadelphia
Rotowire
Valencia went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during the Tigers' 4-2 loss to the Phillies on Saturday.
Valencia put the Tigers on the board with a solo homer off All-Star southpaw Cristopher Sanchez in the fifth inning. Valencia has gone deep in two of the first three games of his major-league career, and his power doesn't come as much of a surprise, given that he logged 16 home runs across 331 plate appearances in Triple-A this season and another 25 deep balls over 433 minor-league plate appearances in 2025. Dillon Dingler was back in the Tigers' lineup after missing time due to a thumb injury, and with Jake Rogers on the 26-man roster, Valencia will likely head back to Triple-A at some point over the coming days.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Sent out to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Tigers optioned Valencia to Triple-A Toledo on Monday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Valencia joined the Tigers for big-league camp but never appeared likely to make the Opening Day roster so long as Dillon Dingler and Jake Rogers emerged from spring training with their health intact. The 26-year-old backstop should get the chance to play fairly regularly at Toledo and could get his first big-league call-up if Dingler or Rogers misses time at any point.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Cleared for all baseball activities
Rotowire
Valencia (quadriceps) has been cleared for all baseball activities Friday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Valencia has been dealing with a strained left quad but appears ready to play in Grapefruit League games. The 26-year-old backstop split the 2025 campaign between Double-A and Triple-A and slashed .311/.382/.559 with 24 home runs, 95 RBI and 64 runs scored across 433 plate appearances.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Working way through running program
Rotowire
Valencia (quadriceps) is still completing a running progression but is otherwise taking part in all baseball activities, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Valencia is working his way back from a left quad strain and doesn't look like he'll be fully cleared by the time Grapefruit League play gets underway this week. The 26-year-old backstop was added to the Tigers' 40-man roster over the winter, but he'll likely be optioned to Triple-A Toledo before the end of camp.
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Tigers' Eduardo Valencia: Shielded from Rule 5 Draft
Rotowire
The Tigers selected Valencia's contract from Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Valencia spent time with Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo in 2025, posting a .311/.382/.559 slash line with 24 homers, 95 RBI and 64 runs scored between the two affiliates. His addition to the 40-man roster will prevent another team from scooping him up in the Rule 5, and he could compete for a spot on the big-league roster in 2026 if his bat remains hot in spring training.
