Last season couldn’t have started any better for Akil Baddoo. This season couldn’t have started any worse.
Mired in a sophomore slump, Baddoo was demoted to Triple-A Toledo on Monday as the Tigers try to jolt his bat back to life. The club recalled right-handed pitcher Rony Garcia as it prepares for five games in the next four days against the A's.
Baddoo was hitting .140 with a .438 OPS and five walks to 15 strikeouts in 17 games. He hit .259 with a .766 OPS in 124 games last season when he burst onto the scene as a Rule-5 pick.
He began this season as the Tigers’ starting center fielder when the club lost Riley Greene shortly before Opening Day. But Baddoo was in over his head defensively and couldn’t make up for it with his bat. He had lost playing time in recent weeks to Derek Hill, starting just eight of the Tigers’ prior 15 games.
Baddoo, 23, spent the duration of last season in the bigs in part because the Tigers would have had to offer him back to the Twins had he been optioned to Toledo. He’s under no such restrictions this season.
This marks a quietly important juncture of Baddoo's career. The Tigers have entrenched corner outfielders in Robbie Grossman and Austin Meadows, and Hill is a strong defender in center. Versatile outfielder Victor Reyes is nearing a return from injury, and Greene, the Tigers' center fielder of the future, will debut at some point this summer.
There is no spot in Detroit reserved for Baddoo, who will have to play his way back into the picture starting in Toledo.