Akil Baddoo is staying with the Detroit Tigers organization.
The 26-year-old was designated for assignment last week, but has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo, according to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News.
It is a disappointing development for Baddoo, who once showed so much promise as a rookie with the Tigers in 2021. Those initial 124 games saw the outfielder bat .259 with a .766 OPS, a 112 OPS+, 13 home runs, 55 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases on 22 attempts.
However, since that solid campaign, Baddoo has MLB career totals of a .203 batting average, a .619 OPS, a 75 OPS+, 15 home runs, 24 stolen bases, and 180 strikeouts to 74 walks over 223 games.
This 2025 season has been a low point statistically, and even with his solid speed on the bases and in the outfield, he is nowhere close to a proven hitter or defender.
Baddoo has also already played in 30 games for Toledo, with a respectable six home runs, a .245 batting average, a .779 OPS, and 34 strikeouts to 15 walks over 110 at-bats. However, that is not going to crack this deep and talented Detroit outfield.
None of Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows, or even the resurgent Javier Báez appear to be heading anywhere anytime soon. The Tigers also have Matt Vierling, who can play all over the diamond, on the injured list.
Baddoo was a second-round draft selection of the Minnesota Twins back in 2016, and while he can still make a comeback, it feels unlikely that he will contribute to this 2025 Detroit squad.
