The Tigers signed first baseman/outfielder Bligh Madris to a new minor league contract, according to Madris’ MLB.com profile page. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports that the deal includes an invitation to the Tigers’ big league Spring Training camp, and Madris will earn $800K in guaranteed salary if he makes Detroit’s active roster at any point next season.
Madris returns for his second consecutive season in the Tigers organization, and third stint overall in Motown. Initially claimed off the Astros’ waiver wire in November 2022, Madris was traded back to Houston a couple of months later. He spent the 2023 season with Triple-A Round Rock and made 12 big-league appearances with the Astros before rejoining the Tigers on another minors deal almost exactly a year ago.
His first proper stay in Detroit saw Madris appear in 21 games at the MLB level, hitting .269/.324/.358 over 75 plate appearances. This playing time came while Spencer Torkelson was figuring things out in Triple-A, as Madris ended up playing almost every day at first base after Gio Urshela and Mark Canha were both traded at the deadline, and before Torkelson was recalled in mid-August.
Madris has a .204/.273/.286 slash line over his 228 career PA in the majors, compiled with the Pirates, Astros, and Tigers over the last three seasons. His Triple-A numbers (.254/.346/.447 in 1603 PA) are much more solid, and the Tigers obviously seem to value Madris as a depth piece within their farm system. Madris has a minor league option remaining so he might again be spending most of 2025 in Toledo, and anything more than spot duty on the active roster could be difficult to achieve, since Detroit is if anything overloaded with left-handed hitters.