WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Detroit Tigers called up prized outfield prospect Max Clark from the minor leagues and scratched Casey Mize from his scheduled start as they began their final series before the trade deadline Friday.
The 21-year-old Clark was in the starting lineup batting seventh and playing center field against the Athletics on Friday night.
“He was killing it in Triple-A. Had one of the most impressive Julys in Toledo," manager A.J. Hinch said. "We’ve been watching his development all season, step by step. He’s really earned it. I think there’s not much more he needed to do there to show his readiness. Now we’re going to give him the next challenge, which is up here in the big leagues.”
Clark was picked third overall out of high school in the 2023 amateur draft. After getting off to a slow start this season at Triple-A, Clark has found his batting stroke of late and was hitting .276 with 11 homers, 42 RBIs and an .802 OPS for Toledo.
“I’m proud of him for the things that he’s addressed throughout the year,” Hinch said. “Being able to put together the July that he did, really started to force his way here.”
The promotion of Clark to the majors means the Tigers have their top two picks from the 2023 draft in the big leagues. Impressive shortstop Kevin McGonigle, picked 37th overall in that draft, is the favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year. He is batting .285 with nine homers, 37 RBIs and an .806 OPS this season and was selected for the All-Star Game on July 14.
While the plan is for Clark to be the everyday center fielder for Detroit and a building block for the future, Mize's status is uncertain. The front office told Hinch to push back Mize's next start until next Tuesday in Seattle, a day after the trade deadline, in case a deal can be reached before then.
Mize is 4-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 16 starts this season and is eligible to become a free agent following the World Series. He has been dealing with a groin injury this year but said he is healthy.
“It's a weird place to be. I feel like I’m in limbo a little bit,” Mize said. “I'm still obviously fully committed to this organization and this team. But for the ball to literally be taken out of my hands is a weird place to be. We’ll see what the weekend holds and if nothing happens, I’ll pitch on Tuesday and we’ll go from there. But it’s certainly a strange position to be in.”
Mize isn't the only Tigers pitcher in limbo as the deadline approaches, with the team starting the day with a 51-58 record and 4 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot.
Back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal also could be traded before he is eligible to become a free agent this offseason. Skubal has a $32 million salary, a record total in arbitration, after the team offered $19 million, and is expected to sign a massive contract in the offseason.
The 29-year-old lefty said in July that it was his preference to finish the season with the Tigers to compete for a World Series championship, which has eluded the franchise since 1984.
Skubal is 7-5 this season with a 2.79 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings.
To make room on the active roster for Clark, the Tigers placed outfielder Matt Vierling on the 10-day injured list with a left adductor strain that will keep him sidelined longer than that. The team also designated right-hander Andre Granillo for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Detroit also recalled left-hander Enmanuel DeJesus from Toledo and optioned righty Brenan Hanifee to Triple-A.
Hinch also said right-hander Will Vest underwent surgery this week for the stress fracture in his elbow. Vest also will have surgery on his injured hip and miss the rest of the season.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Detroit Tigers' Max Clark catches during workouts at spring training baseball, Feb. 19, 2026, in Lakeland. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Casey Mize throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Saturday, July 25, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — When Alli Schroder first saw “A League of Their Own” — a 1992 movie based on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League — she saw herself in the story on the screen.
“It was kind of motivating as a kid to watch it because even though there wasn’t a platform for us to play professional baseball when I was growing up, playing Little League and youth baseball, like there was a vision that there could be,” Schroder said. “And we’re here now.”
They sure are.
The inaugural season of the Women’s Pro Baseball League begins on Saturday — weather permitting, with rain in the forecast — when Denae Benites and the New York Heights face Mo’ne Davis and the Los Angeles Queens. The other two teams in the league — the Boston Hunters and San Francisco Firebells — play on Sunday.
Each team will have 15 active players for the seven-inning games. The 15 regular-season games for each club and the playoffs will be held at Springfield's Robin Roberts Stadium, a historic ballpark that has a seating capacity of 5,200 and opened in 1925.
“What excites me most is having the chance to compete against players who have been my teammate, as well as Team USA players, and other athletes I’ve always considered rivals,” Japanese right-hander Ayami Sato, one of New York's top pitchers, said Friday through a translator. “Being able to play against them in this league is something I’ve been really looking forward to.”
The opening weekend of the WPBL marks another major moment in a scattered history for women's professional baseball in the United States. The AAGPBL, which ran from 1943-54, was the first professional women’s league in the U.S. There were at least two attempts to start a league in the 1990s, but each one was short-lived.
The WPBL was co-founded by Justine Siegal, who became the first woman to coach for an MLB team with the Athletics in 2015. And its players, taking the field in an era of unprecedented popularity for women's sports, have big dreams.
The fledgling league got a lift Thursday when it announced a media rights deal with ESPN and the Scripps Sports Network to air regular-season and postseason games in its inaugural campaign.
“We want to make this thing last forever and ever,” Los Angeles infielder Ashton Lansdell said. “We want this to become the MLB of women’s baseball.”
Lansdell, Benites, Schroder and Kelsie Whitmore were named team captains on Friday. Schroder plays for Boston, and Whitmore was selected by San Francisco with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
“We were talking earlier today, I was telling them we’re a family now,” Whitmore said. “This is our new team, this is our crew, all 15 of us. And my goal is just to lead them the best way that I can, both on and off the field.”
Whitmore and the Firebells will be managed by Matt Williams, a five-time All-Star during his 17 years in the major leagues. Former Boston Red Sox closer Keith Foulke is the manager of the Hunters, and former big league infielder Eric Young is the skipper for the Queens. Rachelle “Rocky” Henley, a former player with a long history in women's baseball development, rounds out the managers with the Heights.
With only 15 active players for each team, the managers and their coaching staffs are going to be busy as they execute their strategy for each game.
“When I saw them play down in (Florida) this spring, it was like, ‘Wow. These aren’t women playing baseball, these are athletes playing baseball,’” Foulke said. “And I just want to bring that passion to my club, to the league, help build this and just be able to go out there and have a good time, put on a good product.”
AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Kelsie Whitmore pitches during a Women's Pro Baseball League practice, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
FILE - Mo'ne Davis watches her hit during a Women's Pro Baseball League exhibition game, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
FILE - Ayami Sato pitches during a Women's Pro Baseball League exhibition game, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
