A former prospect is on the move.The Detroit Tigers traded designated hitter/outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy on Tuesday, Jan. 6, to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations in their first roster move of the 2026 calendar year.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old had been designated for assignment Dec. 21 by the Tigers, removing him from the 40-man roster. With the trade, he has joined the Rays’ 40-man roster – but he still needs to earn a spot on their 2026 Opening Day roster.
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“Obviously, not an easy decision to designate J-Hen,” Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg said Dec. 22, one day after the Tigers cut Malloy to create space for re-signing reliever Kyle Finnegan. “I think it speaks to just where we are right now as a roster. Inevitably, you reach these points where you have to make difficult decisions.”
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Detroit Tigers right fielder Justyn-Henry Malloy (44) takes the field for first inning against San Francisco Giants at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
Malloy – a right-handed hitter whom the Tigers expected to help reshape their offensive identity – would have completed the waivers process Wednesday, so the traded allowed the Rays to effectively move ahead of other teams in the waiver priority. The Tigers’ decision to accept cash rather than a minor-league player suggests interest elsewhere was limited.
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Had Malloy cleared waivers, the Tigers would’ve been able to outright him to Triple-A Toledo.
Instead, he’s headed to the Rays.
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In December 2022, the Tigers – led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris – acquired Malloy (with left-handed reliever Jake Higginbotham) from the Atlanta Braves for reliever Joe Jiménez (and cash considerations). He ranked as the Tigers’ No. 7 prospect in 2023 and No. 8 prospect in 2024, according to MLB Pipeline.
The trade didn’t work out for the Tigers.
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Malloy made his MLB debut in June 2024.
He played in 123 games for the Tigers in the 2024-25 seasons, hitting .209 with nine home runs, 43 walks and 117 strikeouts, posting a .657 OPS. His struggles on defense at third base, first base and the corner outfield positions forced him into a designated hitter role.
He primarily received opportunities in matchups with left-handed pitchers, hitting .250 with an .820 OPS in 131 plate appearances against lefties – compared to a .188 batting average and a .568 OPS in 226 plate appearances against righties.
Malloy is known for making smart swing decisions and drawing an abundance of walks, but an alarming rate of swings and misses on pitches inside the strike zone undermined his offensive production.
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“He’s had a track record of performance coming up through the minor leagues – that combination of on-base and damage,” Greenberg said. “It hasn’t yet translated at the big-league level. It’s not to say it can’t or it won’t. In our situation, in particular, we just ran into a point where we didn’t have the space and the time to see that come to fruition.”
Malloy has two minor-league options remaining, which means the Rays can option him to Triple-A Durham if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster out of spring training. He can be shuffled between Triple-A and MLB throughout the 2026 season.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers trade Justyn-Henry Malloy to Tampa Bay Rays