The Detroit Tigers have added depth to their outfield.
Corey Julks signed a minor-league contract on Jan. 16 with the Tigers, becoming the first non-catcher position player to join the organization on a minor-league deal in the 2025-26 offseason. The contract includes a non-roster invitation to MLB spring training and pays $875,000 if he makes the MLB roster, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement.
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The 29-year-old has competed for the Houston Astros (2023) and Chicago White Sox (2024-25) during his three-year MLB career. He is a right-handed hitter who performs better against left-handed pitchers and provides average defense in the corner outfield positions.
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Mar 8, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Corey Julks (9) prepares for batting practice before the spring training game against the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Aside from Julks, catcher Tomás Nido is the only other position player to sign a minor-league contract with the Tigers ahead of the 2026 season. The rest of the additions have been pitchers.
In 2025, Julks played in just six games for the White Sox.
He spent most of the season in Triple-A Charlotte, hitting .300 with 15 home runs, 48 walks and 99 strikeouts across 116 games, with 18 steals in 21 attempts. He primarily plays left field, but he has experience in all three outfield spots.
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Julks – who turns 30 in late February – became a free agent in mid-October after declining an outright assignment to Triple-A by the White Sox, preferring to test the open market. Three months later, he signed with the Tigers in mid-January.
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There’s no track record of success in the big leagues.
But Julks has produced at the Triple-A level for several years, especially against left-handed pitching.
It’s easy to envision his role with the Tigers as a right-handed-hitting outfielder who specializes in matchups against lefties – potentially as the backup plan to Jahmai Jones, who struggles defensively.
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From 2022-25, Julks hit .281 with an .871 OPS in 324 plate appearances against Triple-A left-handers, including a .314 batting average with an .897 OPS in 2025. (Over that four-year span, he also hit .279 with an .842 OPS in 1,055 plate appearances against Triple-A right-handers.)
The biggest difference between Julks and Jones?
Jones has crushed left-handed pitching at the MLB level but remains a defensive liability, while Julks hasn’t proven himself against MLB lefties but offers average defense.
The Tigers plan to evaluate Jones’ defense in the outfield throughout spring training, as well as reviewing whether he can expand his role to include matchups with right-handed pitchers.
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Julks has played 165 games in his three-year MLB career.
He is a career .234 hitter with nine home runs, 37 walks (7% walk rate) and 128 strikeouts (24.4% strikeout rate), appearing in a career-high 93 games with the Astros in 2023. He is worth plus-3 defensive runs saved in left field, minus-2 in right field and minus-1 in center field.
The Astros selected Julks – who grew up in Friendswood, Texas – in the eighth round of the 2017 draft from Houston. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch served as the Astros’ manager from 2015-19, but Julks didn’t make his MLB debut until March 2023.
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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 sign Corey Julks to minor-league contract