Detroit Tigers shortstop Trey Sweeney has wanted to live in the moments with big pressure and has had the challenge of dealing with high expectations ever since he was drafted.
As a player who’s talent has put him in demand, Sweeney, 25, has been on the move frequently, and there was a seven-month span during which he was on three teams and was traded twice.
With the Tigers, he got his first chance to experience the postseason last year, and he delivered an RBI single that helped the Tigers beat the Houston Astros in the first game of the American League Wild Card Series.
“Pretty surreal, especially right after being called up. I had a few hits, but there were at-bats I want back. It was fun and humbling, and a good experience for all of us. We want to get back and try it again,” Sweeney told World Baseball Network before the Tigers’ game against the New York Mets on September 2 at Comerica Park.
Sweeney was the New York Yankees ‘ first-round draft pick in the 2021 MLB Draft and was selected 20th overall.
“I still look back on it and it seems really surreal. It’s kind’ve just a blackout experience. It was really cool to share that moment with my family and all the other first-round picks,” Sweeney told World Baseball Network on Sept. 7, 2022, when he was with the Yankees’ High-A affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades.
Sweeney then progressed to their Double-A affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, prior to the end of the 2022 season and helped them win the Eastern League championship.
“Any high-pressure situation is a good experience, and keep putting yourself into those uncomfortable situations so you’re good in those moments and get used to it,” Sweeney told World Baseball Network on Sept. 21, 2022, in the midst of their championship run at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J.
“It’s a lot more fun when you know you have to win the game and everyone is playing to win and not just for themselves.”
Sweeney played the entire 2023 season with the Patriots and never made it to the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. In the offseason prior to 2024, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for reliever Victor Gonzales. At the trade deadline, he was on the move again and was traded to the Tigers for starting pitcher Jack Flaherty on July 30, 2024.
He made his MLB debut with the Tigers on Aug. 16, 2024, against the team that drafted him, the New York Yankees. Since breaking into MLB, Sweeney has struggled to find consistency and has been sent down twice to the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens.
“I am trying to stack experience. I have had struggles this season, and that comes with it. I need to make adjustments quicker and apply them in games,” Sweeney said. “The guys here have been really helpful in improving my defensive range and cleaning up some things in my swing.”
Sweeney has six home runs, 31 RBIs, three stolen bases, and two triples this season with a slash line of .204/.265/.307 in 274 at-bats this season with the Tigers.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch offered a blunt assessment on Sweeney when he was sent down the first time on June 28.
“He knows he has work to do and knows he has to play,” he said. “I always say players know by how I use them — or don’t. I don’t want to say he expected [the demotion to Toledo], because no player really knows what the plan is, but he knows what he can control: going down, playing hard, working on his game, and being available at a moment’s notice,” Hinch told the media in Detroit postgame on July 28 against the Minnesota Twins.
It has been a completely different story for Sweeney in Triple-A, albeit from a small sample size, where in 43 at-bats, he has two home runs, six RBI, and an OPS of .954 with the Mud Hens.
Sweeney was recalled on July 2 due to an injury to outfielder Kerry Carpenter, and he was sent back down again on July 27. He was recalled for the second time on August 10, when outfielder Wenceel Perez was injured.
In the heat of a postseason push that has the Tigers as the second-best team in the American League, Sweeney doesn’t have time to dwell on his struggles. He knows he needs to figure it out quickly if he wants to make their Postseason roster for the second straight season.
“We are on the home stretch and have to keep playing our game and winning ball games. Nothing is promised, no matter how late in the season,” Sweeney added. “We are looking forward to a chance to play in October again. We got a taste last year, and it was a lot of fun.”
Photo: Trey Sweeney tags out Kansas City Royals’ Michael Massey at second base during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/David Smith)
