Zack Short returns from Washington Nationals

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An old friend has returned.

The Detroit Tigers acquired infielder Zack Short on Friday, May 1, in a trade with the Washington Nationals in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. The 30-year-old has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo.

Short made his MLB debut with the Tigers on April 21, 2021.

“I talked to him and welcomed him back,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Friday’s opener of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers at Comerica Park. “We’ll see how we configure our roster and whether he’s an option or not.”

In 2026, Short played 21 games for Triple-A Rochester in the Nationals’ organization. He hit .200 with one home run, eight walks and 17 strikeouts. He played all 155⅓ innings at shortstop, which is his primary position.

The Tigers acquired Short for shortstop depth.

Over the past two weeks, the Tigers lost two of their three shortstop options to the injured list: Zach McKinstry on April 16 with left hip/abdominal inflammation and Javier Báez on Wednesday with a right ankle sprain.

Those injuries leave Kevin McGonigle as the only healthy shortstop available, with Hao-Yu Lee as the emergency backup.

“We acquired him given what we’ve gone through the last week,” Hinch said, referencing the Báez injury. “We know we can trust him. We love him as a teammate.”

Along with shortstop, Short has experience at second base, third base, center field, left field and right field throughout his professional career.

Short is a .172 hitter across his five-year MLB career, registering 15 home runs, an 11.8% walk rate and a 29% strikeout rate with a .567 OPS. He is worth minus-2 defensive runs saved in 784⅔ innings at shortstop.

He played for the Tigers from 2021-23.

The New York Mets claimed Short off waivers from the Tigers on Nov. 6, 2023 – and 907 days later, he has returned to the Tigers.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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