Trey Sweeney will miss the rest of the season after arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, the Detroit Tigers said, ending a 2025 that had already been on hold for the 26-year-old infielder since spring training.
The update landed now because it turns a lingering shoulder strain into a season-ending loss for Detroit. Sweeney had been out since spring training, and manager A.J. Hinch said the club had tried to get him through the issue conservatively before surgery became the only option. For a team that has leaned on him as a defensive infielder, the timing closes the book on any chance of a late return this year.
The move also underlines how much Detroit was hoping to get back from a player whose stock rose sharply in 2024. Sweeney played 36 games after the Tigers acquired him and minor league catcher Thayron Liranzo from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the July 2024 trade that sent starter Jack Flaherty away. Flaherty later came back to Detroit as a free agent ahead of the 2025 season, while Sweeney showed enough over a short run to post a.642 OPS and draw praise for above-average defense.
That promise has been harder to find this season. Sweeney's batting average fell to.196 over 326 plate appearances in 2025, and he did not make the Tigers' postseason roster. That is a sharp turn from the previous October, when he started all seven playoff games for Detroit during its run to the American League Division Series, where the club lost to the Cleveland Guardians in five games.
Detroit has not offered a timetable for when Sweeney might return to baseball activities, and that leaves the next step less clear than the diagnosis itself. For now, the Tigers know only that the shoulder finally required surgery after a conservative approach failed, and that one of their infield options is gone for the year.
