Tigers call up OF Alex Presley, designate Bobby Parnell for assignment

With Tyler Collins set to miss a few games after being hit in the thigh by a Yordano Ventura fastball on Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers will call up outfielder Alex Presley from Triple-A Toledo. Presley, a 31-year-old who bats and throws left-handed, was acquired by the Tigers in July and assigned to Triple-A Toledo.

Presley has spent parts of seven seasons in the major leagues, but his numbers are not pretty. He is a career .253/.296/.383 hitter in 376 games at the major league level, and has been worth just 0.6 fWAR. He was nearly a full win below replacement level in 47 games with the Milwaukee Brewers this season, batting just .198/.271/.293 in 129 plate appearances.

Since arriving in Toledo, Presley has performed well. He is hitting a robust .293 with a .371 on-base percentage, and by all accounts has played solid defense in the outfield. Presley is being recalled because of his ability to field all three outfield positions, something the Tigers are missing with Collins out for a few days.

The Tigers added Presley to their 40-man roster on Thursday at the expense of righthander Bobby Parnell, who was designated for assignment. The former Mets closer made six appearances for the Tigers this season, allowing four runs on seven hits. He has spent most of the season in Toledo, where he has a 3.95 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 43 ¹⁄₃ innings.

In order to make room for Presley on the 25-man roster, the Tigers optioned Steven Moya to Toledo. Moya’s latest stay in Detroit was brief; he was called up after the Tigers traded Mike Aviles to the Atlanta Braves for shortstop Erick Aybar on Tuesday. Moya is batting .258/.295/.517 in 95 major league plate appearances this season, although he did not appear in game action during this latest stop in Detroit.