Is Alex Bregman an option for Detroit Tigers at trade deadline?
Mike Ferrin, co-host of Power Alley on MLB Network Radio, explores the possibility of the Tigers trading for Alex Bregman this season.
- Detroit Tigers utility player Zach McKinstry has been named to his first All-Star team in his sixth MLB season.
- After two subpar seasons, McKinstry is having a career year in 2025, boasting a .816 OPS and strong defensive contributions at five different positions.
In his sixth season in the majors, Detroit Tigers utility player Zach McKinstry has been selected for his first MLB All-Star Game as a reserve replacement. It was announced on the big screen at Comerica Park on Wednesday, July 9, and met with a roar from the crowd.
McKinstry missed out on the initial round of All-Star selections, but is now the fifth Tiger named to the 2025 American League All-Star team along with ace Tarik Skubal, second baseman Gleyber Torres and outfielders Javier Báez and Riley Greene. Of the five Tigers named to the 2025 All-Star team, only McKinstry is a first-time All-Star. Greene, Báez and Torres will all be starters, while the starting pitchers for both teams have not been named.
The quintet of Tigers will suit up for the AL in the 95th iteration of the All-Star Game at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 15 (Fox) at Atlanta’s Truist Park. The five All-Star nods are the most for the franchise since six Tigers (Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter, Jhonny Peralta, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander) made the 2013 AL squad.
In addition, Tigers’ Frankie Boyd was selected to the AL team as the bat boy.
McKinstry is in his third season with the Tigers organization after arriving from the Chicago Cubs via trade on March 27, 2023.
He played in 148 games in 2023 but had a below-average season at the plate, while his batting regressed even further over 118 games in 2024.
But McKinstry is having his best season ever in 2025.
The Central Michigan alumnus — the first-ever MLB All-Star from CMU — entered Wednesday slashing .283/.357/.460 for a career-high .817 OPS in 315 plate appearances over 84 games for the Tigers in 2025. That includes a career-high eight triples, good for second in the American League. McKinstry is also on pace to set career highs in hits, home runs and RBIs, and is tied for third among regular Tigers in OPS+, behind Greene and Torres.
As well as McKinstry has been hitting, he has arguably been even more valuable on defense.
On a roster featuring many multi-positional players, McKinstry is perhaps the most versatile, having made appearances at six different positions for the Tigers in 2025. He’s also second on the team in Statcast’s Fielding Run Value behind catcher Dillon Dingler.
As a result of his defensive utility and improved offense, McKinstry is second on the team among position players in both FanGraphs’ and Baseball Reference’s version of WAR (2.8 and 2.5, respectively). His 2.8 WAR on FanGraphs is pver double his previous season-high, 1.2 in 2023. He has also provides exceptional value on the basepaths, landing in the 96th percentile in baserunning run value according to Statcast.
McKinstry fell off the All-Star ballot after Phase 1 of voting, finishing 76,000 votes shy of second-place finisher Alex Bregman among AL third basemen. Cleveland’s José Ramirez finished in first place with 2.7 million votes and went on to win the AL All-Star starting spot in Phase 2 voting.
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