McKinstry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
For the second time in three games, the left-handed-hitting McKinstry will hit the bench while the Tigers face a right-handed starting pitcher. With the Tigers getting more comfortable with using Colt Keith at third base of late, McKinstry's primary path to playing time appears to be closing. The 30-year-old is still capable of filling in at two other infield spots as well as both corner-outfield spots, but his playing time could nonetheless start to become more sporadic now that the Tigers have all of their key hitters available sans Matt Vierling (shoulder).
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not starting Saturday
Rotowire
McKinstry isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Reds.
McKinstry has been on a tear since the start of June, slashing .325/.372/.525 with seven runs scored across 43 plate appearances. He'll get a chance to catch his breath Saturday, moving Javier Baez to third base while Trey Sweeney starts at shortstop.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Tallies two hits, steal in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Orioles. He also stole a base.
After a surprisingly strong first two months of the season at the plate, McKinstry has kept rolling in June. The utility player is now batting .343 this month with three stolen bases and six runs scored through 11 games. Despite being a bench option for much of his career, McKinstry is forcing the Tigers to put him in the lineup most days due to his strong offensive output.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Swipes bag in loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Thursday's 3-2, extra-inning loss to the White Sox. He also stole a base.
McKinstry continues to produce for the Tigers with hits in four of his last five games and a .271 average for the season. The utility man is also up to four stolen bases, and after recording 16 steals each of the last two years, he could start running more moving forward. McKinstry isn't the most exciting player, but his versatility and steady production is getting him into the lineup most days.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Scores lone run Sunday
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-3 with a triple and a run scored in Sunday's 1-0 win over the Royals.
McKinstry delivered his fourth triple of the season in the third inning, then came around to score the game's only run on a wild pitch. The veteran utility player continues to hit surprisingly well with a .267 batting average and .778 OPS through 53 games. McKinstry's career figures are .226 and .662, respectively, as he's mostly been known for his versatile defensive abilities.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Getting start at shortstop
Rotowire
McKinstry will start at shortstop and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Royals.
Though he'll draw a start against southpaw Kris Bubic in the series finale, the left-handed-hitting McKinstry sat against righty MIchael Wacha on Saturday and could be moving into a part-time role with the Tigers getting closer to full health. McKinstry owns a career-best .768 OPS on the season, but he finished May with an unremarkable .200/.289/.338 slash line to go with two home runs and one stolen base in 24 games.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Resting up Saturday
Rotowire
McKinstry isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Royals, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
The Tigers will give McKinstry a day off Saturday after he went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout during Friday's contest. His absence will allow Javier Baez to start at the hot corner while batting ninth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Leads offense with blast
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Sunday's 5-0 win over the Guardians.
McKinstry had the key hit of the game, delivering his third home run of the season in the fourth inning with a runner on. The veteran utility player has been surprisingly productive at the plate so far this year with a .788 OPS through 49 games, which is up from the .614 OPS he posted during the 2024 regular season. For his career, McKinstry has a .662 OPS.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Idle Friday
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Cleveland.
McKinstry will give way to Andy Ibanez at third base Friday against Slade Cecconi and the Guardians. McKinstry is 14-for-66 (.212) with 12 runs scored in 19 games during May.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Hits second home run
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.
McKinstry hit his second home run of the season in the fourth inning against Toronto starter Bowden Francis. The infielder now has half as many long balls as he did during the 2024 regular season, and while he's not a huge power threat, he's been effective with a .286 batting average and .803 OPS through 41 games in 2025. Both of those figures would be new career highs for McKinstry.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Taking seat Monday
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
Unless he's used off the bench, McKinstry will put an eight-game hitting streak on hold while he takes a seat after starting each of the last four games. McKinstry has been an unsung hero in the Tigers' 18-10 start to the season, slashing .321/.426/.476 with one home run and two stolen bases while making starts at second base, third base, right field and left field. Though McKinstry may not have a permanent home at any one position, the Tigers should continue to make regular room for him in the lineup against right-handed pitching while he's wielding a hot bat.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Absent from Detroit lineup
Rotowire
McKinstry is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Padres.
It's a routine day off for McKinstry, who had started 12 of the previous 13 games for the Tigers. He'll yield to Justyn-Henry Malloy in left field Tuesday.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Cracks three hits again
Rotowire
McKinstry went 3-for-4 with a triple, a double and one run scored and RBI apiece in Monday's 6-4 victory over San Diego.
The 29-year-old drew his sixth consecutive start and produced his second consecutive three-hit performance, falling a homer shy of the cycle. Thanks to the three-bagger he laced in the first inning, McKinstry is now tied for the MLB lead in triples with Mickey Moniak at three. The Detroit utility man is now slashing .314/.424/.471 with a homer, a steal and 12 RBI and runs scored apiece across 86 plate appearances.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Batting third again Saturday
Rotowire
McKinstry is starting in right field and batting third in Saturday's game against the Royals.
After mostly batting lower in the order earlier in the season, McKinstry is now starting and batting third for the second time in the last three games. The versatile 29-year-old has appeared in all 20 of Detroit's games to date, and he's performed well with a .765 OPS. McKinstry may see a reduction in playing time once the likes of Matt Vierling (shoulder), Wenceel Perez (back) and Parker Meadows (arm) are able to return from injury.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not starting versus lefty
Rotowire
McKinstry is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Milwaukee, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
The lefty-swinging McKinstry will grab a seat as left-hander Jose Quintana toes the slab for the Brewers. McKinstry has been seeing most of his playing time in right field lately, but that spot will be covered by Justyn-Henry Malloy in Wednesday's series finale.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBI in Tuesday's win over the Yankees.
McKinstry plated the game's first run on a sacrifice fly in the second. He then took part in a three-homer fourth inning for the Tigers with a solo blast to right center field for his first long ball of the year. McKinstry has had a fast start at the dish so far, hitting safely in each of his last six games while owing a .355 average and .447 on-base percentage for the year.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not in Detroit lineup
Rotowire
McKinstry is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
The left-handed hitting McKinstry started Sunday's contest versus the White Sox against a lefty, but he'll begin this one on the bench as the Yankees turn to southpaw Carlos Rodon. Andy Ibanez is at third base and Manuel Margot will patrol right field for the Tigers.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Reaches three times in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 7-4 win over the White Sox.
It was a productive evening for McKinstry and it continued his impressive start to the season. The utility player is slashing .280/.379/.360 through seven contests, and he's seen time at five different positions already. McKinstry's .739 OPS would be a new career high, but it remains to be seen if the 29-year-old can sustain this level of production over the course of the year.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Taking seat against lefty
Rotowire
McKinstry isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.
Left-hander Blake Snell will draw the start for Los Angeles on Thursday, so the lefty-hitting McKinstry will begin Opening Day on the bench. Andy Ibanez will draw the start at third base instead and bat leadoff.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Set for strong-side platoon at 3B
Rotowire
McKinstry is expected to open the season in the long side of a platoon at third base with Andy Ibanez, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
The Tigers optioned Jace Jung to Triple-A Toledo on Monday, a transaction which cinches a McKinstry/Ibanez platoon at the hot corner while Matt Vierling (shoulder) is out. McKinstry slashed only .215/.277/.337 with four homers across 118 regular-season contests for the Tigers last season. He did steal 16 bases without being caught, and that, along with his multi-position eligibility, gives McKinstry some utility in very deep leagues.
