Ibáñez did what he does best in this one, which is mash left-handed pitching. He tagged Royals’ southpaw Cole Ragans for a 396-foot (103.9 mph EV) solo shot to open the fourth inning, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish. On the season, the 32-year-old infielder is now hitting .171/.256/.371 with a pair of homers and eight RBI.

Ibáñez was in the lineup for just one of Detroit’s first seven games this season, as the team faced a long stretch of righties, but he’s now played three in a row and driven in a run each game. It makes us wonder if the Tigers will try to squeeze him in there against a righty in Carlos Carrasco on Tuesday. It doesn’t help his case that both Justyn-Henry Malloy and Zach McKinstry have been productive thus far. Still, he should be a better hitter than McKinstry going forward.

No word just yet on the financial of the deal, but the 31-year-old infielder had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $1.5 million through arbitration. Ibáñez excelled as a masher of left-handed pitching and pinch-hitting specialist for the Tigers during their miraculous playoff run in 2024, so expect him to operate in a similar role in 2025. Unfortunately, that doesn’t give him much value from a fantasy perspective.

The Tigers used seven pitches to win, with none of them recording more than five outs. They took a 1-0 lead on a Parker Meadows homer in the sixth, fell behind 2-1 due to shaky defense in the seventh and then rallied off Ryan Pressly in the eighth, tying the game on a wild pitch before Ibáñez, pinch-hitting against Josh Hader, broke it open. The hit accounted for Ibáñez’s first runs batted in since Sept. 10. The utilityman finished the season in a slump, hitting just .167/.259/.188 after Aug. 26.