Matt Vierling

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Matthew Gregory Vierling

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Matt Vierling was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 5th round of the 2018 amateur draft out of the University of Notre Dame. He reached the major midway through the 2021 season and hit .324 in 24 games that year with 2 homers and 6 RBIs to make a good first impression. That opened the door for more playing time in 2022 when he shared center field duties first with Odubel Herrera and later with Brandon Marsh, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in a mid-season trade. He was mainly the right-handed half of a platoon and hit .246 in 117 games with 6 homers and 32 RBIs. Given that his two centerfield partners were only in Philly for half a season each, he is listed as the regular at the position in the yearly team statistics, but he was always the second-stringer. In any case, the usage pattern continued into the postseason and as a result he saw action in all four rounds as the Phils made it all the way to the World series, which they lost to the Houston Astros in six games. Overall, he went 2 for 13 in 12 games, with 1 double and 1 RBI.

On January 7, 2023, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers along with fellow young OF Phil Maton and C Donny Sands in return for P Gregory Soto and utility player Kody Clemens. He played 134 games that season, appearing at all three outfield spots and at third base, and batting .261 with 10 homers and $$ RBIs, with an OPS+ of 98. He improved on that in 2024, as one of the many interchangeable parts on a Tigers team that caught fire late in the year to make it into the postseason. Once again, he saw playing time at all three outfield spots and at third base, and was also frequently used as a pinch-hitter as manager A.J. Hinch made a lot of mid-game changes to get the platoon advantage. He hit .257 in 144 games, with 16 homers and 57 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 106. In the postseason, he went 2 for 8 as the Tigers upset the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Game, and 2 for 20 in their loss to the Cleveland Guardians in the Division Series.

He was set back with a rotator cuff injury during spring training in 2025 and did not play his first game for the Tigers until the end of May, then missed all but one game in June with a reoccurrence of the condition. He finally managed to get some regular playing time in July but was hitting only .203 at the end of the month, and was still homerless. He finally hit his first long ball of the year on August 8thm and it came in spectacular fashion: inserted as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning, he took Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels deep to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-3 win.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jason Beck: "Vierling's 1st HR in 11 months? 'Momentum shifter' for Tigers", mlb.com, August 9, 2025. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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