Ryan Vilade Injury News & Updates

Vilade signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Vilade will be moving on the third organization of his career after stints with Colorado and Pittsburgh since entering the professional ranks as a second-round draft pick in 2017. Vilade saw his lone big-league action with the Rockies in 2021 but has played almost exclusively at the Triple-A level over the past two seasons. Over 511 plate appearances with the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis in 2023, Vilade slashed .270/.370/.382 with six home runs and seven stolen bases.

Vilade cleared waivers and was outrighted Tuesday to Triple-A Indianapolis, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Vilade was designated for assignment by the Pirates on the morning of Opening Day. The 24-year-old outfielder has logged only seven career plate appearances at the MLB level.

Vilade was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Thursday.

Vilade didn't make the cut for an Opening Day roster spot and now moves into DFA limbo. Pittsburgh claimed the 24-year-old outfielder away from the Rockies back in November.

Vilade was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis by the Pirates on Tuesday.

Vilade was claimed off waivers from the Rockies back in November. He spent all of 2022 in the minors and posted just a .697 OPS across 430 plate appearances with Triple-A Albuquerque.

Vilade was claimed off waivers by the Pirates on Wednesday.

Vilade made his major-league debut during a brief stint with Colorado in 2021, but he spent the entire 2022 campaign in the minors. He slashed .249/.345/.352 with five homers, 64 runs, 38 RBI and 10 stolen bases over 99 games at Triple-A Albuquerque last year and will likely head to Triple-A Indianapolis once the 2023 season gets underway.

Vilade has maintained a .324 wOBA and 83 wRC+ with Triple-A Albuquerque across 249 plate appearances this season.

Vilade's profile has remained very familiar. He has only 13 extra-base hits in an extremely hitter-friendly environment and has paired his .090 ISO with only five stolen bases. The lack of power and speed tools will limit his fantasy impact, though his plate discipline remains very impressive. Vilade has struck out at just a 12.9 percent clip while walking 12.4 percent of the time. The Rockies outfield appears crowded at the moment, but with 767 plate appearances at Albuquerque between 2021 and 2022, Vilade could get the call at some point in the second half of the season.

The Rockies optioned Vilade to Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday.

Vilade was one of four players on the Rockies' 40-man roster that was dispatched to the minors Thursday, leaving Colorado with 47 players remaining at MLB camp. One of the top hitting prospects in the organization, Vilade received his first cup of coffee with the big club in September of last season, but it may take an absence of one of the Rockies' four projected everyday corner-infield or corner-outfield players (C.J. Cron, Ryan McMahon, Charlie Blackmon and Kris Bryant) before the 23-year-old gets an extended look in the majors. Vilade will begin the 2022 campaign in Albuquerque, where he slashed .282/.337/.408 with seven home runs and 12 stolen bases across 518 plate appearances a year ago.

Vilade was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday.

Vilade was recalled last Saturday and wound up going 0-for-6 across his first three major-league games. He'll return to Albuquerque to make room for Friday's starting pitcher Peter Lambert on the 28-man roster.

Vilade had his contract selected by the Rockies on Saturday and he will make his major-league debut hitting seventh and starting in right field against the Nationals.

Vilade has spent the entire 2021 season with Triple-A Albuquerque, where he hit .286/.339/.420 across 477 plate appearances. While that was only good for an 88 wRC+, he'll have the chance to make an impression on the big-league club in hopes of securing a consistent role in 2022. Charlie Blackmon falls out of the starting lineup Saturday to make room for Vilade, though Yonathan Daza, Garrett Hampson, Raimel Tapia and Sam Hilliard could all sit more regularly in the last few weeks of the season.

Vilade was invited to Colorado's big-league camp Tuesday.

Vilade will get to spend some time with the Rockies' big-league coaching staff but is probably at least a year away from joining them on a permanent basis. He impressed in 128 games for High-A Lancaster in 2019, hitting .303/.367/.466 with 12 homers and 24 steals, but the canceled minor-league season last year prevented him from continuing his climb up the ladder.