Trey Thomas Sweeney (born April 24, 2000) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Eastern Illinois Panthers The Eastern Illinois Panthers are the intercollegiate athletic programs of Eastern Illinois University (EIU) located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. The Panthers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and compet ...

. He was selected by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the first round of the

2021 MLB draft The 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 11–13, 2021. In conjunction with the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the draft was held in Denver. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The ...

and traded to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in 2023 and Detroit Tigers in 2024. He made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2024.

Amateur career

Sweeney grew up in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and attended St. Xavier High School. As a senior, he batted .389 with 41 RBIs and 18 stolen bases as St. Xavier won the state championship. Sweeney committed to play baseball at

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

, which was the only Division I school to offer him a scholarship. Sweeney played

for the

for three seasons. He became a starter as a freshman and was named to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) All-Freshman team after batting .266 with 61 total bases, 27 runs scored, and 24

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs). After the season, Sweeney played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Lafayette Aviators The Lafayette Aviators are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Lafayette, Indiana. They are a member of the Eastern Conference of the summer collegiate Prospect League. The Aviators play at Loeb Stadium in Columbian Park in Lafayette, wh ...

of the

Prospect League The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their colleg ...

and was named a league All-Star after slashing .354/.453/.524 in 257 plate appearances. He batted .351 as a sophomore before the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a redshirt sophomore, Sweeney was named the OVC Player of the Year after he hit .382 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs and was a finalist for the

Brooks Wallace Award The Brooks Wallace Award is an award given by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) to the best college baseball shortstop of the year. The award has been given annually since 2004. Until 2008 the award was presented to the nation's most outstandi ...

. Due to his performance he became rated as one of the best college batting prospects in the

2021 Major League Baseball draft The 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 11–13, 2021. In conjunction with the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the draft was held in Denver. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The ...

Professional career

New York Yankees

Sweeney was selected with the 20th overall pick in the

by the

. On July 19, 2021, Sweeney signed with the Yankees. He was assigned to the Rookie-level

Florida Complex League Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional basebal ...

to start his professional career and was later promoted to the Tampa Tarpons of the Low-A Southeast. Over 32 games between the two teams, Sweeney slashed .261/.384/.584 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs. He opened the 2022 season with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. Sweeney was promoted to the Double-A Somerset Patriots after batting .241 with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs in 100 games played with Hudson Valley.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 11, 2023, the Yankees traded Sweeney to the

in exchange for Victor González and

Jorbit Vivas Below is a partial list of Minor League Baseball players in the New York Yankees system. Players Clayton Beeter Clayton Howard Beeter (born October 9, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the New York Yankees organization. He ...

. Sweeney was selected to participate in the inaugural "Spring Breakout" minor league showcase during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

2024 and he was assigned to the Triple–A

Oklahoma City Baseball Club The Oklahoma City Baseball Club is a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play thei ...

to start the season, where he hit .255 in 96 games with 13 homers and 62 RBI.

Detroit Tigers

On July 30, 2024, the Dodgers traded Sweeney and Thayron Liranzo to the

in exchange for

Jack Flaherty Jack Rafe Flaherty (born October 15, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft, he made his MLB debut in 2017 ...

. In 11 games for the Triple–A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, he batted .381/.447/.667 with two home runs, nine RBI, four stolen bases. On August 16, Sweeney was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his Major League debut the same day, against the New York Yankees, the team by which he was originally drafted.

References

External links

Eastern Illinois Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweenet, Trey 2000 births Living people Baseball players from Louisville, Kentucky Detroit Tigers players Eastern Illinois Panthers baseball players Florida Complex League Yankees players Hudson Valley Renegades players Major League Baseball shortstops Oklahoma City Baseball Club players Somerset Patriots players St. Xavier High School (Louisville) alumni Tampa Tarpons players Toledo Mud Hens players Wilson Tobs players