Millville, NJ, Alum Buddy Kennedy Lands with Detroit Tigers

2017 Millville High School alum Buddy Kennedy has landed with a new team.

The 25-year-old who started his career in Arizona with the D-Backs but was designated for assignment before the end of last season, landing in Oakland with the A's.

He spent just 11 games with the Oakland organization slashing .216/.326/.216 with no home runs, four RBI, and six walks before the Athletics waived him. Kennedy landed in St. Louis with the Cardinals but was designated for assignment on Feb 27.

Detroit claimed him on Thursday and he is now with the Tigers.

"He's a nice player," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told the Detroit Free Press. "He can move around the field a little bit. He's got a track record of playing good defense and controlling the zone, hitting lefties. There are a lot of things to like about Buddy, and now there's some uncertainty with Lip."

Kennedy, who plays both second and third, has some Major League experience, playing in 10 games for the Diamondbacks in 2023, going 4-for-24 at the plate last season.

He played 30 games in 2022, hitting on grand slam home run on Father's Day to start his career.

In 40 career MLB games, Kennedy is hitting .206 with one home run and 13 RBI. He has been a productive player slashing .286/.400/.422 in 194 career Triple-A games.

"The on-base is huge," Hinch said. "He'll conduct a really good at-bat. I like his defense. He's got decent speed. He's got a minor-league track record of performing. He's had a little taste of the big leagues before. There are some things for us to take a look at to see if he can impact this roster."

At Millville, Kennedy batted .493 with six home runs as a senior in 2017, which made him a fifth-round pick by Arizona in the 2017 MLB Draft.

He is also very close with former Millville star Mike Trout.