Two players joined the Detroit Tigers for Sunday's game against the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park as MLB rosters expand from 26 to 28 players for the entire month of September.

The two players: outfielder/designated hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy and right-handed reliever Ricky Vanasco. Both players previously made their MLB debuts in the 2024 season.

The Tigers promoted Malloy and Vansaco from Triple-A Toledo.

"We sent him down the night of the Little League Classic game," manager A.J. Hinch said of Malloy. "I didn't tell him at that point he was coming up September 1. I probably should have, but you just never know. Getting a right-handed bat is huge, especially with as left-handed as we've gotten. He'll be predominately off the bench."

BEFORE THE MOVES: As rosters expand, Tigers' Justyn-Henry Malloy headlines call-up candidates

Malloy, 24, hit .258 with seven home runs, 43 walks and 66 strikeouts in 55 games with Triple-A Toledo. He also hit .217 with eight home runs, 21 walks and 74 strikeouts in 57 games with the Tigers, after making his MLB debut in early June.

"The guys are playing really good ball," Malloy said. "It's pretty cool rooting them on miles and miles away, but I think it's a little bit cooler being here and being able to immerse myself in everything that's going on. I was a fan before, and now I'm a player."

The Tigers optioned Malloy to the Mud Hens on Aug. 19, but after just 10 games, he has returned to the big leagues. In those 10 games, Malloy hit .278 with one homer, four walks and 14 strikeouts, while spending seven games in left field.

Malloy needs to improve his outfield defense to stick with the Tigers, along with cutting down on his swing-and-miss rate. In his first stint, he was forced to be the primary designated hitter because of below-average defense.

"Plate-wise, I liked where I was when I left here," Malloy said. "I wanted to go down to Toledo and keep stacking up good days, good at-bats and win some games. The same thing in the outfield. Just keep working, put in extra work and try to get a little bit better every day."

TRADING FOR HIM: Tigers acquire Ricky Vanasco in trade with Dodgers for cash considerations

Vanasco, 25, posted a 2.72 ERA with 28 walks and 42 strikeouts across 36⅓ innings in 33 relief appearances between Triple-A Oklahoma City (24 games) and Triple-A Toledo (nine games). In late July, the Tigers acquired Vanasco — who had been designated for assignment — from the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations.

"He has been sneaky really good since we got him here," Hinch said. "I think our development staff has done a nice job getting him in the strike zone. When it sprays is when he struggles with his command, but you can't deny the stuff and the growth that he's had in a short period of time here, so we want to take a look at him in that middle relief role."

Vanasco struggled to generate swing-and-miss with his curveball and slider as a member of the Dodgers, but since joining the Tigers, he changed his curveball grip and swapped his slider for a cutter, all while throwing the same 95 mph fastball.

He has changed as a pitcher over the past month.

"When I was with the Dodgers, it was kind of big and came out above my hand," Vanasco said of his curveball, which had a 36.1% whiff rate with the Dodgers and a 42.9% whiff rate with the Tigers. "Now it's shorter. Same speed. It's just a little shorter. It gets to the plate a little longer before it breaks."

Before the trade, Vanasco made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in mid-April. He has appeared in just two games in the big leagues, including July 13 against the Tigers at Comerica Park. Vanasco surrendered three runs on three hits — without recording an out — in the ninth inning of the mid-July matchup with the Tigers.

"We don't want to talk about that one," Vanasco said. "It's good to bounce back, get up here and get another opportunity. I'm excited to get in front of Tigers fans and be a part of his organization."

The Tigers (69-68) entered Sunday trailing the Cleveland Guardians by 8½ games in the American League Central and the Minnesota Twins by five games for the final AL wild-card spot. They will complete a three-game series Sunday with the Red Sox before a seven-game road trip against the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers add Justyn-Henry Malloy, Ricky Vanasco from Toledo