Biography
Trey Thomas Sweeney (born April 24, 2000) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Eastern Illinois Panthers. He was selected by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft and traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers 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, 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, which was the only Division I school to offer him a scholarship.
Sweeney played college baseball for the Eastern Illinois Panthers 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 (RBIs). After the season, Sweeney played collegiate summer baseball for the Lafayette Aviators of the Prospect League 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. Due to his performance he became rated as one of the best college batting prospects in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.
Professional career
New York Yankees
Sweeney was selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Yankees. On July 19, 2021, Sweeney signed with the Yankees. He was assigned to the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Yankees 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 South Atlantic League. 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 Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Victor González and Jorbit Vivas. Sweeney was selected to participate in the inaugural "Spring Breakout" minor league showcase during spring training 2024 and he was assigned to the Triple–A Oklahoma City Baseball Club 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 Detroit Tigers in exchange for Jack Flaherty. In 11 games for the Triple–A Toledo Mud Hens, 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 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.