KANSAS CITY -- Gage Workman waited seemingly forever for the Tigers to call his name among their lengthy list of injury replacements. Finally given his shot, he didn’t need long to live up to his middle name: Tater.
“When I was in Toledo, a lot of guys called me Tater,” he said. “My wife calls me Tater. It's a normal nickname.”
It was actually his grandfather’s nickname.
“He did [play baseball] when he was younger,” Workman said. “He ran track, though, so I don't think it was a baseball nickname for him necessarily.”
It has become one for him, though. And after slugging a go-ahead, pinch-hit two-run homer in his first at-bat as a Tiger to help Detroit salvage a game out of their series at Kauffman Stadium with a 6-3 victory over the Royals on Sunday night, Tater has a chance to catch on in Detroit.
Workman, the Tigers’ fourth-round pick from the same 2020 Draft that produced former Arizona State teammate Spencer Torkelson, Dillon Dingler and Colt Keith, had a more scenic journey to Detroit. He produced three consecutive double-digit homer seasons in the Minors but battled a high strikeout rate. The Cubs took a shot on him in the Rule 5 Draft before the 2025 season, but he earned just 16 at-bats between the Cubs and White Sox before being returned to the Tigers’ system. He wasn’t even a non-roster invite to big league camp in Spring Training, but a hot start at Triple-A Toledo put him on Detroit’s radar amid a rash of injuries.
“He has crushed Triple-A pitching pretty much all season,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Sunday’s game, “and has earned his right to be on a callup list whenever the opportunity came open.”
The Tigers summoned Workman to Kansas City on Sunday after Kerry Carpenter sprained his shoulder crashing into the right-field sidewall on Bobby Witt Jr.’s inside-the-park home run Saturday night. Workman was one of three left-handed bats on Hinch’s bench against Royals lefty starter Noah Cameron.
Once Royals manager Matt Quatraro turned to his bullpen for the third trip through the order, Hinch unleashed all his lefty bats.
“We’re going to go after the middle part of their 'pen,” Hinch said. “It’s really tough at the end with [Daniel] Lynch, [Matt] Strahm and [Lucas] Erceg, so when we had an opportunity, Tork getting on base sets up the opportunity to be aggressive and get [Zach] McKinstry in there and then Workman in there, knowing we’re going to roll the lineup.”
McKinstry batted for Hao-Yu Lee after Torkelson’s leadoff single in the sixth and flew out to left against right-hander Nick Mears. Workman batted for shortstop Zack Short and got a slider that he could turn on, sending a drive down the right-field line and just inside the foul pole.
It was the third pinch-hit home run by a Tiger this season. Two have been first Major League home runs – Workman and Lee.
It was the exact type of impact the Tigers would have counted on from Carpenter. Workman filled the role.
“Off the bat, I was like, 'Yeah, I think I got him,'” Workman said. “I didn't even know who it was off of, honestly. I was just trying to go up there and do the job.”
Once the ball landed in the seats, the rest was a blur. The Tigers' dugout, including many former Tigers draft picks who played with Workman somewhere in the system, went wild.
“It felt like a quick home run trot, just home to home pretty quick,” he said.
Workman stayed in the game at third base and got another moment in the field, making a charging play on a Witt chopper and quick throw to start a double play on the Royals' speedster to end the seventh inning. His eighth-inning fly out to left-center off former Tigers closer Alex Lange actually had a higher exit velocity (105.9 miles per hour) and expected batting average (.840) than his home run, just to the wrong part of the field.
The restored lead provided new life in the Tigers’ latest bullpen game, this one in place of suspended starter Framber Valdez. Enmanuel De Jesus, the fourth of six Tigers pitchers on the night, tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his second MLB win.
So about that nickname again: Why was Workman’s grandfather nicknamed Tater?
“That's a great question,” he laughed. “I've been told a bunch and I just forget, so I should just know that. I'll figure it out.”