The Tigers announced today that corner infielder Jefry Marte has been designated for assignment. The move clears a spot for newly signed left fielder Justin Upton on Detroit’s 40-man roster.

Marte, 24, was originally signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 16. He was long considered one of the Mets’ more promising farmhands, but his career stalled at the Double-A level. He was flipped to the A’s in a trade for Collin Cowgill in 2012 and eventually released from Oakland, at which point he latched on with the Tigers on a minor league deal.

Marte did quite a bit to restore his stock in 2015, however, reaching Triple-A for the first time and batting an impressive .275/.341/.487 with 15 homers in 399 plate appearances in his first action at that level. That led the Tigers to select his contract to the Major League roster, where Marte batted .213/.284/.413 with four homers in a sparse 90 plate appearances over the season’s final three months. Marte has played third base almost exclusively in the minor leagues, though he spent nearly all of his time on the big league roster across the diamond at first base in his stint with the Tigers.