ARLINGTON -- Travis Demeritte spent six years working for a chance in the big leagues. But he has been at Globe Life Park before.

Six years ago, Demeritte was introduced here to Rangers fans, having been selected by Texas with the 30th overall pick of the 2013 MLB Draft. He was an athletic, talented high schooler from Georgia with a big future.

“How crazy is that?” he asked aloud Thursday, who tripled off Lance Lynn during the sixth inning on Friday -- for the Tigers. “It's full circle, man. It's almost like it was destined to be.”

Demeritte became just the fourth Tiger on record (since 1908) to triple in his MLB debut. The last was Andres Torres on April 7, 2002.

"That was big, to get it out of the way, alleviate some of the butterflies and nervousness. I was happy I was able to get it out of the way in the first game," he said.

It was a long, winding journey to reach here. The final steps came just 48 hours earlier, in the clubhouse of the Braves’ Triple-A Gwinnett affiliate just outside Atlanta.

By the time Demeritte arrived at Gwinnett’s home park, the rumors had been building about the Braves working to acquire then Tigers closer Shane Greene before Wednesday's Trade Deadline.

“We have a lot of guys doing well on our team,” he said, “and with the Major League bullpen kind of struggling a little bit, we figured they were going to go after some bullpen arms. Everybody was just kind of waiting patiently to hear whose name was called, see which buddies would be leaving.

“Two of my buddies, Touki [Toussaint] and Alex Jackson, actually came over and broke the news to me.”

Jackson, ironically, had been in the discussions earlier in the day. Toussaint had been rumored at different points. Once the Tigers and Braves agreed on Double-A left-hander Joey Wentz, Jackson was out.

“Everybody thought it was him at first,” Demeritte said. “We were giving him a hard time, helping him pack his bags and stuff. Turns out it was me.”

Two days later, it was Demeritte manning right field for the Tigers, filling the void created by the Nicholas Castellanos trade to the Cubs. While Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire isn’t committing to Demeritte for an everyday role, with Castellanos gone and left fielder Christin Stewart still on the seven-day concussion list for another few days, it’s his job for now.

“I want to see him play,” Gardenhire said. “I want to see [Victor] Reyes play, too. We’re just going to kind of mix it all around, all over the place, use everybody.”

As long as six years of development for a first-round pick, it seems like a lifetime for Demeritte, who’s still young at 24 for another couple months. In between was a 25-homer, 171-strikeout season in Class A ball in 2014, an 80-game suspension for PEDs and a stint in the Australian Winter League in '15, a trade to the Braves for Lucas Harrell in '16, a two-year stint at Double-A Mississippi, a move from second base to the outfield last season and a breakthrough this year.

“I definitely had some maturing to do throughout that process,” he said. “It's been a long road. You start to learn what you prioritize in life, who you are as a person, what works for you and what doesn't.”

Somewhere along the way, Demeritte said, he lost his enjoyment of the game. His biggest step this season was to get that back.

“Just let it happen, just enjoy the moment, have fun playing the game,” he said. “That was the biggest adjustment that I've made this year. I put too much pressure on myself at times to be perfect, and it was just mentally draining. I went through that for a couple years and finally decided, 'You know what? This isn't fun anymore. Let's get back to having fun.' That was the biggest thing for me.”

Demeritte hit .286/.387/.558, with 28 doubles, 20 homers, 74 RBIs this season for Gwinnett, including two homers against Toledo, Detroit's Triple-A affiliate. He had 18 homers, 64 RBIs and a 1.005 OPS at the All-Star break.

With 20 homers, 51 walks and 106 strikeouts in 399 plate appearances, he has been a three-true-outcomes style of hitter. But he has become quicker to the ball with his swing, cutting into a very high strikeout rate.

“I cut down on my leg kick a little bit, cut down the stride a little bit, just allow my hands to work,” he said.

Much like he eliminated some unnecessary motion in his mind, Demeritte tried to make his focus more efficient, learning what he needed to improve and avoiding the rest. It took a while to put together, but it finally led him to the Majors -- and back where his journey started.

“I'm proud of the road that I've taken, that has led me here to this destination,” he said. “It's always been a childhood dream of mine to play Major League Baseball. And I'm here.”

Injury updates

• Second baseman Josh Harrison is expected to get 40 at-bats in his rehab assignment for Triple-A, Gardenhire said. Harrison joined Toledo on Thursday, going 0-for-3 with a pair of walks. He underwent surgery for a torn left hamstring tendon last month.

• Spencer Turnbull will probably get one more rehab start for Toledo, according to Gardenhire. The right-hander struck out seven batters over 3 2/3 scoreless innings for the Mud Hens on Tuesday.