Young was traded to the Detroit Tigers in a waiver trade on August 15, 2011, for minor league pitchers Cole Nelson and Lester Oliveros. That night, the Tigers played the Twins, and he batted in the number three spot in front of Miguel Cabrera. In his first at bat with the Tigers, Young hit a home run to left field. In 2011, he batted a combined .268 with 12 home runs (8 with the Tigers), while on defense he tied for the major league lead in errors by a left fielder, with seven.