Tigers’ Opening Day roster rounding into shape

Baddoo, Kreidler to Toledo; Malloy to minor-league camp

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Detroit Tigers have their 13 position players for the Opening Day roster.

After Thursday’s 10-5 loss to the New York Mets, the Tigers made three roster moves in the fifth round of spring training cuts. Outfielder Akil Baddoo and infielder Ryan Kreidler were optioned to Triple-A Toledo, while outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy, a top prospect, was reassigned to minor-league camp.

Before Thursday’s game, the Tigers sent six others to minor league camp: right-handed reliever Trey Wingenter, left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez, catcher Anthony Bemboom, infielder Keston Hiura, outfielder Bligh Madris and outfielder Ryan Vilade.

The Tigers have 31 players remaining in MLB spring training, but only 13 position players. The Tigers must cut five more players — one starting pitcher, four relief pitchers — before next Thursday’s deadline to set the roster for Opening Day. The pitching decisions, specifically with the bullpen, will be made at the deadline.

“It starts to feel more and more real,” manager A.J. Hinch said Thursday. “You stare at the face of the guys that are still in the room, and you realize just how difficult it’s going to get in the next week to get down to the 26 that go north.”

The 13 position players on the Opening Day roster: shortstop Javier Báez, outfielder Mark Canha, outfielder Kerry Carpenter, outfielder Riley Greene, infielder Andy Ibáñez, second baseman Colt Keith, catcher Carson Kelly, infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry, center fielder Parker Meadows, catcher Jake Rogers, first baseman Spencer Torkelson, infielder Gio Urshela, outfielder/infielder Matt Vierling.

Keith, 22, will be making his MLB debut when he enters a game for the first time in the regular season.

All three players cut from big-league camp will report to Triple-A Toledo to begin the season, with Kreidler serving as the starting shortstop.

Kreidler, 26, impressed the Tigers in camp by hitting .355 with two home runs, eight walks and 10 strikeouts across 40 plate appearances, all while meeting expectations with his elite defense. If he keeps hitting in Toledo, the Tigers will eventually find a role for him in the majors, where he played 37 games across the 2022-23 seasons. He is the best defensive infielder in the organization and could cut into Báez’s playing time at shortstop at some point in the future.

Malloy, 24, never fit into the roster plans because of his status as a primary designated hitter who is a below-average defender in the corner outfield positions. He spent all of spring training in left field, playing 77 innings. He hit .238 with three homers, four walks and 12 strikeouts in 46 plate appearances. An injury to a right-handed hitting corner outfielder, specifically Canha, would clear the way for Malloy to be called up for his MLB debut. He will return to Triple-A Toledo, where he received 611 plate appearances last season and hit .277 with 23 home runs, 110 walks and 152 strikeouts across 136 games.

Baddoo, 25, struggled from the beginning to the end. He hit .120 with two walks and 13 strikeouts in 30 plate appearances. All three of his hits were singles. Baddoo, who qualified for Super Two status, is earning $1.55 million in the 2024 season as a first-year arbitration-eligible player, but he isn’t likely to get back to the majors unless a left-handed hitting outfielder, such as Parker Meadows, Riley Greene or Kerry Carpenter, lands on the injured list. For the Tigers, Baddoo has hit just .213 with a .302 onbase percentage across 185 games the past two seasons.

Wingenter and Vasquez pitched for the Tigers last season.

Wingenter, 29, posted a 5.82 ERA with seven walks and 22 strikeouts across 17 innings in 17 relief appearances. Vasquez, 30, had a 3.35 ERA with 23 walks and 43 strikeouts across 481⁄3 innings in 42 relief appearances.

Both pitchers walked too many batters in spring training: Wingenter had four walks and six strikeouts across 51⁄3 innings, and Vasquez had six walks and seven strikeouts across 61⁄3 innings.

“We need strikes,” Hinch said. “That’s been both of their issues from time to time, specifically Wing. He’s a major league reliever when he’s in the strike zone, but he’s a high pitch count, volatile reliever when not. That has been the development project with him, and that continues. When it clicks and his delivery gets in sync and he fills up the strike zone, he’s hard to hit. We’ve seen that at both levels. When he creates momentum for the other side by spraying the ball or walking guys or being erratic, he ends up on the short end of the decision. Commanding the strike zone is going to be important.”

Hiura, 27, is trying to get back to the big leagues after playing 284 games for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2019-22. He hit .323 with two home runs, two walks and eight strikeouts in 34 plate appearances in spring training. Hiura will serve as the primary first baseman in Triple-A Toledo.

Hiura has an assignment clause, also known as an upward mobility clause, in his minor league contract. There are multiple dates — including one next week — where the Tigers must notify the other 29 teams to see if a different club wants Hiura on its 26-man roster. If so, the Tigers must either call him up or trade him to the interested team. If not, he will remain in the minors with the Tigers.

There isn’t a clear path for Hiura to return to the majors with the Tigers unless Torkelson lands on the injured list.