Team gets roster down to 34; Hiura, Wingenter among cuts

The roster is down to 34 players after another round of cuts Thursday morning.

The Tigers re-assigned pitchers Trey Wingenter and Andrew Vasquez, catcher Anthony Bemboom, infielders Keston Hiura and Ryan Vilade and outfielder Bligh Madris to minor-league camp.

All those players, all non-roster invitees, had successful camps.

“The decisions are getting harder and harder,” manager AJ Hinch said. “But I wanted a different feel in the room. There had to be a gap in time where it feels like the room is getting smaller, less bodies… It has to start feeling more real and real that the season is going to be here.”

The Tigers will break camp on Sunday and head to Tampa to play the final spring game at Tropicana Field before flying to Chicago to start the season.

“I am proud of the group that signed here,” Hinch said. “They all showed well and they’re all likely to play in the big leagues at some point.”

Hiura, a first baseman, slashed .323/.353/.613 with a pair of home runs and a .966 OPS. He can opt out of his minor-league deal with the Tigers, though earlier he

said, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Said Hinch: “He can hit. He demonstrated that. His bat quality was good. The reality of his contribution at the Major-League level is going to be centered around his bat. His path is as a righthanded bat where we could use him in a variety of roles.”

Madris slashed .350/.519/.700, also with a pair of home runs and a 1.2 OPS.

Vasquez,

a left-handed

slider specialist, pitched 6.1 scoreless innings this spring, but walked six hitters. Wingenter allowed a couple of runs in 5.1 innings but also struck out six.

“We need strikes and that’s been both of their issues from time to time,” Hinch said. “Specifically Wing. He’s a Major League reliever when he’s in the strike zone. And he’s a highpitch count, volatile reliever when he’s not. That has been the development project with him and that continues.”

Eight more players will have to be trimmed before the season opener next week. Only two non-roster players remain in camp: righthanded pitcher Drew Anderson and outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy.

Here’s a look at where the roster stands:

• Starting pitchers (5): Tarik Skubal, Kenta Maeda, Jack Flaherty, Matt Manning, Casey Mize, Reese Olson.

• The battle: Manning, Mize, Olson for two spots.

• Relief pitchers (8): Alex Lange, Jason Foley, Shelby Miller, Will Vest, Tyler Holton (LHP), Andrew Chafin

(LHP), Joey Wentz (LHP), Beau Brieske, Alex Faedo, Drew Anderson, Miguel Diaz, Sawyer Gipson-Long (injured).

• The battle: Wentz, Brieske, Faedo, Anderson, Diaz for two spots.

• Catchers (2): Jake Rogers, Carson Kelly.

• Infield (6): Spencer Torkelson, Colt Keith, Javier Baez, Gio Urshela, Andy Ibanez, Zach McKinstry, Ryan Kreidler

• Outfield (5): Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, Mark Canha, Kerry Carpenter, Matt Vierling, Akil Baddoo, Justyn-Henry Malloy.

The battle: Kreidler, Baddoo, Malloy for potentially one spot.