The Tigers announced that they’ve signed 12 players to minor league contracts (full list here), including veteran shortstop Pete Kozma and infielder Harold Castro — each of whom was outrighted off the 40-man roster and became a free agent two weeks ago. That pair will be invited to Major League Spring Training, as will former Astros right-hander Jose Cisnero.
Kozma, a former Cardinals shortstop, had two stints with the Tigers this season but hit just .217/.236/.348 in 73 trips to the plate. His Triple-A stats weren’t an improvement (.203/.260/.295), though the defensive specialist has always been primarily known for his glovework. He’s still just 30 years of age and won’t turn 31 until after Opening Day next April.
Castro will turn 25 at the end of the month and made a very brief MLB debut this past season, going 3-for-10 in limited action as a September call-up. He once ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects, per Baseball America, but that was back in 2014, and he’s done little at the plate in recent seasons. He split the 2018 season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .265/.283/.319 in 367 plate appearances.
Cisnero is exactly one year younger than Kozma and hasn’t appeared in the Majors since the 2014 season with Houston. He broke into the Majors as a 24-year-old in 2013 and showed a bit of promise, pitching to a 4.12 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and 1.03 HR/9 in 43 2/3 innings as a rookie. Elbow issues torched his 2014 season, though, and he’s only pitched 5 1/3 innings of affiliated ball since that season ended. He’s pitched exclusively in the Mexican League and in Winter Ball since that time — also all in limited fashion. He’s off to a strong start in the 2018-19 Dominican Winter League, having yielded three earned runs on four hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts through 10 1/3 innings of relief.
Probably the Tigers biggest move of the season
1234 is right again. Another great move destined to bring the Tigers back to the halcione days of yesteryear.
Pete F’ing Kozma
I’m with you. The Tigers are building a team almost from scratch. I can see giving a chance to a player like Leonys Martin or a young player who couldn’t get a good chance elsewhere. Even Pete Kozma’s minor league stats are less than mediocre. Where does a 30-ish (-).150 hitter fit in?
Cardinals went to post-season every year that he played on MLB roster. In World Series in ’13 when he was the starting SS for majority of season. Starting SS for AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders in ’16 when they won the IL Championship and AAA National Championship. Starting SS in ’18 when Toledo Mudhens made post-season for first time since 2007.
D a m n straight P’F’K lives on to play another season!
Hey he’s cheap. 112 losses anyone?
I know fans dont like rebuilds but things like this are done during them. A real fan will wait it out and still support the team.
Tigers can’t build, rebuild, or whatever they call it … without an MLB ready shortstop somewhere in the organization. There are free agents available, but they don’t know if any of them will take 1 yr or even accept a contract on a team that has been at the bottom of the standings for the last 3-4 years.
Pete brings the Cardinals way mentality to the Tigers..Kozma’s never had the greatest skillset but his work ethic and willingness to play whatever role is asked of him is valuable for a rebuilding clubhouse.