The Tigers announced that left-hander Nick Ramirez, right-handers Tim Adleman and Anthony Castro, outfielder Jose Azocar, and first baseman Frank Schwindel have all been re-signed to minor league contracts. Ramirez and Schwindel were the only members of this quintet to see MLB action in 2019, as both made their big league debuts.
The 30-year-old Ramirez made a fairly solid first accounting of himself in the big leagues, posting a 4.07 ERA, 2.11 K/BB rate, 46.2% grounder rate, and 8.4 K/9 over 79 2/3 relief innings. He also held left-handed hitters to only a .644 OPS over 117 plate appearances, and while his numbers against right-handed batters weren’t as good (.801 OPS in 231 PA), the splits weren’t drastic enough to make Ramirez a non-viable option for 2020 given the new three-batter minimum rule being instituted. Since Ramirez pitched beyond one inning in 28 of his 46 games, his durability and multi-inning usage make him an intriguing choice to return to the Tigers’ pen next season.
Schwindel signed with the Tigers in June after being released by the Royals the previous month. Originally an 18th-round pick for Kansas City in the 2013 draft, Schwindel cracked the Show in his seventh pro season, appearing in six games for the Royals. For his career, Schwindel has a .285/.318/.472 slash line and 118 home runs over 3222 minor league plate appearances.
Bring on the Nat’s!
Scwindel and Ramirez will probably both see time in the show for Detroit. Both are okay depth options Adleman is minor league filler and Azocar is an intriguing semi prospect. I don’t enough about Castro. Should be interesting to see how these guys contribute for Detroit next year
Castro has a live arm, but control issues. He might be better off as a reliever and might have an MLB future as a reliever.
Ramirez and Schwindel are both nice pieces.
The signings of Azocar and Castro are huge as both were potentially rule 5 eligible. Now they don’t have to be added to the 40 man roster.
that’s not how it works. Wasnt Josh Rutledge selected a few years back after signing a minor league contract?
You are correct. Technically they can still be selected on the rule five draft. However every team had a chance to add these guys to their 40 man roster without the cost ($100,000) and restrictions of a rule five selection. My guess is that their agents could not find better deals for them on a major-league roster so they returned to where they are comfortable.
That said, it has happened in the past. I remember Chad Ogea signed with the Tigers and was later drafted by someone. And I think you are right about Rutledge.
What’s with all these Castro’s on the Tigers that makes 3 so far
Castro Brothers (Ha!) like Fidel and Raul!
I hear Fidel has a dead arm.
LOL
Ramirez, Sanchez, Castro…better get used to it. Baseball isn’t very popular with kids in the US.
Tim Adleman led the Cincinnati Reds in innings pitched in 2017.
Whitlock nails it again!
A couple years ago, I thought Frank Schwindel was a sure bet to be KCR’s 1B of the future.
Three serviceable pitchers. Ramirez was probably the best lefty out of the pen. I was surprised a bit when Adelman didn’t get the call to the big club at all last year.
Looking at his numbers, how did it take so long for him to be called up? Defense cant be that bad.
Fun fact about Nick Ramirez….
He was drafted in 2011 by the Brewers. Until July of 2016, he was a first baseman. They converted him to a pitcher before bidding him adieu at the end of 2018. He later signed as a free agent with the Tigers and would quickly make his MLB debut May 11, 2019.
And, yes. Ramirez, was pretty solid for the Tigers. Milwaukee might have been sleeping on this one…
One of Sterns’ few misses…
we need to get strong up the middle before anything else. it is a tad bothersome that the rebuild seems arbitrary…
When do WS tix go on sale?
More garbage for the trash pile our Tigers have become. Almost makes me want Domino’s Pizza these days. Chris’s daddy must be rolling in his grave watching his hard work go to hell so quick.