The Tigers announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, formally selecting the contract of right-hander Casey Mize (as had been previously announced) and also selecting the contract of outfielder Jorge Bonifacio. They’ll both join the big league roster. Righty Dario Agrazal and first baseman C.J. Cron have also been transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 45-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster. Meanwhile, utilityman Harold Castro is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring.
Mize, the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick, will make his MLB debut against another debuting first-rounder: White Sox righty Dane Dunning. Mize is regarded as one of the game’s premier pitching prospects and a potential foundational piece of a rebuilding Tigers squad — one whom the club hopes can pitch atop its rotation through the 2026 season at least. He dominated opponents at Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2019, working to a combined 2.55 ERA with a terrific 106-to-23 K/BB ratio in 109 1/3 frames.
Bonifacio is no stranger to the AL Central, having spent several years with the Royals as a right fielder and designated hitter. He’s a career .247/.319/.408 hitter in 713 Major League plate appearances and is looking for a rebound opportunity after a PED suspension more or less ended his tenure in Kansas City. Bonifacio did tally 21 plate appearances after being reinstated from that suspension, but he’d since been surpassed on the depth chart and was ultimately cut loose last November.
The injury to the 26-year-old Castro deprives the Tigers of some versatility off the bench. He’d appeared at shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield positions in 2020 already — all while posting a respectable .276/.364/.379 slash through 33 plate appearances.
I saw this coming lol.
Waiting for Tigers to trade Boyd, Fulmer and Romine to the Yankees for Sanchez, Andujar, Wade, Florial, and two pitching prospects not named Garcia and Schmidt.
Might be waiting awhile. Boyd has been awful
You’re a Yankees fans… and you want that deal? Why?
@Rangers29 Yankees desperately need more starting Pitchers. Name me another team Yankees can get 2 starters. No offense don’t want Lynn and Minor. I said it and will say again. I love Cole but I would of signed Wheeler and MadBum instead of one Cole.
Minor I could see you not wanting, but Lynn has turned into a bonafide ace (he’s going tonight vs. Paddack at Petco. Fun matchup.). An interesting thing about him is that he can pitch two different styles. A more sinker/offspeed pitcher who induces tons of soft contact, or a high velo fastball pitcher who challenges hitters up in the zone. His sinker/offspeed side is what made him get the CG in Colorado last week. Though he might be a smaller market guy, so I can see where you are coming from.
Wheeler, I like. I think he is well worth the risk of 100 mil (especially for the Yanks). Madbum has sucked, but that’s in hindsight.
What about getting two pitchers, from different teams? Bundy and Senzatela?
Rockies aren’t trading Senzatela. He has put his stamp on the #4 starter spot ad they are clearly in the playoff race right now.
How about Cueto from the Giants instead? The Yanks won’t be afraid of his money and he has the most history of being dominant of any starter on the market right now. He might not be at his peak, but I think he still has some run left in him.
You will be OK with Cashman’s decision while watching the Virtual World Series parade after Cole wins two of the seven games.
Cueto looked good in his two starts against the Dodgers. He has a 2.67 ERA in 12 Dodger Stadium starts against good-hitting Dodger teams. That might be of interest to the Yankees considering their post-season aspirations.
I was gonna mention Cueto, but that contract held me back from doing so. Though maybe it could be done.
Cueto and 15 mil for Frazier who says no??
I’m a Tigers fan and don’t like it, either.
this would be an absolutely terrible deal for the yankees
Do the Yankees have a Sanchez OTHER than Gary Sanchez? I just find it surprising that you would want to trade away Sanchez. A slow start to MLB’s strangest season can’t be why he would be offered up, right? I think you could take him out of the picture and it would be enough to land those three.
Boyed is terrible this year and meh before it. Fulmer is at least as much of a mystery box as Andujar himself and Romine is benefiting from a small sample size.
Kind of interesting. The Tigers had Demeritte and Hill on the 40 man roster as a replacement for Harold Castro, yet went with Bonifacio. Christin Stewart better pick up the pace. Bonifacio would need to clear waivers if he were to be sent down after Castro is better but Stewart has options left. Then again, hamstrings have a way of lingering so who knows how long the Tigers feel he will be out.
Bundy and Senzetela not difference makers. The blame I put solely on Cashman for not finding any front end starting pitchers in the draft. If Garcia or Schmidt don’t live up to the hype then I would move on from Cashman.
Really? Move on from Cashman? I know you may not have starting pitching depth out the wazoo, but that would be a crazy move! Cashman can have 6 of his 8 regulars get hurt, and still field an all-star caliber lineup! Ford, Tauchman, Andujar, Wade, and Frazier is terrific depth on offense! Plus, Garcia and Schmidt are still going to be fine pitchers even if they aren’t ace caliber.
BTW if y’all got Bundy and Senzatela, I bet your offense could easily hold up both of them for fairly easy wins (especially since both are having good seasons).
Says a lot as to where they stand in terms of the future. I am surprised Hill didn’t get the call. Demeritte strikes out way too much. Both will probably be off the roster by the end of the season.
I would have given Hill the opportunity. His stock keeps sliding and it’s up or out – there are some good younger outfielders who will be knocking at the door in the coming years.
Stewart does not have any minor league options left. I think Bonafacio got the nod over DeMeritte is he’s played a little 1B in his career
Looking forward to watching Mize’s debut tonight. MLB.TV is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?
No, not really. Get rid of the ridiculous blackout restrictions and we can talk.
Blackout restriction only applies to teams in your home market. For me, that’s the Phillies. No big deal as I make other arrangements when the Dodgers play them. The restriction is not unreasonable.
@Rangers29. Yankees lineup has several flaws. They strikeout way too much. They need more consistent contact hitters. The Yankees still need a legitimate lead off hitter who can steal a base and DJ should be battling second not Judge. The Yankees hitters are all or nothing home run or nothing. They have very little team speed.
Getting rid of blackout restrictions are one of the easiest ways that they can expand the view of baseball, and that’s something MLB needs to work on without changing a bunch of rules. Removing blackout restrictions will definitley get more people interested. Knocking off 5 minutes to the average game isn’t going to get people watching more. But there are probably a handful of people who would probably buy MLB.TV and watch it more if it meant they got to watch any game they wanted.
“Can’t miss” pitching prospect. What’s the over/under date for Tommy John? I’ll take September 28th.
Boyd’s ERA is awful and he has struggled, but having watched all but one of his starts he is not that far away from fixing hits issues. This past start was not as bad as it seemed, as after the 1st inning he started finding the depth on his slider and better command of his FB. I think once he gets traded and goes to a contending team, he will thrive. He is very much a case of needing a change of scenery. I have a feeling he will blossom when he gets outta Detroit. Maybe not, but I’d bet on it.
Mize is looking like the real deal possibly a younger version of Cole