The Tigers have released catcher Andrew Knapp and right-hander Ashton Goudeau, according to their respective transaction trackers at MLB.com. The club also announced to reporters, including Evan Woodbery of MLive, that pitchers Miguel Del Pozo and Kervin Castro have been released with each having undergone Tommy John surgery earlier this year.
Knapp, 31, is the most experienced of the bunch, having appeared in 325 major league games since his 2017 debut. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in January but has been in Triple-A all year. In 70 games at that level, he hit .253/.337/.397 for a wRC+ of 84.
The Tigers have used Jake Rogers and Eric Haase behind the plate in the majors this year, with both of them staying healthy and preventing the club from reaching into its depth. Donny Sands had recently been in Double-A, helping to cover for an injury to prospect Dillon Dingler. But Dingler was recently activated, freeing Sands to return to Triple-A and handle the catching duties there alongside Michael Papierski, which seems to have made Knapp redundant.
Goudeau, 31, has 32 major league appearances on his ledger with a 5.57 ERA. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason but has a 7.42 ERA in 60 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, striking out 16.8% of opponents while walking 10.7%.
The Tigers announced in June that both Del Pozo and Castro underwent Tommy John surgeries, with Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic among those to relay the info at that time. They will each be out of action for the remainder of this season and much of 2024 as well. The 30-year-old Del Pozo has a 9.82 ERA in 27 major league appearances, the last of which was in 2021. The 24-year-old Castro has a 4.91 ERA in 20 big league games, with his last appearance having been in August of 2022.
Each of these players signed minor league deals with the Tigers coming into the year but will now return to the open market and look for their next opportunities. Del Pozo and Castro won’t have any short-term appeal to clubs but could perhaps try to land two-year deals that would allow them to rehab and return late in 2024. Depth catching and pitching tend to always be needed somewhere, which could help Knapp and Goudeau find jobs in the near future.
In the last ten days, the Tigers organization has released at least eight guys. Franklin Perez, Chavez Fernander, Dillon Paulson and Diego Rincones also got the boot.
Interesting that they released Franklin Perez so quietly.
Releasing a player on injured list is criminal. At least they should have the decency to finish the season with them
“On injured list is criminal”…Silly Goose; how can it be “criminal” when it’s clearly allowed under the MLB CBA?…Maybe you should be calling out the MLBPA for agreeing to such an arrangement. The MLBPA always tilts towards the top 2 or 3% of players(Mad Max & others)and pretty much ignores the needs of about 90% of Major League players. In any case, released players are still covered under the MLB medical plan and will their recovery treatment insured.
Are they still covered when they are injured in the minors? These guys were not on the MLB 40 man roster when injured, otherwise they would have been on the 60 day IL and unlikely to be released (maybe not even eligible to be released). Minor leaguers have much less coverage for their injuries.
I may have assumed the guys had appeared in the Majors. I’m not a labor lawyer, but to my knowledge, if you appear in the Bigs at any point you’re entitled to their medical insurance. The minor leagues have always been a different story and have only recently started to receive liveable benefits.
Still totally horrible to release someone who was injured on the job. If it happened to us we’d be suing our employer, and winning. I know players association doesn’t care about minor league players, but doesn’t make it right
From an article in The Athletic that discusses Dea tails of the minor league CBA:
Rehab commitment: Players are guaranteed medical care for work-related injuries for 18 months, up from six months previously.
Releasing a player on injured list isn’t criminal… it’s cold hearted.
Wonder which team will take a Knapp.
The next team that institutes a Knappsack soon after.
And which ones are waiting for Goudeau.
He’s not on any team’s Beckett list.
Castro was a halfway interesting arm.
Castro was a halfway interesting dictator.
They are all descendants of Fidel. Fidel was a passionate man. At least that’s what grandma said.
And Fidel’s halfway interesting arm couldn’t have been the upper half.
He wasn’t very humerus.
Well they signed 19 guys from the draft so slots opening up. The normal progression of things. Baseball fall forestry.
I’m surprised Malloy is only ranked 9th on the current top 30 for the Tigers. A lot of kids from this years draft class were ranked in their top 15 which was nice to see.
Malloy is without a fielding position, and a likely DH. That will affect his ranking.
By most counts, Malloy is a poor defensive third baseman, and an average corner outfielder. His defense out there should be similar to Carpenter’s.
I expect Malloy and Carpenter will split DH and OF duties next year to keep them in the lineup as long as they both hit.
Malloy has really fallen off these last. Pills months.
He’s hitting .280+, .415 OBP, .880 OPS. 17HR, 28 doubles, almost 100 walks. Seems like he’s doing pretty well to me.
I would guess age is a factor in rankings as well…someone who is 18 and comparable to someone who is 22 is going to rank higher?
Who ?
Malloy, apparently
Should be Reed and Malloy
Tiger management accused of being asleep at the wheel, so they cut their Knapp.
Its…..they were….Caught Knapping.
Malloy when? Kid is killing AAA pitching and team hitting sucks.
Phil Maton
At the very least the team pays over $26K for Tommy John surgery so there’s that.