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Injury Notes: Anderson, Patiño, Brieske

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Tampa Bay Ray veteran reliever Nick Anderson’s 2022 season is officially over, as per Marc Topkin of Tampa Bay Times. One of the leaders of Tampa Bay’s famed relief corps will call 2022 a lost season, having dealt with a torn elbow ligament in March 2021 and, more recently, plantar fasciitis on his right foot. Anderson did make it back to Triple-A, but posted a 6.19 ERA in 16 innings and gave up 5 home runs in the small sample. This poor showing led the Rays to opt to keep him in Durham, despite their constant bullpen shuffling.

In the three prior seasons, including the 6 innings pitched in 2021, the righty has put up a dominant 2.89 ERA in 87 1/3 innings, with a high 39.6 K% and a low 6.7 BB%. The Rays still have control over Anderson for the next three years, but with his recent injury troubles, it will be interesting to see if they tender him a contract for the 2023 season.

Other injury updates from around the league…

  • Rays’ former top prospect Luis Patiño was scratched from his Triple-A start due to “right shoulder discomfort,” as reported by Topkin. Patiño has had a rough 2022 season, with the starter posting a 8.10 ERA in 20 innings, giving up 6 home runs and walking 13 batters. In Triple-A Patiño has fared better, pitching to a 4.38 ERA in 37 innings, which is more in line with the 4.31 ERA in 77 1/3 innings that he posted last season in the majors. Regardless, Patiño’s injury comes at a crucial time with the Rays looking to hold onto a wildcard spot, and any further impediments may bring his season to an early close.
  • Detroit Tigers’ rookie Beau Brieske, who has been on the injured list since August 10th with right forearm soreness, will look to the 2023 season. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has announced that the starter will not pitch again this year, reported by Evan Woodbery of Michigan Live, with the club not wanting to “ramp him back up for just one start” after his first major league season. Brieske’s rookie season was largely productive, with the newcomer starting 15 games, tied for second-most among Tigers pitchers, and pitching to a 4.19 ERA in 81 2/3 innings.

Tigers Sign Daniel Ponce de Leon To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers signed right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon to a minor league contract this week. He made his organizational debut with Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, tossing six innings of one-run ball.

It’s the third organization of the season for Ponce de Leon, who is still searching for his first big league call of the year. He opened the season on a non-roster deal with the Mariners, spending three months with their top affiliate in Tacoma. Ponce de Leon struggled to a 7.95 ERA there and was released in mid-July. He caught on with the Nationals not too long after, making seven Triple-A starts before being released earlier this month.

Between the three clubs, the 30-year-old has a 6.96 ERA in 24 starts at the minors highest level. He’s punched out a solid 25.7% of batters faced over that stretch, but he’s also walked an alarming 11.5% of opponents and struggled to keep the ball in the yard. Before this season, the former 9th-round pick had a stronger track record in the upper minors. Over parts of five Triple-A seasons, he owns a decent 3.88 ERA.

Despite his series of minor league deals this year, Ponce de Leon has only appeared in the majors with one club, the Cardinals. He suited up as a swing option in St. Louis from 2018-21, starting 22 of 57 outings. Through 147 2/3 MLB frames, Ponce de Leon owns a 4.33 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate but a 12.7% walk percentage.

The Tigers rotation has thinned out significantly in the past few months. Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal have long since been lost for the season, and Rony García was also knocked out for the year. Meanwhile, Detroit released Michael Pineda last week. Of late, Detroit has turned to a starting five of Eduardo Rodríguez, Matt Manning, Joey Wentz, Tyler Alexander and Drew Hutchison. Rodríguez and Manning are the only members of that group who are likely to open next season in the rotation (although Wentz may get an opportunity to compete for a job in Spring Training), so there’s room for Detroit to take a look at Ponce de Leon during the season’s final few weeks if they’re intrigued by his form in Toledo.

Edwin Jackson Announces Retirement

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Former All-Star Edwin Jackson took to Instagram this evening to officially announce his retirement from Major League Baseball. The right-hander pitched parts of 17 seasons in the majors, getting to the highest level every year between 2003-19. Jackson suited up for 14 different MLB teams, setting the all-time record for most uniforms donned.

“19 years ago today I was blessed with an opportunity to tie up my laces and step on the field to make my debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Jackson wrote. “Today I am happily hanging up my cleats and closing a 22-year baseball career.” Jackson went on to thank his wife, parents, sisters, children and the rest of his family before expressing his gratitude to various coaches, trainers and doctors who assisted him. “This game has taught me many life lessons and allowed me to evolve into the person I am today! I will forever have memories that will live within me from the game I love and dedicated my life to. Thank you baseball for an amazing life experience I will never forget,” he concluded.

A sixth-round draftee of the Dodgers out of a Georgia high school in 2001, Jackson emerged as one of the sport’s best pitching prospects not long thereafter. He broke into the big leagues exactly 19 years ago on his 20th birthday, starting three of four appearances down the stretch. He bounced on and off Los Angeles’ active roster for the next couple seasons before being traded to the then-Devil Rays over the 2005-06 offseason.

Jackson worked primarily as a reliever for his first season in Tampa Bay, but he took a full turn of starts by the 2007 campaign. That kicked off a stretch of seven consecutive seasons in which he surpassed 30 starts and 160 innings. Jackson pitched in Tampa Bay through 2008 before being dealt to the Tigers for outfielder Matt Joyce. He tossed a career-best 214 innings the next year, posting a 3.62 ERA. Jackson earned an All-Star nod with a 2.52 mark through that season’s first half.

The next offseason, his nomadic career continued. Detroit flipped Jackson to the Diamondbacks as part of a three-team blockbuster that netted Detroit Max Scherzer and sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. His stint in the desert was rather brief — he’d wind up traded again at that summer’s deadline — but it provided one of the more memorable moments of his career. On June 25, 2010, he tossed a no-hitter against his former team at Tropicana Field. He threw a staggering 149 pitches in the outing, striking out six but issuing eight walks. Then-manager A.J. Hinch stuck with Jackson despite his high pitch count, and he completed one of the more remarkable single-game performances by a player in recent memory.

Not long after, the last-place club dealt Jackson to the White Sox in a trade that landed Arizona Daniel Hudson. Jackson pitched well in 11 starts down the stretch, and he got off to another solid start in 2011. The White Sox fell out of contention the latter season, though, and he was on the move again. The Blue Jays acquired Jackson from the White Sox on the morning of July 27, but his stint in Toronto lasted only a few hours. Toronto promptly flipped him to the Cardinals in a deal that sent Colby Rasmus north of the border.

Jackson played in St. Louis for the second half, pitching to a 3.58 ERA through 12 starts. He made four starts in the postseason, and while his playoff numbers weren’t great, the Cardinals secured the World Series title in a dramatic series win over the Rangers. Fresh off winning a title, Jackson signed with the Nationals during his first trip through free agency. He spent the 2012 campaign in the Nats rotation, helping Washington to their first playoff appearance since moving to D.C.

The next winter, Jackson inked a four-year, $52MM pact with the Cubs. He continued to soak up innings but didn’t post especially strong numbers in Chicago. After two and a half seasons, he was released. That kicked off an even more rapid trip around the league, as Jackson suited up with the Braves, Marlins, Padres, Orioles, Nationals (again), A’s, Blue Jays and Tigers (again) over the next four years. He alternated between the rotation and the bullpen throughout that time, generally serving as a depth option.

While Jackson signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in 2020, he didn’t make it back to the majors. He did appear on the U.S. Olympic team last summer and expressed a desire to get back to the big leagues, but he didn’t get another opportunity with an affiliated organization.

Altogether, Jackson pitched in 412 major league games. He tossed 1960 innings with a 4.78 ERA, striking out a bit more than 1500 batters and winning 107 games. According to Baseball Reference, Jackson banked upwards of $66MM in earnings and incredibly logged some action for almost half the league. MLBTR congratulates Jackson on his lengthy, accomplished career and wishes him all the best in retirement.

Tigers Release Michael Pineda

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Sep. 7: The Tigers announced that Pineda has cleared waivers and been granted his release.

Sep. 4: The Tigers have designated right-hander Michael Pineda for assignment, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic was among those to report. His roster spot will go to reliever Luis Castillo.

Pineda, 33, is a veteran who made his MLB debut with the Mariners back in 2011 and has since pitched for the Yankees and Twins. He joined the Tigers for this season on a one-year deal that came with a $5.5MM guarantee as well as incentives based on innings pitched.

At the time, it was surely hoped that Pineda could be a reliable veteran presence in a rotation that featured a lot of talented but inexperienced youngsters. In the end, just about every pitcher who started a game for the Tigers spent some time on the injured list this year, with Pineda being no exception. He went to the IL in May due to a right middle finger fracture, costing him about six weeks. In late July, he returned to the IL due to right triceps tightness, which kept him away for another five weeks.

Between those IL stints, he’s only been able to make 11 starts and throw 46 2/3 innings. He also hasn’t been able to be very effective, with his 5.79 ERA almost a full run above his previous career high of 4.82. His 13% strikeout rate is easily the worst of his career, though his control is still present, with his 4% walk rate about half of the league average for starters.

The Tigers are well out of contention and will use the final weeks of the season to audition youngsters for roles on future teams. “I hate it for Michael,” manager A.J. Hinch tells Stavenhagen. “Nothing worse than telling a veteran of his magnitude and his career that we’re moving on from him. But for us, it’s time to take a look at the guys who have a better chance of being here.”

There might also be a financial reason for the move, as Pineda was about to start hitting the incentives in his contract. He would have received $375K for hitting each of the 50, 75, 100, and 125 inning benchmarks, and he would receive an additional $500K for tossing 150 and 175 innings. Since he’s currently at 46 2/3 frames on the year, he likely would have earned himself an extra $375K in his next start. Instead, he will be put on waivers in the coming days, likely clearing waivers given the approximately $800K remaining on his deal. Assuming he does clear, he would be able to reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency, by virtue of having more than five years of MLB service time.

Latest On Tigers’ General Manager Search

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It has been almost a month since the Tigers parted ways with GM Al Avila, and since Lynn Henning of The Detroit News notes that ownership puts a high priority on keeping matters close to the vest, there hasn’t been much public news about potential targets to take over the front office.  However, Hennig lists current Tigers assistant GM Sam Menzin, Dodgers senior VP of baseball ops Josh Byrnes, and Cardinals special assistant to the GM Matt Slater as “three people are believed to be under heavy consideration” for the full-time general manager role.

Several other front office members from multiple teams were also mentioned as plausible further candidates, though Henning was more circumspect about naming any of this group as surefire names in the hunt — Twins assistant GM Daniel Adler, Braves VP of scouting Dana Brown, Cardinals assistant GM Randy Flores, Guardians assistant GM James Harris, Orioles VP and assistant GM Sig Mejdal, Astros assistant GM Pete Putila, and Rays VP of baseball operations Carlos Rodriguez.  Former Tigers director of baseball operations Mike Smith could also potentially receive consideration.

There is no shortage of work ahead of Detroit’s next baseball operations leader, given how the Tigers have floundered in a season that was supposed to mark their return to contention.  While it isn’t expected that the Tigers will step back entirely into rebuild mode, the next GM will have to both make the big league team better while also bolstering the farm system at the same time.  According to league officials speaking with Henning, upgrading the Tigers’ international development system will be a priority, and “trades are expected to be made with more aggression and more initiative than was practiced by Avila.”  The next front office will also need to focus on how to better apply analytics to development and on-field work.

Byrnes is the most familiar name to baseball fans, and the former Padres/Diamondbacks GM is also the only one of the known candidates with experience in leading a front office.  Byrnes ran the D’Backs from 2006-2010 and then the Padres from 2011-14, in both cases being fired around midway through his final season with the organization.  Of those eight full and partial seasons for Byrnes, only two (2007 and 2008 with Arizona) resulted in a winning record, and the 2007 NL West-winning Diamondbacks were the only Byrnes team to reach the postseason.

Still only 52 years old, Byrnes’ long career in baseball has also included stretches as an assistant GM and VP with the Rockies, Red Sox, and (since 2014) Dodgers, and Byrnes has been a part of two World Series-winning front offices.  Back in August, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman suggested Byrnes as a natural candidate for Detroit given Byrnes’ past familiarity and working relationship with Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who will be remaining with the team and will have some influence in the hiring of the next GM.

Menzin is also naturally a familiar face for Hinch, and Henning writes that the assistant GM “is known to enjoy great favor with Hinch.”  Only 31 years old, Menzin already has a decade of experience in Detroit’s front office, starting as an intern and gaining experience working within several different departments of the Tigers’ baseball operations.  Since Avila’s firing, Menzin has also been as the de facto interim general manager.

Slater doesn’t have any ties to Hinch or the Tigers organization, and given the amount of work that might need to be done, it is possible he might be attractive to the club as a fresh voice.  The 51-year-old Slater’s specific role with the Cardinals is in player procurement, with the St. Louis website describing him as the franchise’s “senior talent evaluator.”  The Cards’ excellent track record at finding and developing homegrown talent is certainly a point in Slater’s favor, and he has been with the team since 2007.  Before coming to St. Louis, Slater also worked in a number of different scouting and baseball ops roles with the Brewers, Orioles, and (for nine years) Dodgers.

Tigers Claim Luis García From Phillies

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The Tigers have claimed infielder Luis García off waivers from the Phillies, according to announcements from both teams. Garcia has been optioned to Double-A Erie. The Tigers already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster after designating Michael Pineda for assignment on Sunday.

Garcia, not to be confused with the Luis García of the Nationals or the Luis García of the Padres or the Luis Garcia of the Astros, is a 21-year-old infielder who had spent his entire career in the Phillies’ organization up until now.

He made his professional debut in rookie ball in 2018, just 17 years old at that time. He hit a tremendous .369/.433/.488 in 43 games, showing enough promise to crack Baseball America’s list of the top 100 prospects in the sport. BA placed him #88 going into 2019. However, García struggled immensely in A-ball that year, hitting .186/.261/.255 and losing his spot on BA’s list.

After the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020, he had a bit of a bounceback in 2021, hitting .243/.353/.414 between A-ball and High-A, walking in 13.8% of his plate appearances and stealing 15 bases. That was enough for the Phillies to add him to their 40-man roster in November, protecting him from the Rule 5 draft that ended up getting canceled by the lockout.

Unfortunately, it’s been another downturn here in 2022, with García hitting .167/.316/.253 across four different levels on the year. Based on that poor showing, he lost his roster spot on the weekend, now landing with the Tigers, who are likely intrigued by García’s approach. Despite his poor batted ball results, he’s still walking in 15.6% of his plate appearances this season. For reference, the MLB average is 8.2% this year, meaning García is nearly doubling that pace. Struggles aside, he still came in #16 on BA’s most recent update of top 30 Philly prospects. Their report notes that he’s a plus defender at shortstop, meaning that he could be a valuable piece so long as his bat improves.

For the Tigers, this is a no-cost way of adding to their system, picking up a prospect who’s definitely lost some shine in recent years but still has some intriguing tools. Since they are well out of contention, they can use their open roster spot to take a flier on García and hope that he can help them down the line.

Tigers Place Miguel Cabrera On 10-Day IL, Select Josh Lester

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TODAY: Cabrera was officially placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to September 3.  Lester’s contract was selected from Triple-A, and Meadows was moved to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot.

SEPTEMBER 3: After tonight’s game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters that the club is going to place Miguel Cabrera on the 10-day injured list with a left biceps strain. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic was among those to relay the news on Twitter. Infielder/outfielder Josh Lester will be called up to take his place on the active roster. Lester isn’t currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move of some kind will be required to make room for him. That might be as simple as transferring Austin Meadows to the 60-day IL, after he announced that he will miss the remainder of the season.

Hinch says that Cabrera will miss 10-14 days but that they want to get him back to the club this year. That doesn’t leave them with a huge window, as there’s just over four weeks remaining in the season at this point. However, the club is well out of contention at this point, meaning they could probably bring Cabrera without a rehab assignment for a few at-bats if he’s able to get his strain under control by early October. The 39-year-old is in the penultimate season of the extension he signed with the club in 2014.

Lester, 28, was a 13th-round draft pick of the Tigers back in 2015. That means he is currently in his seventh minor league season, which would have been his eighth if not for the pandemic wiping out the minors in 2020. He’s never been listed as one of the club’s top prospects at Baseball America or FanGraphs but has earned his way up to the big leagues with a solid showing here in 2022. In 124 Triple-A games on the season, he’s hit 24 home runs and is slashing .242/.304/.469. He’ll be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Austin Meadows Will Miss Remainder Of 2022 Season To Address Mental Health

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Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows took to Twitter this afternoon to announce that he’s been away from the playing field attending to a mental health concern. Manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive.com) that Meadows won’t return to the field this year.

“What I have told very few people is that I have been  … struggling with my mental health in a way that has extended my time away from the game that I love so much,” Meadows wrote in his statement. “I’ve been dealing with this privately with a great team of professionals, but I need to continue to put in the hard work off the field towards feeling mentally healthy.

While I’ve been back in the clubhouse the past few weeks, and plan to remain with the club through the end of the season, I am still not ready to return to the field. I am so grateful for my family, my teammates, and the Tigers organization for supporting me through this. I can’t do this alone, and I hope in sharing my experience I can touch at least one person who might be going through their own struggles and encourage them to reach out to someone for help.”

Meadows has played in 36 MLB games this year, his first in Detroit after an early April trade from the Rays. He spent some time on the injured list in mid-May battling vertigo-like symptoms. He returned in June but quickly went back on the IL due to COVID-19. While attempting to recover from that illness, Meadows suffered strains of both his Achilles tendons. He was sent on a rehab assignment on August 10 but pulled off a few days later, with the team not disclosing details about his shutdown at the time.

Hinch praised Meadows for going public with news of his battle, saying it was the outfielder’s decision. “Austin has chosen the path to be proactive and help others while helping himself,” the manager said (via Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic), adding his hope that today’s announcement will help others dealing with similar struggles. MLBTR sends our best wishes to Meadows.

Every Team’s Initial September Call-Ups

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Each season as the calendar flips to September, we see a flurry of transactions around Major League Baseball. Active roster sizes jump from 26 to 28 for the season’s final month, with teams permitted to bring up no more than one additional pitcher. We’ve already covered a host of transactions with 40-man roster implications throughout the day at MLBTR. Here’s a full round-up of teams’ initial September roster moves.

American League West

Houston Astros:

Los Angeles Angels:

Oakland Athletics

Seattle Mariners

  • Reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from 60-day injured list
  • Recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Texas Rangers

  • Selected contract of RHP Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Recalled OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Josh Sborz to 60-day injured list

American League Central

Chicago White Sox

  • Recalled OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Recalled RHP Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Corresponding move: None required

Cleveland Guardians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

  • Selected contract of RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Omaha
  • Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Triple-A Omaha
  • Corresponding move: None required

Minnesota Twins

  • Added LHP Austin Davis (previously claimed off waivers from Red Sox) to active roster
  • Selected contract of OF Billy Hamilton from Triple-A St. Paul
  • Corresponding move: Transferred OF Trevor Larnach to 60-day injured list

American League East

Baltimore Orioles

  • Selected contract of 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Recalled LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Corresponding move: Designated INF Richie Martin for assignment

Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees

  • Recalled SS Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
  • Activated INF Marwin Gonzalez from paternity list
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Tampa Bay Rays

  • Reinstated RHP Matt Wisler from the 15-day injured list
  • Recalled INF Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Toronto Blue Jays

  • Recalled RHP Casey Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo
  • Added OF Bradley Zimmer (claimed off waivers from Phillies this week) to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Colorado Rockies

  • Recalled INF Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Recalled RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Los Angeles Dodgers

  • Reinstated LHP Clayton Kershaw from 15-day injured list
  • Recalled 3B Miguel Vargas from Triple-A Oklahoma City
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Diego Padres

  • Recalled INF Matt Beaty from Triple-A El Paso
  • Recalled RHP Reiss Knehr from Triple-A El Paso
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Francisco Giants

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

  • Selected contract of RHP Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa
  • Recalled INF David Bote from Triple-A Iowa
  • Corresponding move: Transferred Wade Miley from 15-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Cincinnati Reds

Milwaukee Brewers

  • Recalled RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Nashville
  • Recalled OF Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Nashville
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Recalled OF Calvin Mitchell from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

St. Louis Cardinals

  • Selected contract of OF Ben DeLuzio from Triple-A Memphis
  • Recalled RHP James Naile from Triple-A Memphis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League East

Atlanta Braves

  • Reinstated IF Orlando Arcia from 10-day injured list
  • Added recently-claimed RHP Jesse Chavez to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Miami Marlins*

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

  • Selected contract of RHP Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Recalled C Donny Sands from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Washington Nationals

  • Recalled C Tres Barrera from Triple-A Rochester
  • Recalled RHP Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester
  • Corresponding moves: None required

*Marlins moves reported by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link)

Tigers To Select Ryan Kreidler, Recall Spencer Torkelson

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The Tigers are planning to select infield prospect Ryan Kreidler onto the major league roster tomorrow, relays Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). First baseman Spencer Torkelson will also be recalled from Triple-A Toledo, seemingly filling the two vacant active roster spots associated with the September expansion from 26 to 28 players. Detroit technically needs to create a 40-man roster vacancy for Kreidler, but they can do so by transferring Austin Meadows to the 60-day injured list without affecting his eligibility timeline.

Kreidler is one of the better prospects in the Detroit organization. A fourth-round pick from UCLA in 2019, the 6’4″ infielder spent his draft year in short season ball. After the canceled 2020 minor league campaign, he was bumped to Double-A Erie in 2021. Kreidler performed well over 88 games there before mashing following a late-season bump to Triple-A Toledo. He entered 2022 among the top 11 farmhands in the system according to each of Baseball America, FanGraphs and Keith Law of the Athletic.

After the impressive late-season run in the upper minors, Kreidler looked like a candidate to factor into the MLB mix early this year. He broke his right hand in April, though, an injury that cost him six weeks of action. By the time he was healthy again in early June, the Tigers had fallen well out of the potential playoff mix, and they elected to give Kreidler a longer run in Toledo. He’s played in 55 games there this year, hitting .218/.359/.421 with a robust 14.7% walk rate but a worrisome 29% strikeout percentage.

During their midseason re-rank of the Detroit system, BA slotted Kreidler eighth. The outlet raises concerns about his propensity for whiffs but praises his defense all around the infield and solid power upside. The 24-year-old has played primarily shortstop in the minors, although he seems likelier to factor in at second or third base down the stretch with Javier Báez entrenched at short. Jeimer Candelario has underwhelmed at the hot corner all season, while the Tigers have turned to utilityman Willi Castro at the keystone with Jonathan Schoop on the injured list.

Kreidler would’ve needed to occupy a 40-man roster spot this offseason if the Tigers didn’t want to make him available in the Rule 5 draft. They’ll take advantage of the expanded active rosters to get a look at him a few weeks earlier than necessary. With the club’s attention squarely turned to 2023 at this point, there’s an opportunity for Kreidler to try to get off on a strong foot as he looks to carve out a spot next season.

Torkelson is already on the 40-man roster, of course. He broke camp as the team’s primary first baseman. The former first overall pick and consensus top prospect had hit very well in the minor leagues, and the club justifiably felt he could carry that over against MLB pitching. That hasn’t happened yet, as Torkelson owns a .197/.282/.295 line with only five home runs through 298 plate appearances.

After three months of struggles, the Tigers optioned the 23-year-old back to Toledo in mid-July. He’s hit .228/.347/.394 with five longballs in 34 games since then. That’s obviously far better than his first crack against major league arms, but it’s still well shy of the .238/.350/.531 mark he posted there late last season — particularly from a power perspective.

Torkelson is still a key piece of the future in Detroit, even if his initial MLB look was underwhelming. Manager A.J. Hinch seems likely to pencil him back in as the everyday first baseman for the final five weeks, with Torkelson trying to establish himself as the favorite for that job coming out of camp next year. He spent enough time on his optional stint that he won’t accrue a full year of MLB service this season, so Torkelson will be under club control through at least 2028.

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