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2020 Rule 5 Draft Update

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An abnormal number of picks from the 2020 Rule 5 Draft survived Spring Training and made the Opening Day rosters with their new clubs. The Orioles and Marlins both broke camp with a pair of Rule 5 picks on the active roster, while the Pirates opened the season with one Rule 5 pick on the roster and one on the injured list. Most clubs that are carrying a Rule 5 pick, unsurprisingly, have little in the way of postseason aspirations. There are a few October hopefuls among those still clinging to Rule 5 picks, however, and it’ll take some uncharacteristically strong Rule 5 showings for those players to survive the season.

We’ll take a look at how the surviving Rule 5 draftees are faring periodically throughout the year. Here’s the first glance…

Currently in the Majors

  • Brett de Geus, RHP, Rangers (via Dodgers): Injuries throughout the Rangers’ bullpen might have helped the 23-year-old de Geus crack the Opening Day roster in Texas. He’s out to a shaky start, having walked three batters and hit another three against just two strikeouts through his first 5 2/3 innings. On the plus side, 13 of the 15 balls put into play against him have been grounders.
  • Akil Baddoo, OF, Tigers (via Twins): Baddoo is one of the best stories (maybe the best) of the young 2021 season. The 22-year-old homered on his first swing in the big leagues as his family rejoiced in the stands, and in less than two weeks’ time he’s added a grand slam, a walk-off single (against his former organization) a 450-foot dinger off Zack Greinke and a fourth homer. Baddoo has a ludicrous 1.342 OPS through his first 29 plate appearances in the Majors, and while he obviously won’t sustain that, he’s forcing a legitimate audition in the Detroit outfield. Baddoo missed nearly all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and didn’t play in 2020. Despite that layoff and the fact that he’d never played above A-ball, the Tigers called his name in December. It may have seemed like a stretch at the time, but it doesn’t look that way now.
  • Garrett Whitlock, RHP, Red Sox (via Yankees): The Sox would surely love for Whitlock to stick, having plucked him from their archrivals in New York. So far, so good. Better than good, in fact. Through 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Whitlock has yielded three hits and punched out nine batters without issuing a walk. He’s sitting 95.6 mph with his heater and has posted a hefty 16.9 percent swinging-strike rate. Whitlock also had Tommy John surgery in 2019, so even though he’s previously been a starter, it makes sense to monitor his workload ease him into the mix as the Sox hope to get through the year with him in the ’pen.
  • Tyler Wells, RHP, Orioles (via Twins): Wells has allowed a pair of homers and surrendered three total runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 frames. The O’s aren’t trying to win in 2021, but their bullpen also has four arms that can’t be optioned (Cesar Valdez, Shawn Armstrong, Adam Plutko, Wade LeBlanc). Keeping both Wells and Mac Sceroler (currently on the IL) brings them  to six and will hamper their flexibility.
  • Zach Pop and Paul Campbell, RHPs, Marlins (via Orioles and Rays): Pop was technically the D-backs’ pick in the Rule 5, but Arizona immediately flipped him to the Marlins for a PTBNL. The 24-year-old didn’t allow an earned run in five spring frames but as I was finishing this post, he served up a three-run homer, bringing his season line to seven runs on three hits, three walks and two hit batters in 3 1/3 innings. Campbell has struggled to a similar extent. He’s surrendered five runs (three earned) and given up four hits and three walks in just 2 2/3 innings. With the Marlins out of tank mode, it’ll be tough to carry both all year.
  • Jordan Sheffield, RHP, Rockies (via Dodgers): Sheffield was the No. 36 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, but control issues prevented him from being protected on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gives Sheffield three plus pitches in his scouting report (fastball, curveball, changeup) but also pegs his command at a 30 on the 20-80 scale. Sheffield has walked or plunked 15 percent of the hitters he faced in the minors. He’s yet to walk anyone 13 batters he’s faced with the Rockies, but he did hit one and has also tossed a pair of wild pitches. That said, he’s also sitting 95.5 mph with his heater and is unscored upon in 3 2/3 frames.
  • Luis Oviedo, RHP, Pirates (via Indians): Oviedo was the Mets’ pick at No. 10, but they had a deal worked out to flip him to the Pirates in exchange for cash. Oviedo has been hammered for six runs on six hits (two homers) and two walks with five strikeouts through 4 2/3 innings so far. Even pitching for a tanking club, Oviedo will need to show some improvement in order to stick on the roster all season.
  • Will Vest, RHP, Mariners (via Tigers): The Mariners kept last year’s Rule 5 pick Yohan Ramirez for the whole season, but it’ll be tougher to do with a full schedule in 2021. The Mariners’ young core is also beginning to rise to the big leagues, and Vest will need to fend off some intriguing young arms. He’s done a decent job so far, allowing a pair of runs (one unearned) on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.
  • Trevor Stephan, RHP, Indians (via Yankees): Stephan whiffed 16 of 44 hitters this spring to earn a spot on the Indians’ Opening Day roster, but he’s allowed four runs in his first four MLB frames. The 25-year-old has surrendered five hits (including a homer), walked a pair and hit a batter so far while facing a total of 21 hitters.
  • Ka’ai Tom, OF, Athletics (via Indians): Tom, 26, raked at a .310/.412/.552 pace with a homer, two doubles and a triple in 34 spring plate appearances. After that strong audition, however, he’s just 1-for-16 with six strikeouts through his first 16 trips to the plate with the A’s.

On the Major League injured list

  • Jose Soriano, RHP, Pirates (via Angels): It wasn’t a surprise to see Soriano open the year on the injured list. He’s still recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in Feb. 2020 and didn’t pitch in a game with the Pirates this spring. He’ll be sidelined for at least the first two months, as the Bucs put him on the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot when they signed Tyler Anderson. Soriano hasn’t pitched above A-ball, but the Pirates aren’t exactly a win-now club, so they can afford to stash him as a seldom-used bullpen piece in order to secure his rights beyond the 2021 season.
  • Mac Sceroler, RHP, Orioles (via Reds): Sceroler fanned six hitters in 3 2/3 innings early in the season but also yielded three runs on five hits (two homers), three walks and a hit batter. The Orioles recently placed him on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right shoulder, although it’s not expected to be too lengthy an absence.
  • Dedniel Nunez, RHP, Giants (via Mets): Nunez was hit hard in the Cactus League, surrendering four runs in 3 1/3 innings. He’ll now miss the entire 2021 season after sustaining a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery this spring. Nunez will spend the season on San Francisco’s 60-day injured list and receive a year of MLB service, but he’ll still be subject to Rule 5 restrictions in 2022 once he’s healthy. He’ll need to spend at least 90 days on the MLB roster before he can be sent to the minors; if he doesn’t last that long, he’ll have to pass through waivers and, if he clears, be offered back to the Mets.

Returned to their original club

  • Jose Alberto Rivera, RHP, Angels (via Astros): The Angels didn’t take much of a look at Rivera, returning him to Houston on March 24 after just one inning of official work in Cactus League play.
  • Kyle Holder, SS, Reds (via Yankees): The Reds weren’t sure who their shortstop was going to be heading into Spring Training, but they ultimately settled on moving Eugenio Suarez back to that spot, sliding Mike Moustakas back to third base and giving prospect Jonathan India the nod at second base. A strong spring from Holder might have at least given him a bench spot behind that trio, but he hit just .219/.359/.250 in 39 plate appearances. The Reds returned him to the Yankees on March 30.
  • Gray Fenter, RHP, Cubs (via Orioles): The Cubs returned Fenter to the Orioles on March 12 after just one spring appearance. He hasn’t pitched above A-ball yet.
  • Dany Jimenez, RHP, Athletics (via Blue Jays): The 27-year-old Jimenez was a Rule 5 pick in consecutive offseasons — once by each Bay Area club. The A’s returned him to the Jays on March 15, however, after he yielded four runs (two earned) in three innings of work this spring.

Quick Hits: Rodon, Bellinger, Graterol, Mazara, Stripling

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Carlos Rodon was perfect through 8 1/3 innings tonight against the Indians. A backfoot slider skipped off the top of Roberto Perez’s right foot, ending his bid for a perfect game. Rodon managed to complete the no hitter, however, with a masterful 114-pitch complete game shutout. Coming into this season, the former third overall pick was in a battle for the fifth starter job in the White Sox rotation. But tonight, the burly southpaw routinely hit 97 mph on the radar gun (hitting as high as 99 mph in the ninth inning). Certainly, Rodon wasn’t all that high up on the list of pitchers likeliest to throw what would have been the first perfect game in the Majors since 2012: He hasn’t posted an ERA under five since 2018, and he was designated for assignment this winter. Yet, tonight’s start marked the culmination of an arduous journey through numerous injuries and multiple arm surgeries. Congrats to Rodon on throwing the 20th no-hitter in White Sox franchise history. Now, let’s check in on some players still making their way back from injury…

  • Cody Bellinger and Brusdar Graterol will both join the Dodgers on their forthcoming road trip, but neither is a guarantee to be activated. Belligner is still experiencing some swelling in his calf, and he’s yet to run the bases as full speed, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com (via Twitter). Bellinger has been out since April 5th. As for Graterol, he’ll be added to the taxi squad, per Jorge Castillo of the LA Times (via Twitter). It’s not entirely clear why Graterol wasn’t ready to start the season, but it’s only a matter of time until he becomes available out of the bullpen for manager Dave Roberts.
  • Nomar Mazara left Wednesday night’s game with a left abdominal strain, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. There’s no timetable for his return. In the meantime, JaCoby Jones and Victor Reyes should have more opportunities in the starting lineup. Both outfielders have seen their playing time cut both by the offseason acquisition of Robbie Grossman and the early-season breakout from Akil Baddoo. Both Reyes (30 wRC+) and Jones (-10 wRC+) are off to slow starts through their first week of games.
  • Ross Stripling is dealing with forearm tightness, but the Blue Jays don’t have any information beyond that, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). The former Dodger has been tagged for seven earned runs on 13 hits and three walks over 8 1/3 innings so far.

AL Injury Notes: Anderson, Rays, Cabrera, Schmidt

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The latest injury updates from the American League…

  • The White Sox expect to activate shortstop Tim Anderson from the injured list when he’s first eligible Thursday, manager Tony La Russa told Scott Merkin of MLB.com and other reporters. The former batting champion has been down since April 5 with a strained left hamstring, and the White Sox have turned to a combination of Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick in Anderson’s absence. Garcia has gotten off to a terrible start this year, while Mendick has been great over an admittedly tiny sample size of 12 plate appearances.
  • The Rays placed right-hander Chris Archer on the IL on Saturday with forearm tightness, but they’re optimistic he won’t miss too much time, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays. While Archer won’t throw during the next few days, the hope is that he’ll return to the mound by the end of next week. Archer, with whom the Rays reunited on a $6.5MM guarantee in free agency, has been limited to two appearances and 4 1/3 innings in the early going.
  • More on the Rays from Topkin, who writes that center fielder Kevin Kiermaier ran “at about 70 percent” Monday and could return to their lineup within a week. Kiermaier went on the IL on April 6 with a left quad strain, and the Rays have since used a combination of Manuel Margot and Brett Phillips in center.
  • The left biceps strain that sent Tigers designated hitter/first baseman Miguel Cabrera to the iL over the weekend is mild, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. The Tigers are hopeful that Cabrera will miss “the shortest amount possible.” Cabrera came out of the gates slowly before the injury, as the future Hall of Famer has hit .125/.222/.292 in 27 plate appearances this season.
  • Yankees righty Clarke Schmidt, who is dealing with an elbow strain, received a cortisone injection Monday, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. He could go back to throwing either this week or next if all goes according to plan. Schmidt was only supposed to sit out four weeks when he went on the shelf in February, but his injury hasn’t healed as quickly as expected.

Tigers Place Miguel Cabrera On 10-Day IL, Select Renato Nunez’s Contract

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The Tigers have put veteran slugger Miguel Cabrera on the 10-day injured list due to a left biceps strain, the team announced.  Renato Nunez’s contract has been selected to take Cabrera’s spot on the active roster, and right-hander Julio Teheran was moved to the 60-day IL to open up room for Nunez on the 40-man roster.

As noted by MLB.com’s Jason Beck and a Twitter follower, the injury looks to have occurred during Cabrera’s plate appearance in the seventh inning of yesterday’s 11-3 Tigers loss to the Indians.  Cabrera remained in the game as a first baseman and was replaced for a pinch-hitter during his next at-bat, a substitution that seemed more like a nod to the blowout score than an indication Cabrera was hurt.

This isn’t the first time Cabrera has dealt with a left biceps injury, as a ruptured tendon back in June 2018 prematurely ended his 2018 campaign after just 38 games.  There isn’t yet any indication that this current problem is anywhere near as serious, however, and there isn’t yet any timeline on when Cabrera could be back in action.

Cabrera (who turns 38 in a week) has gotten off to a tough start, with only a .514 OPS through his first 27 plate appearances of 2021.  After working exclusively as a DH in 2020, Cabrera has more or less split his starts between first base and designated hitter this season.  Any time missed will delay Cabrera’s quest for two statistical milestones — he currently stands 131 hits shy of the 3000-hit club, and 12 home runs shy of the 500-homer club.  Cabrera’s ticket to Cooperstown is already all but punched, of course, though he would be only the seventh player in baseball history to reach both the 3000-hit and 500-homer plateaus, joining Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Albert Pujols, Eddie Murray, Alex Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro.

Nunez signed a minor league deal with Detroit back in February, and though he didn’t make the team out of Spring Training, Nunez chose to forego his opt-out clause and remain with the Tigers despite some minor league offers from other clubs.  He now might step into regular (and perhaps even everyday) work as the Tigers’ new first baseman with Cabrera on the shelf, though Nunez will also see some action at DH and perhaps at third base if Jeimer Candelario is shifted across the diamond to get some time at first base.

The Orioles released Nunez prior to the non-tender deadline rather than pay the 27-year-old a salary projected to fall somewhere between $2.1MM and $3.9MM.  Nunez has been a generally above-average hitter (105 wRC+, 106 OPS+) over the last three seasons, hitting .250/.316/.457 with 51 home runs over 1076 PA with the Rangers and Orioles.  Without much to offer in the way of OBP or fielding acumen at third base, however, Nunez was deemed expendable by the cost-cutting O’s.

Teheran was only placed on the 10-day IL yesterday with a right shoulder strain, and manager A.J. Hinch said that the veteran hurler would miss a significant amount of time while recovering, so the 60-day IL assignment isn’t any surprise.  Teheran signed a minor league deal with Detroit over the winter and locked in a guaranteed $3MM salary when he made the team.  Teheran suffered his shoulder problem just minutes before he was scheduled for his second start in a Tigers uniform.

Tigers Place Julio Teheran On 10-Day Injured List With Shoulder Strain

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3:12PM: Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said that Fulmer would indeed be taking Teheran’s rotation spot, and that it seems like Teheran will miss significant time on the injured list.  (MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery was among those to report the news.)

11:51AM: The Tigers announced that righty Julio Teheran has been placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to April 7) with a right shoulder strain.  Right-hander Alex Lange has been called up from the team’s taxi squad and is set to make his first Major League appearance.

Teheran was scheduled to start last night’s game against the Indians but developed tightness in his right triceps while warming up in the bullpen during the top of the first inning, leading to a very late scratch.  With Teheran’s injury now defined as a shoulder strain, it isn’t a good sign for a pitcher who has been very durable over his 11 Major League seasons.

After a rough 2020 with the Angels, Teheran signed a minor league deal with Detroit that became guaranteed (at a $3MM salary) once the Tigers added the veteran right-hander to their Opening Day roster.  His first start on April 3 was a successful one, as Teheran tossed five innings of one-run ball and picked up the win in the Tigers’ 5-2 victory over Cleveland.

Michael Fulmer now seems like the logical candidate to take Teheran’s spot in the rotation.  The 2016 AL Rookie Of The Year began the season as something of a swingman reliever as Fulmer continues to try and rebuild his career after multiple arm injuries.  Tommy John surgery shelved Fulmer for all of 2019, and he posted an 8.78 ERA over 27 2/3 innings in 2020.

Lange has spent much of his minor league career as a starter, but the Tigers have deployed him as a reliever since acquiring him from the Cubs as part of the Nick Castellanos trade in July 2019.  Lange was selected 30th overall by the Cubs in the 2017 draft, and the 25-year-old righty has a 4.54 ERA over 232 minor league innings.  He’ll be making the jump to the big leagues without any Triple-A experience, though Lange did pitch at Detroit’s alternate training site last season in lieu of any minor league ball.  MLB Pipeline ranks Lange 29th in their list of the Tigers’ top-30 prospects, with a couple of plus pitches — a 60-grade curveball, and a 55-grade fastball that hit the 97mph plateau this year at Spring Training.

Health Notes: S. Gray, K. Calhoun, Jays, Tigers, Astros

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Reds right-hander Sonny Gray doesn’t appear far from making his 2021 debut. Gray will throw a simulated game Saturday, and if that goes well, he’ll start for the Reds next week, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. Gray has been behind schedule for about a month because of a back injury, thus robbing the Reds of one of their top starters. The 31-year-old has thrived with the Reds since they acquired him from the Yankees before 2019, having recorded a 3.07 ERA with a 29.4 percent strikeout rate and a groundball percentage of 50.9 over 231 1/3 innings.

  • The Diamondbacks activated outfielder Kole Calhoun from the 10-day injured list before their game against Cincinnati on Friday. Calhoun had been on the shelf for over a month after undergoing surgery on a torn right meniscus. He was a vital part of the Diamondbacks’ offense last season, when he batted .226/.338/.526 with 16 home runs in 228 trips to the plate.
  • Angels outfielder Dexter Fowler departed their game Friday with a left knee contusion, per the team. Fowler left on a cart after stepping awkwardly on second base, though manager Joe Maddon indicated afterward that he dodged a serious injury. Fowler has been the Angels’ primary choice in right field this year, and if he does need to sit out for an extended period of time, they have Jared Walsh, Juan Lagares and Jose Rojas on hand as potential subs on their MLB roster.
  • The Blue Jays sent Tyler Chatwood to the 10-day IL on Friday with right triceps inflammation, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Chatwood,  a former Angel, Rockie and Cub whom the Blue Jays signed to a $3MM guarantee in the offseason, has thrown 2 2/3 scoreless innings this year with three strikeouts.
  • The Tigers scratched righty Julio Teheran from his start Friday because of tightness in his triceps. The team replaced Teheran with lefty Derek Holland, who surrendered three earned runs in 2 2/3 frames in a loss to Cleveland. It’s unclear whether Teheran will miss any more time. The Tigers signed Teheran to a non-guaranteed deal in the wake of a terrible 2020 with the Angels, and after earning a roster spot with Detroit during the spring, he debuted with a five-inning, one-run performance in a win over Cleveland last Saturday.
  • The Astros placed righty reliever Enoli Paredes on the 10-day IL and recalled fellow righty Nivaldo Rodriguez, the team announced. Paredes’ placement on the IL was expected after he left his appearance Thursday with discomfort in his side.

COVID Notes: 4/9/21

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The latest COVID-related notes from the majors:

  • The Blue Jays placed outfielder Teoscar Hernandez on the COVID-19 injured list after “someone close to him tested positive,” Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star tweets. The team also placed left-hander Ryan Borucki on the COVID IL because he is dealing with side effects from the vaccine. [UPDATE: Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. exited Friday’s game with vaccine-related symptoms, the team announced.]
  • Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela landed on the COVID IL on Friday because of side effects from the vaccine, according to a club announcement. The hope is that Urshela will return Saturday, manager Aaron Boone said (via Marly Rivera of ESPN). In the meantime, the Yankees recalled first baseman Mike Ford to take Urshela’s roster spot.
  • In better news, Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull has returned to the team’s alternate site and could throw a simulated game this weekend, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports. The Tigers have been without Turnbull since March 20 because of health and safety protocols. Turnbull piled up 56 2/3 innings for the Tigers last year and notched a 3.97 ERA with a 50 percent groundball rate.

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COVID Notes: 4/8/21

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Some good news on the COVID front today…

  •  Tigers’ pitching coach Chris Fetter was cleared to rejoin the team, per the Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen (via Twitter). Fetter tested positive for coronavirus at the end of March, and he’s been away from the team since. He will re-join the club for their upcoming series in Cleveland.
  • Spencer Turnbull is throwing and will soon move to the Tigers’ alternate site, tweets Stavenhagen. When he does return, the Tigers could consider moving to a six-man rotation. Turnbull developed a bit of a niche following this offseason as a guy with some breakout potential, but that was obviously tempered somewhat when news broke of his positive test on March 20th. The Tigers will be glad to welcome him back to the rotation.

Offseason In Review: Detroit Tigers

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It was another offseason of short-term veteran additions for the Detroit Tigers.

Major League Signings

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

None

Notable Losses

On January 18, 2016, the Tigers inked Justin Upton to a six-year, $132.75MM free agent contract. The first overall pick of the 2005 draft was a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He was MLBTR’s fourth-ranked free agent of the 2015-16 free agent class. Entering his age-28 season, he was coming off a 4.2 bWAR campaign in his only year with the Padres. In short, he was a get.

Upton wouldn’t stay long, however. He was gone by mid-2017, traded to the Angels, who re-worked his contract to avoid an opt-out clause Upton could have triggered after 2017. Had he stayed in Detroit to complete that deal, Upton would be entering the final year of that contract this season.

Somewhat amazingly, Tigers GM Al Avila – who took over the August before the Upton offseason – had not signed a single free agent to a multi-year deal since Upton. The nearly-five-year drought ended this offseason. Come on down, Robbie Grossman. The former A’s left fielder signed a whopping two-year, $10MM deal to achieve this important landmark in the Tigers’ rebuild. Make no mistake, it is an important landmark.

Detroit has yet to really pull themselves from the rebuild that started back in 2017. Signing Grossman isn’t exactly analogous to the intent-to-contend contacts we’ve seen in the past for Jayson Werth, Jason Heyward, or even George Springer this winter, but the Grossman deal does represent an important signal that the Tigers believe the time is coming when they will be ready to contend again.

The time is right, considering the arrival of much-touted pitching prospects like Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and soon, Matt Manning. For now, however, those youngsters haven’t shown to be impact contributors in the Majors. Their careers are just beginning, however.

As for Grossman , he’s flown under the radar as a productive hitter over the past five seasons. He was particularly good over 192 plate appearances last year for the A’s. He slashed .241/.344/.482, good for a 127 wRC+. He does just enough in almost every facet of the game, including with the glove. He walks at an above-average rate, avoids strikeouts at an above-average rate, he runs better than most, and he fields his position well enough. He doesn’t hit for a ton of power, and he’s not really elite at any one thing.

For the Tigers, the Grossman deal – as well as the rest of their offense – wasn’t so much about capturing upside, however. The ceiling on their roster rises or falls with the fortunes of their young players: Mize, Skubal, Willi Castro, Akil Baddoo, Gregory Soto, Bryan Garcia, and eventually, Manning, Isaac Paredes, Spencer Torkelson, Daz Cameron, Riley Greene, and others. Grossman represents a desire to raise the floor for this team and prevent the sort of disastrous season that might slow their organizational momentum.

So, too, does the return of Jonathan Schoop on a one-year, $4.5MM deal. Schoop hit .278/.324/.475 in 177 plate appearances last season, a solid 114 wRC+. He’s better defensively than you might think, given his power profile at the plate. He was worth 4 outs above average in 2020, trailing only Adam Frazier and Nicky Lopez among second baseman. He also added the ability to play first and third during spring training.

Wilson Ramos has long been thought of as a bat-first catcher, but the Tigers feel good enough about his ability to usher this young staff into the Majors to sign him to an affordable one-year deal. Jake Rogers hopes to claim the position in the long-term, but they can take their time with the 26-year-old with the veteran Ramos on hand.

Similarly, Jose Ureña and Julio Teheran hope to keep the Tigers’ young arms from overwork. Teheran somewhat surprisingly won his rotation spot while on a minor league deal this spring. He showed some promise, if not to return to the guy he was in Atlanta, at least to post better numbers than in 2020. He was an unmitigated disaster for the Angels with a 10.50 ERA/6.19 SIERA over 31 1/3 innings. Over nine starts, he made it as deep as five innings exactly two times, particularly struggling to keep the ball in the yard. He served up 12 home runs while only striking out 20 hitters.

Ureña made five starts in 2020 with a 5.40 ERA, but he was made largely expendable by a strong stable of young rotation candidates in Miami. How long he stays in Detroit’s rotation will be dependent on a number of factors, including how he fares early in the season.

Derek Holland came out of spring training with real positivity about his re-captured velocity and ability to be a difference-maker for the Tigers out of the pen. Truth be told, he’s a low-cost gamble for the Tigers, who will need a plethora of bullpen arms to survive the 162-game season and protect their young arms. Holland may have some worldly wisdom to impart, himself having once been a promising rotation arm on a World Series team. He flashed some of that promise as a member of the Giants’ rotation in 2018, but it’s been a rough couple of seasons since then.

The same can be said for Nomar Mazara, who overlapped with Holland in Texas during the 2016 season. There was legitimate hope that a change of scenery might have prompted a breakout with the White Sox in 2020, but a complete lack of power tanked those expectations. He hit just .228/.295/.294 across 149 plate appearances with a meager .066 ISO. There’s little reason to expect Mazara’s power to have completely evaporated, so the Tigers will give him another chance to “come into his own” as their everyday right fielder. If nothing else, he doesn’t even turn 26 until late April, so a breakout isn’t inconceivable. The track record is hard to ignore, however. If he’s able to muster a wRC+ north of 100, it will be the first time in his career he’s able to do so.

Baddoo rounds out their offseason additions. Taken in the Rule 5 draft from the Twins, the speedy outfielder had a mere 29 games in High-A to his name before this season. He has shown a good approach and a bit of pop in the little minor league action he saw with Minnesota, but he should have an opportunity to play in Detroit.

It would seem unlikely that the 22-year-old would stick on the roster the whole season, but then he launched a home run on the first Major League pitch he saw. He hit a grand slam the next day and a walk-off single the day after that. Suddenly, there’s a bit of excitement around the Silver Spring native. Through four games, he rocks a comical .455/.455/1.182 triple slash line. One of these days, Baddoo will play a Major League game and fail to register a hit, but it hasn’t happened yet. The hype train has left the station and room is running out on the bandwagon.

None of these moves are meant to move in the needle like, say, Upton back in the day. But with this grab bag of veterans, the Tigers hope to foster a more competitive atmosphere, a structural foundation to allow the kids the space to grow at their own speed. This team is not likely to compete this season, they’re more-or-less the unanimous pick to finish last in the AL Central, but it’s arguable that even a month or two of competitive play could prove beneficial to the youth on the roster. Best case, young players like Mize and Skubal take off, and the rest of the roster is capable enough to give some legs to the Tigers as a first half surprise team. Alternatively, any of these veterans might be flipped at the deadline, and none weigh heavy on the long-term ledger  – not even Grossman.

How would you grade the Tigers’ offseason? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors iOS/Android app users)

 

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/6/21

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Tuesday’s minor moves:

  • The Tigers outrighted Christin Stewart to their alternate site after he cleared waivers, per a team announcement. The club designated the 27-year-old outfielder for assignment last week. Stewart appeared in the majors in each of the previous three seasons, during which he combined for a .225/.300/.376 line with 15 home runs in 587 plate appearances.
  • The Royals designated catcher Meibrys Viloria and righty Scott Blewett last week, but it appears both players will stay in the organization. They announced that Viloria will head to Double-A, while Blewett will go to their alternate site. The 24-year-old Viloria batted .215/.266/.287 with one homer in 201 trips to the plate with the Royals from 2019-20. Blewett, also 24, was a second-round pick of the Royals in 2014 who made a two-appearance, three-inning major league debut a season ago. He put up a disastrous 8.52 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 46 walks in 81 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2019.
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