2 Tigers players who could see a larger role in 2025, and 1 who should not

The Tigers' 2025 roster looks more or less set, pending some key decisions about the future of first and third base (and hopefully shortstop). Detroit has put together a solid foundation, and 2025 will be about developing it.

While so much of the roster is now made up of very young players, many of whom were called up during the summer and who could be on the roster for years to come, there are a couple who should definitely entrusted with more responsibility and one who maybe shouldn't.

2 Tigers players who could see a larger role in 2025

Brant Hurter

Hurter, the Tigers' No. 14 prospect this season, was called up just a few days after the trade deadline, after they'd dealt Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers and left the rotation with just two healthy starters. AJ Hinch's pitching chaos strategy hadn't fully become clear yet, so it raised a few eyebrows when a top prospect who made 18 starts in Triple-A this year was thrown into the bullpen.

However, Hurter made the best of it. He pitched an impressive three innings in his debut, giving up just two hits and striking out three. He wavered a bit through August, but on Sept. 13 he pitched 5 2/3 no-hit innings against the Orioles — and that was as a bulk reliever.

His scoreless five innings in the postseason against both the Astros and Guardians also made his argument to at least be a high-leverage piece of the bullpen in 2025 quite clear.

Trey Sweeney

Sweeney has at least earned himself a bench spot with the Tigers next year, but fans would certainly like to see a lot more of him. The only thing in his way is a $73 million road block known as Javy Báez, who Scott Harris has said will have a place on the roster next season. He could've just been saying what he was expected to say, but we'll take him at his word until the Tigers actually do anything to the contrary.

After being called up on Aug. 16 alongside Jace Jung, Sweeney only managed to hit .218 with a .642 OPS, and he was even more ineffective in the postseason. However, he graded well at shortstop and, refreshingly, didn't swing at sliders a foot out of the zone.

The Tigers should definitely give Sweeney more of a chance and a longer runway to get comfortable in the majors, but they'll have to make a definitive call on Báez's future first.

1 Tigers player who should not see a larger role in 2025

Dillon Dingler

Dingler was one of the first top prospects to be called up after the trade deadline, right after the Tigers dealt Carson Kelly to the Rangers. He'd hit .308 with a .938 OPS with the Mud Hens, so the promotion just made sense. He started off nicely in the majors, picking up his first big league double and RBI to keep the Tigers from being shut out by the Guardians on July 29, but dipped through August and September until he was hitting just .167 over 27 games.

It's also hard to form a battery alongside Jake Rogers, an elite defensive catcher, but Dingler didn't impress much behind the plate either.

There's no reason the Tigers should give up on him outright, but signing a backup catcher on a one-year deal and sending Dingler back to the minors to start the 2025 season wouldn't necessarily be a bad strategy.