Detroit Tigers: As it stands, Ryan Carpenter should be front runner for fifth rotation spot

Detroit Tigers pitcher Ryan Carpenter, signed earlier this month, should be the front runner for the fifth spot in the team’s starting rotation come Spring Training.

Detroit Tigers executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager Al Avila dipped into the free agent pool earlier this month, adding pitcher Ryan Carpenter on a one-year deal.

The Tigers announced the deal in a tweet on November 20.

Detroit tweeted the following after announcing the prospects added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft:

"“Additionally, we agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Ryan Carpenter on a one-year contract. The 40-man roster is now at 39.”"

Carpenter was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh round of the 2011 draft.

After three seasons in Tampa Bay’s minor league system, the southpaw pitched for the Colorado Rockies’ Advanced-A affiliate in 2014.

He also made stops with the organization’s Double-A and Triple-A squads in 205 and 2016.

The 27-year-old once again pitched at Triple-A last season, striking out 9.29 batters per nine innings against just 2.25 walks and 1.10 home runs allowed per nine frames in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

What’s more, Carpenter also turned in a career-best 43.5% ground ball percentage and a 74.4% strand rate that was his best over the course of a full season.