Detroit Tigers: Competition brewing for utility infielder role

Pete Kozma

Pete Kozma will enter his 11th professional season in 2018. If he wins a spot on the 25-man roster out of camp, it will be his seventh big league season.

Kozma was originially drafted by the Cardinals in 2007. He puttered around in the minors until getting brief cups of coffee with the big club in 2011 and 2012.

He finally got a chance to be a big league regular in 2013, when he started 113 games for the Cardinals at shortstop.

Kozma did not impress with the bat, hitting .217/.275/.273 with one home run and three stolen bases. He played sparingly the next two seasons before splitting 2017 between the Rangers and the Yankees.

For the year, Kozma hit .111 in 45 at-bats, with one home run off Detroit starter Matt Boyd.

Despite his shortcomings with the stick, Kozma has experience all around the diamond and is  considered a good defensive shortstop, something the Tigers are lacking behind Jose Iglesias. His experience at shortstop gives him a tremendous leg up on the rest of his competition.

Additionally, forcing a rookie right into a utility role can stunt their development. It makes more sense for the Tigers to have an established utility infielder on their roster, even if he has very little upside. Having a veteran presence is always good on a team full of young, inexperienced players as well.

Those factors appear to give Kozma the upper hand on the job, but that does not mean it will be handed to him. There are three minor leaguers who could challenge him for the role.

The first is a 25-year-old former Indians farmhand who posted a 15-15 season at Triple-A last year.

Ronny Rodriguez

The 25-year-old Rodriguez spent seven seasons in Cleveland’s farm system before he was signed by the Tigers as a minor league free agent back in December.

He has posted double-digit home runs in five seasons, and double-digit steals in three.

His performance stayed consistent even as he rose through Cleveland’s ranks. In fact, Rodriguez had one of his strongest seasons at Triple-A in 2017. He posted 17 home runs, 15 stolen bases and a .291 average. His 114 wRC+ is the second highest mark of his career.

Rodriguez certainly fits the bill of utility infielder. He has extensive experience at first, second, third and shortstop in the minor leauges. Additionally, he has played both center field and right field in the last two years.

Rodriguez’s blend of power and speed is intriguing, but there are certainly concerns about his bat at the major league level.

For starters, Rodriguez has never had much of an eye at the plate. He posted a 4.8% walk-rate last year, which was the second highest mark of his career. That keeps his OBP down in the low .300’s. He will struggle to post an OBP over .280 in the major leagues if he does not learn how to draw a walk.

Defensively, while Rodriguez has versatility around the diamond, his defense is not elite by any means. Rodriguez originally came up as a shortstop but made 82 errors in three seasons before being moved around. He has fared much better at second base and the corners, but asking him to play shortstop at the big league level is a tall order.

Overall, Rodriguez profiles like your typical utility infielder with one exception, his power. With Dixon Machado in the fold, it is possible Rodriguez could make the team out of camp and fill-in around the diamond, with Machado starting at short when Iglesias needs a break.

Next is the only other player besides Kozma who has major league experience.

Niko Goodrum

After eight seasons in the minor leagues, Niko Goodrum finally got his first taste of the big leagues last season. He went 1-for-17 with a walk and ten strikeouts.

While that does not inspire a lot of confidence, Goodrum’s chance came on the heels of a solid 2017 season at Triple-A.

Goodrum saw 461 at-bats for the Twins Triple-A affiliate in 2017. He slashed .269/.305/.411 with 13 home runs, 11 stolen bases and 71 runs scored.

Goodrum has posted solid walk and stolen base numbers throughout his minor league career. He, like Rodriguez, would probably be a slightly below average hitter at the big league level.

However, his defensive versatility is what makes him a candidate for Detroit’s utility infielder role.

Goodrum has started at every infield and outfield position during his minor league career. He has primarily played shortstop and third base, with extensive experience at second base as well.

Goodrum is more versatile than anyone else on this list. Combine that with his (brief) major league experience, and you have a legit challenger to Kozma for the 25-man roster.

While Kozma was a former first round pick, Goodrum was taken in the second round by the Twins in 2010, so he also comes with some pedigree.

Look for him to be a part of the Tigers at some point in 2018, even if he does not win the utility infielder role out of camp.

Next up is a dark-horse candidate who had a strong season in the minors last year.

Kody Eaves

We profiled Kody Eaves as one of Detroit’s “under-the-radar” prospects heading into 2018.

In that post, we mentioned that Eaves could break camp with the team if he has a very strong spring. This was before the addition of Kozma. Eaves will have a tough time beating Rodriguez, Goodrum and Kozma for a utility role, but he has the tools to do it.

Eaves was acquired by the Tigers in 2015 from the Angels in exchange for Jefry Marte.

He spent 2016 at Double-A, hitting .222 with 11 home runs and six stolen bases.

2017 was a different story, as he slashed .272/.343/.472 with 13 home runs and nine stolen bases. He also posted a 124 wRC+, the highest mark of his career.

That earned him a call-up to Triple-A Toledo, where Eaves went 7-for-27 (.259) in eight games.

Defensively, Eaves has played third base and second base predominantly in the minors. While he was originally acquired to play second base, he has played nearly twice as much third since coming to Detroit.

With Jeimer Candelario entrenched at third base for the foreseeable future, Eaves’ best chance at making the big leagues is as a utility infielder.

Eaves lacks the versatility that the other candidates possess. He has never played first base or the outfield professionally. Additionally, he has only played three career games at shortstop, and none since 2015.

Still, Eaves has hit double digit home runs four seasons in a row and has topped 20 stolen bases in three seasons. His walk-rate, unlike Rodriguez’s, is sky-high and he has a chance to post league average offensive numbers in the show. That type of offensive production from a utility infielder would be great and would mitigate his defensive limitations.

At the moment, Kozma, Goodrum and Rodriguez are ahead of Eaves on the depth chart. For him to jump both of them and break camp with the Tigers is a long-shot, but it would not be at all surprising to see Eaves in the Old English D at some point during the 2018 season.

Next: Four under-the-radar prospects to keep an eye on

A rebuilding Detroit Tigers team will have a new utility infielder in 2017. After years of Ramon Santiago, followed by Andrew Romine, it may be time to give another youngster a chance. Regardless of whether Kozma or one of the rookies wins the job, you can bet they will fill a valuable role on a rebuilding team in 2018.