Detroit Tigers: Competition brewing for utility infielder role

The Detroit Tigers lost Andrew Romine to free agency. With fellow utility infielder Dixon Machado stepping into a starting role, who will be Detroit’s utility infielder in 2018?

The Detroit Tigers have seen many players from 2017 depart, either via trade or free agency. One under the radar departure was utility infielder Andrew Romine’s, who was claimed by the Mariners shortly after the season ended.

Dixon Machado seemed destined to take over Romine’s role, but the Ian Kinsler trade has thrust him into the starting lineup at second base.

So with no Romine and with Machado starting on a regular basis, the Tigers need a utility infielder for next season.

While utility infielder is not the most pressing need for a rebuilding team, it is an important position on any ballclub.

The Tigers have a couple minor league options ready to battle it out, but just to be safe they went ahead and added veteran infielder Pete Kozma on a minor league deal.

Kozma has the upper hand on the job, but will still have to battle a few others in camp if he wants to play his seventh major league season in Detroit.

Let’s take a look at what Kozma brings to the table, and who he will have to beat out to win the job.

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.

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.