Detroit Tigers: Who fills open 40-man roster spot?

The Detroit Tigers have an open spot on their 40-man roster after designating Drew VerHagen for assignment. Who fills that spot?

The Detroit Tigers made a pair of roster moves on Monday, adding outfielder Mike Gerber to the 25-man roster. To make room, the team designated right-hander Drew VerHagen for assignment.

VerHagen’s last appearance likely did him in, as he walked two of the three batters he faced. He is currently 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA. He’s posted an 11/7 K/BB ratio in 10 innings of work. VerHagen bounced between Triple-A and the Tigers over the last five seasons. He went 3-5 with a 5.04 ERA in 94.2 big league innings in that time, split between being a starter and a reliever.

While these two moves look directly related, it’s really a case of two distinct moves. Getting Gerber is primarily to give the team extra flexibility to pinch-hit in the Pittsburgh series. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him sent back down in short order, possibly to recall a reliever like Johnny Barbato or Chad Bell.

Getting rid of VerHagen was done to eventually replace him with someone else, someone who is not currently on the 40-man roster. Gerber already had a 40-man roster spot, so while he replaces VerHagen on the 25-man roster for now, the 40-man is now at 39 with VerHagen’s designation.

So now the question becomes: who will take VerHagen’s spot on the 40-man? The Tigers have plenty of options, some internal and external. Here’s a look at a few of the more likely scenarios.

The Tigers, like any other team, are always monitoring roster moves around the league. And teams are constantly releasing, waiving or designating players for assignment. The Tigers DFA’d VerHagen on an off-day, which is unusual. It’s possible they saw a player who was available that they were interested in, and wanted to act quick. A few pitchers out there whom the Tigers could be considering:

A.J. Cole

We wrote about why Cole could be a good addition just a few days ago, but here’s a brief recap. Cole was a top-100 prospect before he made his big league debut with the Nationals in 2015. He has not found a ton of success in the big leagues since then, with a 5.32 ERA and a 5.34 FIP. However, Cole has shown flashes of excellence in a bullpen role, and has a high-90’s fastball and an above average curveball. If given an opportunity to develop into a full-time reliever, Cole could regain some of that excellence that made him a top-100 prospect to begin with.

Luke Bard

Luke Bard was selected by the Angels in the Rule 5 Draft from the Twins. After getting rocked for six runs on four home runs in just 1 2/3 innings last Tuesday, he was DFA’d. Because of his status as a Rule 5 selection, any team that acquires him would be subject to the Rule 5 rules, which means he would have to stay on the 25-man roster. This makes Bard a risky acquisition, although he does possess a lot of talent.

Prior to his blow-up on Tuesday, in which he was forced to enter the game in the third inning after superstar Shohei Ohtani exited with a blister, Bard had only surrendered one run with a 9/5 K/BB ratio in 8.1 innings. The Tigers could certainly give Bard a chance.

Josh Ravin

Ravin is the only other pitcher currently in DFA limbo, having been designated less than seven days ago. The former fifth round pick has had very limited success in the big leagues (5.12 ERA in 38.2 innings from 2015-2018) and seems like a downgrade from VerHagen. Hopefully he is not a player the Tigers are considering adding to their 40-man roster, as they have plenty of better options.

The Detroit Tigers have a ton of players in Triple-A who do not have spots on the 40-man. With plenty of relievers already holding down spots, perhaps the Tigers will give VerHagen’s old spot to a hitter. Here are a few options:

Infielders

Edwin Espinal

The Tigers certainly don’t need a 1B/DH at the moment, but it’s hard to ignore what Espinal has been doing. Coming off an excellent performance in the Dominican Winter League last year, Espinal is slashing .326/.408/.395 in Triple-A this season. The Tigers could certainly add him to their 40-man as insurance in case one of Miggy or Martinez gets hurt. More than likely, he will be stashed as depth at Triple-A.

Jace Peterson

The Yankees just designated veteran infielder Jace Peterson for assignment. He is currently the only hitter in DFA limbo. He’s a career .234 hitter with a 79 OPS+. The Tigers already have Pete Kozma and it would be silly to give a guy like Peterson a 40-man spot.

Ronny Rodriguez

Pete Kozma and Kody Eaves are both not on the 40-man roster, but if the Tigers are going to add a utility infielder it would likely be Rodriguez. Rodriguez is only hitting .200 at Triple-A so far, and with Niko Goodrum doing well in Detroit this also seems like an unnecessary move.

Outfielders

The Detroit Tigers have had four left-handed hitting outfielders splitting time in Triple-A. Gerber is the one up in the show for now, but he’s also the only one on the 40-man roster. The other three could compete with Gerber if given a spot on the 40-man roster. They are:

Jim Adduci

The soon to be 33-year-old Adduci had a solid run with the Tigers last season, slashing .241/.323/.398 with six doubles and 10 RBI in 83 at-bats. While he’s not a big league starter by any means, he could certainly fill-in temporarily if the Tigers needed him to.

Jason Krizan

Despite spending over 800 games in the minor leagues, including 163 at Triple-A Toledo, Jason Krizan has yet to make his big league debut. The 28-year-old has hit .266 with seven home runs and 33 doubles in his Triple-A career, where he has primarily played left field. Like Adduci, Krizan would be nothing more than a roster filler.

Christin Stewart

Stewart may be the most likely offensive player to grab a spot on the 40-man. The slugger seems all but guaranteed a chance to play for the Detroit Tigers in 2018, so they may want to give him a roster spot sooner rather than later. Stewart is only hitting .224 with two home runs, but his time will come.

Next: Minor League Report: Week 2

Ultimately, the Detroit Tigers are most likely going to add a reliever from Toledo to their 40-man. Hardy and Coleman probably have the upper hand. However, it would be fun to see them take a flyer on a guy like Cole or Bard. For a rebuilding team, it’s always worth taking a chance.