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 Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens have nine pitchers on their roster who are not on the Tigers 40-man. Two of them have big league experience, and have a good chance of being recalled to take VerHagen’s place on the 40-man roster.

Victor Alcantara

Alcantara was initially acquired by the Tigers from the Angels in the Cameron Maybin trade. He made six appearances in the Motor City last year, tossing 7.1 innings and giving up seven runs with a 5:4 K:BB ratio. He’s looked solid in Toledo this year, with a 3.24 ERA and a 7:1 K:BB ratio in 8.1 innings. The Tigers have given him a chance before, so it’s possible he’s added to the 40-man to make it easier to call him up.

Louis Coleman

Coleman last pitched in the big leagues in 2016, throwing 48 innings of 4.69 ball for the Dodgers. He has 225.1 big league innings under his belt, with a 3.51 ERA and a 9.2 K/9. The veteran will likely get a chance to pitch in Detroit at some point this season, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him nab a 40-man spot now that one is available. He has a 2.84 ERA at Toledo this year.

Kevin Comer

A long-time Astros farmhand, Comer was signed as a minor league free agent this offseason. He has yet to make his big league debut, but has looked good in a few appearances at Toledo. He is one of the least likely candidates to grab the 40-man spot at the moment, but is good insurance in case more injuries hit the Tigers.

Bryan Garcia

Garcia is currently the 16th ranked prospect in the Tigers farm system, according to MLB Pipeline. The right-hander is currently on the 7-day DL, but has accelerated rapidly through the Tigers system and should be contributing in their bullpen in short order. He posted a stellar 2.13 ERA in 55 innings last season. While it won’t be right away, don’t be surprised to see Garcia in the big leagues in 2018.

A.J. Ladwig

Ladwig is organizational depth, a player whose primary role is to fill out minor league rosters. Drafted in the 11th round by the Tigers, he reached Triple-A Toledo in 2017. He posted a 6.30 ERA in two starts there, but has fared much better in 2018 with a 3-0 record and a 2.16 ERA. Still, don’t expect to see Ladwig in the big leagues barring multiple injuries.

Grayson Long

Long, like Garcia, is on the 7-day DL down in Toledo. He is the 15th ranked prospect in Detroit’s system, and projects to be a solid end of the rotation starting pitcher. With a future in the rotation and a current stint on the DL, Long will not be seeing the 40-man roster for quite a while.

Mark Montgomery

Montgomery, like Ladwig and Comer, is a minor league veteran. He threw in the Yankees farm from 2011-2016, and spent 2017 with the Cardinals Triple-A affiliate. He had a great year, going 5-1 with a 2.43 ERA. He’s off to a strong start with Toledo, with a 3.60 ERA and eight strikeouts in just five innings of work. He has a career 11.5 K/9 in 357.1 minor league innings, so there is definitely some intrigue here. It’d be surprising to see him get the 40-man spot right now, but he should get a chance in Detroit before too long.

Josh Turley

Another org guy, Turley started the season at Double-A but was promoted to Triple-A recently. He does not have the pedigree or the minor league numbers to warrant consideration for a big league job at this time.

Paul Voelker

We ranked Voelker as one of the many ‘under-the-radar‘ Tigers prospects to keep an eye on. So far in 2018, Voelker has only surrendered one run in five innings of work. He’s only thrown eight career innings at Triple-A however, so don’t expect him in the big leagues until September at the earliest.

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.