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

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.