Four Detroit Tigers Who Could Lose 40-Man Roster Spots Soon

Detroit Tigers 40-man Roster Cut No. 4 – Joe Jiménez

Joe Jiménez is another great story. He went undrafted out of the Puerto Rican Baseball Academy in 2013, but the Detroit Tigers scouted him and were able to strike a deal before a few other teams. It wasn’t long before stories of a young fireballer with near triple-digit heat emerged, and soon enough he was mowing through the minor leagues. Jiménez was untouchable in the minors, with a career 1.56 ERA and 247 strikeouts in 167.1 innings. Fans thought Detroit had it’s next future closer, but things just haven’t worked out that way. Jiménez was greeted very rudely by MLB hitters, posting a 12.32 ERA over 19 big-league innings in 2017. It looked like he figured things out in 2018, and he pitched so well in the first half of the season (2.77 ERA, 10.15 K/9) he earned an All-Star bid. But the first-half of 2018 now looks like the exception, and in his last 106 innings he owns a 5.52 ERA  and has given up 23 home runs. Things look bad this spring, too, where his fastball is sitting in the low-90s, and he has given up 5 hits and 3 runs in just 3.1 innings. The Tigers may still hope they can help Jiménez regain that early-2018 form, but homer-prone relievers don’t stick on rosters very long.