Detroit Tigers 2022 spring training depth chart

The calendar is creeping toward February, which means we are mere weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training for the Detroit Tigers!

What’s that you say? A lockout?

It’s true, members of the Detroit Tigers 40-man roster will not be reporting to Lakeland with a lockout in place. But the Tigers are still selling tickets to spring training games. And this week we’ve seen small progress toward a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

But there’s still plenty of work to be done, and no one expects a resolution soon. There are big-name free agents still out there, and the Detroit Tigers likely aren’t done adding to their roster.

Players who aren’t on a 40-man roster can be signed to minor-league deals, as the Tigers did with Gerson Moreno, but there’s a bit of a domino effect happening. Spring training rosters include every member of the 40-man roster and typically another 20-25 non-roster invitees made up of upper-level prospects, minor-league free agents, and fringe big leaguers.

Mid-January is typically the time when teams start signing players to minor-league deals and offering spring training invites. But, with 40-man rosters still unsettled, those deal seem to be a bit more scarce this year.

The Detroit Tigers have added just a handful of minor-league free agents so far, and that makes it tough for us to offer a proper depth chart. But we figured we’d give it a shot anyway, because the minor-league season is scheduled to begin April 5th, and non-roster players will soon begin flooding into Florida for their spring training.

So, let’s dig in and project what your 2022 spring training Detroit Tigers might look like. In an effort to avoid doubling up too much, we’ll list players at their primary position (or what we expect to be their primary position in 2022).

Detroit Tigers Spring Training Depth Chart – Catcher

Spring training camps always include a small army of catchers to handle all the pitchers in need of work. Tucker Barnhart figures to start almost every game against right-handed pitchers this year, while Haase seems likely to catch when the Tigers face southpaws. Dustin Garneau is a competent defender and he was surprisingly productive at the plate in a small sample last year, but he’s probably insurance in case Haase stumbles. Jake Rogers is italicized because his arm injury is expected to keep him out for the season.

On the minor-league side of things, we expect to see a fair amount of Dillon Dingler in spring training game action, while Policelli’s ability to play all over the diamond helps. Proctor, MacLaren, and Rosoff are solid organizational types who can be counted on to lead a pitching staff. Johnson and Alfonzo are one-dimensional, but interesting, and Crouch and Rothenberg are 2021 draft picks who need practice catching MLB arms.

Detroit Tigers Spring Training Depth Chart – First Base

Last year Miguel Cabrera played more than 40 games in the field for the first time since 2017, and his offensive production as a first baseman was significantly better than as a DH. Jonathan Schoop saw the majority of action at first last year, but we expect him to slide back second base this year with the imminent arrival of Spencer Torkelson. Cabrera will likely continue to get scattered outings at first, but Torkelson should get the plurality of starts.

There isn’t much in the way of minor-league depth on the infield corners for the Tigers. Josh Lester was one of the most prolific power bats in the minors last year, and the Tigers re-signed him to a minor-league deal in November. Rivera is an all-or-nothing power bat, and Holton and Kerr have shown some offensive ability, but none of these notable names have seen a plate appearance above A-ball. There are plenty of other players in the system who can play first base, but not many starters, so this seems like a prime area for the Tigers to add another minor-league veteran.

Detroit Tigers Spring Training Depth Chart – Second Base

As mentioned above, Jonathan Schoop spent most of last year at first base, but we expect him to move back to his natural position this year. And given the Tigers signed him to a two-year extension last August, there doesn’t appear to be a ton of playing time for Kody Clemens and the Castros. Clemens will probably return as the starting second baseman in Toledo, while Harold and Willi Castro might split time between Detroit and Triple-A.

Andre Lipcius made the back of our Top 20 prospects list as a possible utility infielder, and while the bloom has come off Wenceel Perez as a prospect, he still has a chance to carve out a bench role like Harold Castro. John Valente doesn’t have much power, and he isn’t a particularly strong defender, but all he does is hit. Jose King is the last player remaining from the JD Martinez trade, and his pro career could be coming to an end soon, while Carlos Mendoza is an under-the-radar player who has demonstrated an impressive ability to get on base in a small sample.

Detroit Tigers Spring Training Depth Chart – Shortstop

This is the Javier Báez show now. The Tigers signed him to a six-year, $140-million deal this offseason, and we expect him to start 145+ games at shortstop. Zack Short gets listed here because he made 45 starts at shortstop last year, but he’ll need to make some dramatic improvements to win a backup or utility job over the Castros and Isaac Paredes.

Short could see some action if Báez has to go on the injured list, but any extended absence from Báez would likely result in the promotion of Ryan Kreidler. Kreidler turned himself into one of the better two-way prospects in the system last year, and he figures to get a few dozen plate appearances in spring training. Gage Workman has similar two-way potential, but he still has several levels to climb before he reaches Kreidler’s prospect status, while Trei Cruz will look to shake off an ugly 2021 season in which he struggled with injuries and hit just .161 in 63 games.

The Notable list at shortstop features a trio of fascinating prospects who have all shown power potential, but still carry questions about their ultimate defensive home. If any one of them show up in spring training it will likely be for just an at-bat or two.

Detroit Tigers Spring Training Depth Chart – Third Base

We mentioned how thin this organization is at corner infield in the first base section, but third base is covered quite nicely at the big-league level. Jeimer Candelario has been the most consistent bat for the Tigers over the past two seasons, ranking as one of the ten most productive third basemen in the majors. Isaac Paredes has a long track record of success in the minors and he’ll be 23 all season, but he doesn’t have a clear path to playing time, and he just hasn’t hit the ball hard enough at the MLB level.

Detroit’s farm system seems woefully thin at third base, but things might not be as dire as they look. It’s true that Daniel Pinero, Dane Myers, and Andrew Navigato are all organizational utility soldiers, but Colt Keith is one of the more exciting prospects in the system, and most of the shortstops listed above can pretty easily slide over to the hot corner. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the organization look to add more depth here in the form of a minor-league vet.

Detroit Tigers Spring Training Depth Chart – Outfield

We could try to split this by each specific outfield position, but Tigers outfielders seem sort of interchangeable at this point. Robbie Grossman is coming off a career year, and Akil Baddoo was one of the biggest surprises in baseball, so they both figure to earn a starting nod. Tigers fans, and seemingly the organization itself, are holding that last spot open for Riley Greene:

“AJ and I have talked about this a lot and outfield is an area we both feel OK with,” Avila said. “If there is an opportunity to capitalize on something (in free agency) maybe we look at it. But right now, it’s not an area of concern because we have Riley Greene coming.”

It does still feel like their outfield is a bit light, but perhaps the club wants to give Daz Cameron and Derek Hill one more chance to prove they can be MLB regulars. Victor Reyes seems to have settled in as a decent bench outfielder.

Things in the minors are a bit sketchy beyond Greene. Jacob Robson made his MLB debut last year, but it was in an emergency situation, and it would probably take another series of injuries for him to come back. The same is probably true for De La Rosa, though his tools give him a slightly higher chance to stick. Daniel Cabrera has some draft pedigree, but his debut season was a bit disappointing and he’ll need to show progress in 2022. Carpenter and Rosa are solid organizational pieces who can move around the outfield a bit and provide some pop.

Lower in the system the outfielders split into three fairly distinct groups. Austin Murr and Bryant Packard are mature corner bats who need to show more in-game power, while Austin Schultz and Ben Malgeri are 2021 draft picks with interesting tools, but they haven’t been challenged yet. The final group — Roberto Campos, Jose De La Cruz, Kingston Liniak, and Parker Meadows — all have impressive raw tools, but none of them have shown the ability to consistently hit pro pitching.

Detroit Tigers Spring Training Depth Chart – Starting Pitching

Thirteen different pitchers started games for the Detroit Tigers in 2021, but just seven of them remain in the organization. And that group includes two relievers (Michael Fulmer, Kyle Funkhouser) and a starter who is likely out for the season (Spencer Turnbull). They bolstered their rotation in a big way with the addition of Eduardo Rodriguez as a free agent, but right now it looks as though the club is going to be extremely reliant on young starters Matt Manning, Casey Mize, and Tarik Skubal. Tyler Alexander is tentatively penciled in as the fifth starter, but he also has fewer than 200 MLB innings on his arm.

It’s hard to imagine the Tigers heading into the regular season without adding at least one more veteran starter to their staff. They’ll probably need to bring in a handful more to pitch in Toledo, because their depth starters on the 40-man roster have close to zero experience. Rony Garcia is probably a reliever, but we added him here because he has two career big-league starts, and he was a starter in Triple-A last year before he injured his leg. But he’s the only pitcher with MLB experience. Joey Wentz and Alex Faedo are talented former first-rounders with recent arm injuries, but they will likely be pressed into duty in Detroit this season, and Elvin Rodriguez is a skinny starter with middling stuff who posted a 5.83 ERA in Double-A last year.

They do have some non-roster options, led by Ricardo Pinto, who re-signed with the organization after pacing the farm in a number of pitching categories last year. They signed German hurler Markus Solbach, who has spent time in the Twins, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers organizations, though he racked up an 8.42 ERA last year. The club also has a handful of veteran minor league pitchers who could potentially come to Detroit in an emergency, like Logan Shore, A.J. Ladwig, and Jesus Rodriguez. And then there are the starters who emerged into prospects in 2021: Beau Brieske, Reese Olson, Garrett Hill, and Wilmer Flores, who could all theoretically pitch their way to Detroit this season.