Detroit Tigers flip-flop catchers with Michael Papierski off waivers

Detroit Tigers flip-flop catchers in latest roster move.

The Detroit Tigers made the next roster move of the Scott Harris era to get a guy that he was familiar with during his time in San Francisco. While it’s not a huge roster move, it’s another showing of Harris doing his thing and starting to build the roster that he wants.

The latest move from the Detroit Tigers was a flip-flop of catchers as the team parted ways with Ali Sánchez. The 25-year-old was claimed by the Tigers in June from the Cardinals and has since been parted ways with.

On the flip side of things, the Tigers added Michael Papierski, a catcher who was waived by the Cincinnati Reds organization. The product of LSU spent the 2022 season with the San Francisco Giants after being acquired in a trade in March.

Harris sent Mauricio Dubon to the Astros in exchange for the 26-year-old catcher. While it’s not an exhilarating move or anything shocking, it makes sense for Harris to add in someone he sought to acquire with the Giants.

Obviously, he felt that Papierski will bring value to the Tigers’ organization in some capacity. Papierski made his MLB debut in 2022, playing five games for the Giants and 34 games with the Reds organization after he was claimed off waivers this summer.

In total, Papierski had 103 plate appearances over his time with both affiliates, slashing .143/.228/.187 with 26 punchouts. Nothing exciting. But he may be able to provide depth in the minors.

Scott Harris continues to construct the “new” Detroit Tigers organization.

It’s nothing that’s going to jump off the page, but the roster purge is coming. The bigger changes will roll in as the offseason continues to roll on. They already added an investment piece/depth piece in Jermaine Palacios in the waiver claim from the Twins.

Things are going to keep changing around the Tigers organization, so while the flip-flop of catchers may not be huge news, it adds some new names and new faces to the mix. The move itself was a flip-flop of minor league catchers, but Harris continues to leave his mark.

Expect the bigger moves to come, with some mistakes to avoid and plenty of changes to be made. The 2023 Tigers will likely look vastly different by the time the spring starts to roll around.

Keep an eye out for bigger moves, but this one was a chance for Harris to grab one of his guys.