4 players you may have forgotten were on the Tigers' 2024 Opening Day roster

Opening Day is just around the corner and there are still a couple questions surrounding the 2025 roster that remain unanswered. However, rather than rehash those arguments here, we're going back in time to take a look at the Opening Day roster from last year, because there are a couple guys that stick out.

The Tigers obviously made a huge push in the second half of 2024. They clawed their way back from a 16-game deficit in the AL Central, eventually capturing a Wild Card berth and making it to the ALDS for the first time since 2014. But not everyone on the Opening Day roster was around for that postseason push. Expect a similar outcome this year as we know how volatile the MLB season can be.

4 players you may have forgotten were on the Tigers' 2024 Opening Day roster

Remember catcher Carson Kelly? He was a bit of a surprise in 2024, hitting well enough in the first half to bring back a non-zero return at the trade deadline. He hit .240 with a .716 OPS and the Tigers were able to snag catcher Liam Hicks and RHP Tyler Owens from the Rangers for Kelly in a July deal.

The 30-year-old spent the bulk of his career split between the Cardinals and Diamondbacks before coming over to Detroit as a waiver claim in August of 2023. He was bad during a limited run with the Tigers down the stretch two years ago but the front office decided to keep him around because he was still a capable defender. That decision worked out fine, as they were able to get the most out of Kelly while waiting for top prospect Dillon Dingler to reach the majors.

Last winter, the Tigers went out on a limb and signed third baseman Gio Urshela to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. As it turns out, they were a couple years late and didn't get much value in return. Urshela started the year at the hot corner and lasted all the way to mid-August before being designated for assignment thanks to a brutal .243/.286/.333 slash line across 92 games.

It's possible that the cavernous Comerica Park hampered Urshela in ways the Tigers hadn't foreseen. While he hit just .226 with a .606 OPS at home, he posted a more palatable .278 AVG with a .697 OPS on the road. He was also much better once he arrived in Atlanta at the end of the year. Urshela signed on with the Athletics this winter and could get some run there, but his best days are behind him, as Tigers fans are well aware.

As far as forgettable seasons go, Shelby Miller's year with the Tigers has to be up there. He threw a whopping 55 2/3 innings for Detroit but his 4.53 ERA was a far cry from what the Tigers had expected. Miller was quite good in 2023, pitching to a career-best 1.71 ERA in 42 innings with the Dodgers. That success did not carry over, and by the trade deadline most Tigers fans had just about had enough with the right hander.

Miller cratered in August and wasn't able to crack the Tigers' postseason roster. He left Detroit over the winter and wound up in Arizona on a minor-league contract. He's actually looked fine in limited time with the Diamondbacks during spring training but he's still a longshot to make the roster out of camp and will probably have to settle for a stint at Triple-A to open the year.

One last reliever that fits the bill here is lefty Joey Wentz. Yes, Wentz spent two and a half years with the Tigers but he worked as a swingman in 2023 and was shifted to a full-time role in the bullpen ahead of 2024. He wasn't particularly effective there, pitching to a 5.37 ERA in 38 appearances before being designated for assignment at the end of August to make room for Casey Mize coming off the IL.

Wentz was subsequently scooped up off waivers by the Pirates and it's fair to argue that he looked better in the 12 innings he threw for Pittsburgh than he ever did in a Tigers uniform. He's currently in camp with the Pirates and pitching to a 2.35 ERA with what would be a career-best 25% strikeout rate. Go figure.