3 ways the Detroit Tigers' latest signing impacts the 2024 roster

The Detroit Tigers went out and signed Keston Hiura on Friday, adding him to the mix of players in Lakeland for Spring Training. The team signed him to a minor-league contract, inviting him to Spring Training to join the team's camp in Florida.

Hiura's a 27-year-old infielder who can play the right side of the infield. He's a former UC Irvine product who was drafted ninth overall in the 2017 MLB First-Year Amateur Player Draft. Hiura has logged 284 career games in the big leagues but has struggled to hold down a roster spot with the Milwaukee Brewers organization as of late.

He did not play an MLB game in 2023 for the Brewers, spending his year in Triple-A with the Nashville Sounds and a couple of rehab games in Arizona on the backfields. A knee injury knocked him out and kept him on the shelf for a bit, which caused the need for that rehab stint.

The Tigers took a flier on Hiura, hoping he could come to a new organization and start turning the page on his career. The 5-foot-11, 208-pound infielder could serve as depth for the left side moving forward. After all, he had a great introductory season in the big leagues but has only gone downhill from there since then.

But there should be hope that Hiura can turn things around. If nothing else, he'll serve as depth for the Tigers to rely upon as needed. Who knows? Perhaps all he needs is a change of scenery.

Detroit Tigers take a flier on Keston Hiura; here's how he'll impact the team.