4 Tigers who will make 2024 Opening Day roster, but won't last the season

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Spring training is only about a month away. In just about 30 days time, we'll be getting the sights and sounds of baseball. The Detroit Tigers are set to have some pretty interesting roster battles this spring.

There are at least four starting pitchers vying for two, possibly three spots. There will also be competitive battles for third base, utilityman, and the bullpen. Scott Harris has said that he wants competition this spring, and it sure looks like he's going to get it.

But just because a player earns a spot on the Opening Day roster, doesn't guarentee that he'll keep it all season long. For example, Nick Maton won the third base job out of camp last season, but was in Triple-A by the All-Star break. Spencer Torkelson was also sent down at the All-Star break in 2022. This roster will likely be a revolving door once again in 2024.

So today, we're going to go through four players who will in a a spot on the 2024 Opening Day roster, but won't survive the season. Some of these will be pretty obvious, but others will be just a gut feeling. Let us begin.

Zach McKinstry

McKinstry seems like a pretty good bet to make the team, much to my personal dismay. After a red-hot six week stretch from mid-April through the end of May, he was looking like a beast of a leadoff hitter. Then he came crashing back down to earth, and never recovered.

While he has many shortcomings at the plate — like an inability to lay off sliders at his feet — McKinstry is quite athletic, having great baserunning skiils. He also played solid defense at many positions, including the outfield. He actually has a pretty good arm.

He's a scrappy player, and A.J. Hinch likes scrappy players. Thus, he'll probably win a roster spot out of camp. However, at some point, a need for more offensive firepower will probably push him off the team.

The Tigers have guys like Justyn-Henry Malloy and Eddys Leonard, who both have huge defensive question marks, but have shown the ability to hit consistently at the Triple-A level. Even if they aren't big-league regulars, they could still carve out a nice role for themselves as bench bats.

The Tigers have to get offense from somewhere. It probably isn't going to come from Zach McKinstry. He'll make the initial 26-man roster, but he's not going to survive the 2024 season.

Akil Baddoo

Akil Baddoo is someone who many people are surprised is still here. He seemed like a very obvious trade candidate for this offseason. But, here he is, even signed to a contract for the 2024 season to avoid arbitration.

He could still be traded between now and the start of the season, but with how quiet things have been on that front, that doesn't seem likely. With that being said, it does seem likely that he will win a spot on the 2024 Opening Day roster.

With Riley Greene being relegated to DH duty for the time being, and Matt Vierling likely to win the third base job, the Tigers need a fourth outfielder. Mark Canha, Parker Meadows, and Kerry Carpenter will most likely be the starters in the outfield. That leaves the Tigers with a need for a fourth outfielder, and Baddoo is the most logical candidate.

But, Greene will only need to be a DH for a chunk of the season, not the whole thing. Once he's ready to play the outfield again, there won't be a need for Baddoo anymore. The Tigers can cycle through any players they want at DH.

Baddoo has two minor league options left, so they can simply stash him in Triple-A. He's good depth for if somebody gets injured.

Alex Faedo

If the Tigers don't go with a six-man rotation, they are going to need a multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen, and Faedo is a great candidate for that.

His ERA through the first three innings of a game— typically one time through the batting order — was 3.53 in 2023. Innings 4-6? 6.75. This is most likely because he only has two consistent pitches — his fastball and his slider. He does throw a changeup, but it's just not very effective.

His career numbers back this up as well. He has a career 3.58 ERA in the first three innings of a game, but a 7.74 ERA in inningd 4-6. Hitters have a .907 OPS off Faedo during those innings. He just becomes very easy for hitters to figure out after the first time through the order.

The solution here is to make him a long man. There's clearly something there — he was a first-round pick for a reason, and the slider is lethal at times. Turning him into an innings-eater out of the 'pen seems like the best path forward for Faedo.

With that being said, he still has an option remaining. So if he struggles, they could easily send him back down to Triple-A, whereas someone like Miguel Diaz would have to be designated for assignment because he is out of options.

Beau Brieske is also a guy who could be a long reliever, but he showed promise in a middle relief role in 2023. I think Faedo will make the initial roster, but will go back down to Toledo at some point during the season.

Jack Flaherty

Yes, Flaherty was signed to a $14 million contract, virtually guarenteeing him a spot in the starting rotation. Yes, the Tigers are banking on a bounce back season. But what if that doesn't happen? What if he doesn't improve?

Just because he'll be gifted a roster spot to start the year, doesn't mean he'll keep it. And I feel quite confident that Flaherty isn't going to last the whole season for one reason or another.

The Tigers probably feel the same way. Why else would they have so many starting pitchers who could get innings for them in 2024? Flaherty, Maeda, Mize, Skubal, and Manning all have a history of injuries. Somebody is going to get hurt.

Flaherty is also just not very good anymore. I've gone more in depth as to why I believe this, but to give you a quick rundown, his fastball has lost all of its life over the past couple years. There's no way you can survive as a big league pitcher without a usable fastball. Just ask Mason Englert.

Flaherty isn't going to survive the season, whether he's DFA'd for poor performance, or he gets hurt. I'll be happy to be wrong on this, but this will likely go down as a waste of a signing.

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