5 Detroit Tigers players that may have lost their roster spot this offseason

During what's been a quiet offseason for a majority of the league, the Detroit Tigers have been in the top 10 of free agent spenders. They've added Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty to their rotation and have Andrew Chafin back in the bullpen. On the trade market side of things, they kicked off the offseason by acquiring Mark Canha from the Brewers. All things considered, the Tigers front office is, at the very least, motivated to put a few new players on the field who will hopefully compliment a promising young core.

After adding Chafin, their most recent signing, the Tigers 40-man is full. If they're not finished making moves, some changes will need to come to the roster in order to accommodate new players down the line. Some names, like Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, and Javier Báez are givens not only for the 40-man but for the Opening Day lineup. However, there are a number of names on the roster that could be moved — traded away, sent down to the minors, or DFA'ed. Here are five Tigers who may lose their roster spots this season.

5 Detroit Tigers players that may have lost their roster spot this offseason

Akil Baddoo

There's been a question mark over Akil Baddoo for a few years now. After getting off to a historically hot start to his major league career in 2021, he's cooled off and slumped significantly over the past two seasons. This year, he hit .218/.310/.372 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI in 112 games, having begun the season back in Triple-A. The Tigers still tendered Baddoo a contract instead of letting him go halfway through November, even after they traded for left fielder Mark Canha, widening their outfield options, and Scott Harris has said of Baddoo, "There is a role for him. We're not an organization that wants to give up players that can affect the game [the way Baddoo did in his rookie season] for nothing."

Still, Baddoo's name has been floated as a potential trade candidate (subscription required) this offseason. If he's not traded, then he could be vulnerable to a demotion back to the minors. FanGraphs predicts Canha, Parker Meadows, and Riley Greene will have the outfield more or less on lock next season. They do have Baddoo playing in left 32% of the time, most likely given Canha's age and in anticipation of a possible injury, but Baddoo's future on the 40-man roster does seem more tenuous than that of utility men Zach McKinstry, Matt Vierling, or Andy Ibáñez, who the Tigers have been more vocal about their affection for.

Tyler Nevin

Farmhand Tyler Nevin has been a minor league fixture since 2015, first for the Orioles and then for the Tigers after he was traded to Detroit for cash ahead of the 2023 season. Since reaching Triple-A in 2021, he's gotten a few major league at-bats every year but has never quite managed to break out. Most of his appearances this year came at the end of the season, when the Tigers brought him up to provide third base support and a roster spot opened up when Riley Greene went down with an elbow injury. Nevin hit a disappointing .200/.306/.316 with two home runs and only 10 RBI.

Although the Tigers don't seem interested in finding an everyday third baseman this year, Matt Vierling seems the most likely candidate to occupy the spot most often while No. 2 prospect Colt Keith gets a few more reps in in Triple-A and can move slowly into the major leagues. Nevin also DH'ed a few times, but Kerry Carpenter seems to have that spot locked down for the Tigers next year if he can stay healthy.

Nevin bounced around a little bit more, to first base and left and right field, but it seems unlikely that the Tigers will keep him on the major league roster if third base and DH are more or less covered. We can probably expect to see him back in Detroit for 40-50 games in 2024, but it's unlikely that he'll either make the Opening Day roster or even be on the 40-man by then.