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Detroit Tigers: 3 players who could sneak onto the 40-man roster by Opening Day

By Matthew Scheidel |
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With Spring Training on the way, the Detroit Tigers have quite a few new faces we could see on the team this season. Most of them have been in the orgainzation for a while, but there were some minor league signees who could make the team out of camp.

There are several spots on the big league and 40-man roster that are up for grabs. The bullpen in particular has at least three spots ripe for the taking. We'll go over some roster battles to watch later on as we get closer to spring training, but today we're going to look at a few players that are not currently on the 40-man roster that could make their way onto it by Opening Day.

These players will need to have strong springs, but it's not at all out of the realm of possibility for them to not only crack the 40-man, but even make the Opening Day 26-man roster. We'll be focusing primarily on the 40-man for this article, though. Let us begin.

RHP Trey Wingenter

Wingenter will be the only player mentioned here with big league experience. He pitched out of the bullpen with the Padres from 2018-19 with some mixed results. He had struck out almost 13 batters per nine innings is each of those two years, but also walked around five batters per nine. The ERA was high in 2019 at 5.65, but he struck 72 batters in 51 innings pitched. The stuff is definitely there.

His baseball savant page has a lot to like. He doesn't have a lot of spin on his fastball, but his 6-7 frame allows him to have great extention and hide the ball well. He was also in the 96th percentile in whiff rate, again highlighting his nasty stuff.

He's a primarily fastball/slider pitcher, with his slider being his out pitch. It has a ton of movement.

His fastball can get close to triple digits. It has some good ride through the zone. He's could be a really nice pickup for the Tigers.

Now you may be asking, what has he been doing the the past three years? Well, simply put, he hasn't been healthy. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and has had recurring elbow issues since. Now at age 28, he needs to prove that he can stay healthy. If he can, he could be one heck of a weapon for the Detroit Tigers.

LHP Adam Wolf

The Detroit Tigers currently have one left-handed reliever on their 40-man roster in the form of Tyler Alexander, and he's more of a long reliever than a lefty specialist. Barring a late deal to bring Andrew Chafin back, the team will look to find that other lefty bullpen arm from within.

LHP Chasen Shreve, who was signed to a minor league deal earlier this offseason, probably has the best chance to fill that void, but I'm going to go with a bit of an odd-ball pick here in Adam Wolf to sneak his way onto the 40-man with a strong spring.

Wolf was drafted in the fifth round back in 2018. He's had an up-and-down career in the minors before appearing to finally figure things out last season. He had 2.72 ERA in 89.1 IP in Double-A, though the 3.67 FIP and 4.07 xFIP suggest he may have gotten lucky.

Standing at 6-6, Wolf can use his lengthy frame to get great extention and fool batters. He still struggles with walks from time to time, but Chris Fetter and company could easily work on some things with him to snap him out of that.

It would take a strong spring performance, but I think Wolf has a better shot at making the team that most people realize. Considering he doesn't have a whole lot of competition, he could very well be on the active roster in addition to the 40-man come Opening Day.

INF/OF Justyn-Henry Malloy

This is probably the most obvious pick here. Malloy is likely almost guaranteed a spot on the 40-man. The 26-man is a question for another day.

The bat sounds like it's going to play. His plate discipline is off the charts and he has great bat-to-ball skills. The question is where he plays in the field.

Third base did not go well for him in the Braves' system in 2022. He had 17 errors in 51 games at third base in High-A, and word on the street is that he didn't look very good in the outfield either. There's a chance he's a 1B/DH type.

It does sound like he's been working on his defense this offseason, which is encouraging to hear. Even if he becomes an average defender at either third base or the outfield we can call that a win, especially if his bat is as advertised.

I think Malloy is slated to have a good spring offensively. That should be enough to get him a spot on the 40-man roster. Whether or not his defense shows any sign of improvement will be the key to him heading north with the big league club.

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