Detroit Tigers add Chasen Shreve on MiLB deal with Spring Training invite

Detroit Tigers add reliever Chasen Shreve on a minor-league deal.

The Detroit Tigers are preparing for Spring Training in February. As the 2023 season inches closer and players report to spring ball, the Tigers continue to beef up the roster and add organizational depth.

The latest move from the Detroit Tigers was the addition of left-handed relief pitcher Chasen Shreve on a minor-league deal. Shreve, 32, can earn a spot in the Tigers bullpen at Spring training in Lakeland with a big-league invite extended as part of this contract.

If Shreve does make the big leagues, he will have the opportunity to take home $1.25 million as a part of the Tigers' big league roster. Evan Petzold tweeted the full incentive breakdown on Monday when the signing was announced.

The Tigers also recently traded left-hander Gregory Soto to the Philadelphia Phillies with Kody Clemens while bringing in three prospects on the other side of the deal. This leaves them with only one left-handed arm projected for the bullpen in Tyler Alexander.

Tigers President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris also noted that the organization wanted to bring in a left-hander for the pitching staff. Shreve coming in adds another lefty into the mix. He will come to Spring Training looking to lock down a spot in the team's bullpen.

Suppose it's not Shreve who makes the roster; it's Miguel Del Pozo or Jake Higginbotham who are the following names for lefties able to slot into the bullpen from the Triple-A level. I like Shreve's odds to slot into the bullpen and be an extra lefty for the Tigers to turn to in 2023.

Shreve is coming off of the 2022 season, where he pitched in 25 games out of the New York Mets bullpen. He logged 26.1 innings pitched overall, managed a 6.49 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP, and punched out 29 hitters while walking only ten opposing hitters.

Shreve has the Chris Sale build, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing in at just 180 pounds. The long and gangly frame. He uses a three-pitch mix, including a fastball, slider, and splitter that acts as a changeup. He's a soft lefty reliever who can miss barrels and induce weak contact.

Looking at his Baseball Savant profile, the splitter he uses in place of a changeup is his best offering. He's able to find the most success with that pitch. He locates in the middle third of the zone and below most often and has held opponents to a .128 average on the pitch with a 42.5% whiff rate on the splitter.

He also does a good job manipulating the baseball to kill spin on the splitter. Baseball Savant lists it at 989 RPMs while working around 82.9 mph. The pitch also gets a significant amount of drop at 35.8 inches and also has 11.3 inches of break.

Shreve's fastball spins up into the 2,300s, and even though its velocity averages the low-90s, it works because he throws strikes. The slider spins up into the 2,200s while working the low-80s and is a pitch that could use some work.

There are some things to like about Shreve and the 6.49 ERA seems like a bit of a misrepresentation of what he could be. If he can iron things out and avoid barrels in 2023, he may just wind up in the Tigers' bullpen as an asset.

He's certainly not going to replace Soto, but might at least give A.J. Hinch another left-handed arm to turn to out of the bullpen. Still a lackluster move from the Tigers, but there's at least room to see where Shreve could provide value.