Detroit Tigers continue with depth moves; acquire Joe Rizzo

Detroit Tigers continue to shuffle their MiLB depth.

When the Detroit Tigers brought in Scott Harris to take over things in the front office, he seldom shared many positive thoughts about the team's farm system and minor league depth. During his tenure, he's made it a point to target players who will help restock and reload.

While he has not secured any real high-level top prospects for the farm system, he has undoubtedly made his fair share of small moves to help provide the team with some depth on both sides of the ball. He's made it a point to bring in players he can stash in the minors and call upon as needed, serving as organizational depth.

It's been a lot of small trades with teams, betting on players to find their groove in the minors with Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. So far, he's done an excellent job of finding different players and taking chances. He's at it once again as well.

It was announced on Twitter that the Tigers are moving on from infielders Jermaine Palacios and Jace Fry, who were both released. On top of clearing some depth, the Tigers also announced that they had acquired infielder Joe Rizzo from the Miami Marlins.

Detroit Tigers acquire infielder Joe Rizzo.

It was a move to replace some of the lost depth, but the Tigers could go out and get themselves another minor-league depth addition in exchange for cash considerations. It was one of those moves where the Tigers likely purchased his contract and brought him into the organization.

As noted by MLive, Rizzo is not on the 40-man roster, so he will report to Toledo and join the Mud Hens without any corresponding moves being necessary. For the Tigers, this year has been a lot of about managing the roster well and doing what they can to find depth players.

Rizzo is precisely that. He'll head to Triple-A Toledo and look to get into games. He's a primary corner infielder who can play second base as well. Rizzo has played in 43 games for the Marlins' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates combined.

Rizzo has slashed .203/.276/.313 with nine doubles and three home runs for the two affiliates throughout the 2023 season. It's not the craziest move or anything groundbreaking, but it will allow them to move on from two players and take a chance on another.

Harris has preached having depth and building it throughout the organization; this is simply another way for him to accomplish that. The Tigers avoided any roster conundrum with all players mentioned not being on the 40-man, but they still sit with a full 40-man roster.