Tigers lose promising arm in latest roster cuts (but keep primary narrative thriving)

Kevin McGonigle has officially survived six rounds of Tigers roster cuts. On Thursday, Detroit sent three pitchers — Tyler Mattison, Bryan Sammons, and Cole Waites — to minor league camp, bringing the number of players with the big league club to 45.

Whether or not McGonigle will make the Opening Day roster has been the question of Tigers spring training, but he still has both major and minor league competition. Javy Báez is looking great out in center field, but Zach McKinstry could start the season at shortstop. No. 5 prospect Max Anderson, who has also survived every round so far, has Triple-A experience and could be a long-term solution, or at least another carousel member, at third base.

Tigers fans are probably more focused on McGonigle not getting cut than the players who actually were this time around, given that all three were minor league deal additions, and there have been a lot of those for fans to try to keep track of.

But Mattison should be a player to watch throughout the season. He has what Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press calls "elite upside" and was having a pretty decent spring despite a minuscule sample size (2.70 ERA in 3 1/3 innings).

Tigers make sixth round of roster cuts; Kevin McGonigle survives, Tyler Mattison reassigned

Mattison was a fourth-round pick for the Tigers in 2021 and had a nice 2023 season, but his development took a long detour when he underwent Tommy John surgery, which kept him sidelined through 2024. Last year, he went all the way from Single-A to Triple-A, pitching 19 innings in relief for a 3.79 ERA.

But the Tigers have been liking what they've seen. He has a 94 MPH fastball with a 44.4% whiff rate, and a slider and changeup to round out his arsenal.

AJ Hinch said of Mattison, "He has plenty of stuff to pitch at this level. We've got to keep working on the consistency of getting into count leverage. But he's really intriguing – different look, different stuff, misses bats. I can easily see him being a candidate at some point to help us."

He was added to the 40-man at the end of the 2025 season, but then designated for assignment in November to make room for a wave of Rule 5 draft-eligible prospects. The Tigers re-signed him to a minor league deal in December.

The big story here is still McGonigle and whether or not the Tigers will actually let him skip Triple-A, but Mattison represents one of those classic slow-burn Scott Harris plays that Tigers fans know all too well.