Tigers release 2 pitchers after they ended up being ineffective veteran additions

There's no such thing as a bad minor league deal, but sometimes you know off the bat that certain guys just aren't going to work out — even when a team is as trigger-happy with bullpen shakeups as the Tigers.

Scott Harris loved his minor league deals throughout the offseason. The Tigers DFA'd a slew of pitchers in November to make way for Rule 5 draft-eligible prospects and minor leaguers on the 40-man, but they ended up re-signing most of the guys they ditched on small-time contracts. There were a few more on top of that, including active roster member Enmanuel De Jesus and former major leaguers Phil Bickford and Colin Poche.

De Jesus has been the biggest pleasant surprise to come out of spring training, but Bickford and Poche were both optioned to Triple-A long before camp ended. (We could've seen that one coming).

As of Tuesday, neither is in the organization at all. (We could've seen that one coming, too).

Jason Beck of MLB.com reported that the Tigers had released both Bickford and Poche. Neither ended up pitching in Triple-A Toledo after being demoted in Lakeland.

Tigers release veteran pitchers Phil Bickford, Colin Poche before they could make a single organizational appearance

Bickford was a first-round pick for the Giants in 2015, but it took him five years to make his major league debut after a broken hand and a PED suspension sort of derailed his career. His only really successful major league stint was spent with the Dodgers in 2021 after being claimed off of waivers from the Brewers, but it's been downhill from there.

The Tigers are the eighth organization he's been a part of, and the fourth he hasn't broken the major leagues with.

Poche's early career was also derailed by injury — he pitched for the Rays in 2019, then missed 2020 and 2021 after a torn UCL and Tommy John. He had a great 2023 season, pitching 60 2/3 innings for a 2.23 ERA out of Tampa's bullpen, but he's never had that much luck since.

Detroit still has a couple of those minor league signings stashed in Triple-A — Scott Effross and Ricky Vanasco among them — who could end up contributing later this season, but it was unlikely they were going to find a need for every reclamation project they signed. Given Bickford and Poche's experience, it wouldn't be surprising if we see them end up elsewhere on more minor league deals.