Tigers Spring Training Update: 2 minor league signings join Detroit in Lakeland

'Tis the season for harmless minor league signings. The Tigers added a handful throughout the offseason — they re-signed almost all of the pitchers they DFA'ed to make room for their Rule 5-eligible prospects in November — but it's typical to see another wave around spring training, to give some stragglers the chance at an audition in major or minor league camp.

Over the last week, Detroit has added two more — though neither will be in big league camp.

The Yankees' Double-A affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, announced on Wednesday that their all-time hits leader Max Burt had signed a deal with the Tigers. Training facility Driveline Baseball were the first to report that Rays, Nationals, and Mets journeyman pitcher Colin Poche also inked a deal with Detroit.

Burt will report to Double-A, and Chris McCosky of The Detroit News clarified that Poche's deal did not include an invitation to spring training.

There's no such thing as a bad minor league deal. The Tigers clearly see some form of potential in both of these players, but neither should be expected to make an immediate impact with the major league club.

Tigers sign Yankees prospect Max Burt, reliever Colin Poche to minor league deals

Burt, an infielder and 28th-round pick for the Yankees in 2018, has spent the vast majority of his professional career in Double-A, hitting .214 with a .625 OPS over 385 games. He's been promoted to Triple-A a handful of times and ended his 2025 season in Double-A despite a more promising four-game stint at the higher level. He's a career .220/.628 hitter across all levels of the minor leagues.

Poche made his major league debut with the Rays in 2019, but he didn't pitch in the majors in either 2020 and 2021 after undergoing Tommy John. His best season by far was 2023, when he posted a 2.23 ERA over 60 2/3 innings out of Tampa Bay's pen. They non-tendered him after the 2024 season, and subsequent appearances with the Nats and Mets were both short-lived and disastrous (11.42 ERA in 8 2/3 innings in Washington, 27.00 ERA in 2/3 innings in Queens).

Neither of these guys is anything to write home about — even though, knowing Scott Harris, Poche might have a shot at appearing with the major league team deeper into the season — but it would be nothing short of a miracle if the Tigers were actually able to fix either of them up.