SAN FRANCISCO -- With Opening Day just a few days away, the Tigers would like to have their 26-man roster ready to roll.
Emphasis on ¡°would like.¡±
With A.J. Hinch¡¯s club set to begin the 2025 season at Dodger Stadium on Thursday behind reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, the center field position has become a question in need of last-minute answers.
On Monday, Detroit officially announced the signing of veteran outfielder Manuel Margot to a split contract for 2025 ¨C but that doesn¡¯t quite provide a solution, with Hinch indicating the club intends on utilizing Margot mostly on the corner outfield positions.
¡°His reputation is great,¡± said Hinch of Margot. ¡°What he brings to a team, the attributes of a winning player. We look forward to getting to know him and seeing how he can impact this team as someone with his experience and his ability to hit left-handed pitching. We're excited to have him.¡±
Also complicating things was the updated status of Wenceel P¨¦rez, whom president of baseball operations Scott Harris said will miss ¡°at least a month¡± due to lingering back inflammation. P¨¦rez joins Parker Meadows (nerve issue in his arm) and Matt Vierling (muscle strain in his right rotator cuff) as outfielders out of action for the first few weeks of the season.
With all of this in mind, here¡¯s a look at some of the potential options for the Tigers regarding their outfield rotation with Opening Day looming.
Manuel Margot
Hinch¡¯s comments notwithstanding, Margot has manned center field the most in his nine-year career, to the tune of 542 Major League games (out of 845 total) ¨C so he would be an option should the need arise. He played center in 21 games with the Twins last year, backing up Byron Buxton, Austin Martin and Willi Castro.
Riley Greene
In ideal circumstances, the Tigers would slot Greene mostly in a corner outfield role, with occasional starts in center. But the 24-year-old has played center in 199 of his 289 Major League games, so he would logistically be in the mix as well.
Still, Harris made sure to emphasize caution when it comes to front office decision making.
¡°When you go through injuries, it¡¯s always tempting to run your healthy guys out there more often to compensate for your losses,¡± Harris said. ¡°But we have to resist the temptation to do that. If we run our healthy guys into the ground by playing them too much, we¡¯re only compounding our issues. We expected Riley to play a lot in the corners. We expected him to play some center field. In light of this news, we have to go back to the drawing board.¡±
Ryan Kreidler
Detroit optioned the 24-year-old Kreidler to Triple-A Toledo on Saturday after a rough spring (.206/.378/.441), but he remains steadily on the club¡¯s radar for outfield depth to begin ¡®25.
"Ryan is an elite defender,¡± said Harris. ¡°He makes our defense better when he's on the field, and pitching and defense is going to be really important for us moving forward."
Kreidler appeared in center field and left field one game apiece in 2024 with the Tigers, logging the bulk of his time (26 games) at shortstop.
Javier B¨¢ez
On the topic of shortstops, the veteran B¨¢ez has been dabbling in center, starting a game there on Saturday against Atlanta. But he has only appeared in a Major League outfield in four games over his 11-year career.
Much remains to be decided ahead of Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, when the Tigers take on the reigning World Series champions. But it¡¯s these few days of uncertainty that will evolve into those of finality as that roster deadline arrives.
¡°I think it's just having the patience to let these days play themselves out, and then make a decision,¡± said Hinch. ¡°With the final 26 it isn't a huge pressure point for us, it's a lot of pressure on the players. They want to know what their situation is. We certainly want to take the best team we can to L.A. The anxious time comes with the calendar every year.
¡°As we look at our options, there's a lot of good ways that we can go, and we're going to feel confident in the team that we go with.¡±
However the roster shakes out, Hinch¡¯s Tigers have their eyes on getting things going for real against the Dodgers as they hope to build upon an exciting season last year.
¡°We're going to line up and do our best to get off to a good start against one of the best teams in baseball.¡±