Detroit Tigers: Bullpen Battles

Several Detroit Tigers took advantage of the day off on Wednesday as they get ready for the final two weeks of spring training before they open the season against the Rays on March 30th. Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene and the Meadows brothers used their day off to go fishing. The Tigers resume play on Thursday against the Phillies, where the focus will be on the relievers who are left in camp as they fight for two spots in the pen.

Tigers Spring Roster: Relievers

Left-handed pitchers

Tyler Alexander*
Miguel Del Pozo
Jace Fry
Tyler Holton*
Chasen Shreve

* on 40-man roster

The last two spots have seen heavy competition for the remaining lefty spot in the bullpen as one non-roster invite continues to stake his claim. Lefty veteran Chasen Shreve with a combination of his slider and changeup, has been locked in. In 4.1 innings of work, he has allowed one run, three hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. Shreve, a southpaw who came into camp as a non-roster invite, is shaping up to be the favorite. If he does make the team, Detroit would have to make roster decision to make room.

Here's a random fun fact about LHP Chasen Shreve. 30.8% of his pitches thrown have been thrown for swinging strikes. Six of his seven strikeouts have come by swing and miss so far this spring. pic.twitter.com/SHnuoileUL
— Rogelio Castillo (@rogcastbaseball) March 16, 2023

Right-handed pitchers

Beau Brieske*
Kervin Castro
Jose Cisnero*
Miguel Diaz
Mason Englert* (Rule-5 pick)
Alex Faedo*
Jason Foley*
Garrett Hill*
Alex Lange*
Trevor Rosenthal
Edwin Uceta*
Will Vest *
Trey Wingenter
Matt Wisler

The last spot is interesting…

The last spot is interesting because both Beau Brieske and Garrett Hill could be starters, and Hinch would like to have as much starter depth as possible as he wants to have a slow ramp up for the rotation. Boyd, Manning, and Turnbull are coming back from injuries, so their innings will be monitored. Brieske and Hill have pitched out of the pen this spring, so they are also in contention.

Edwin Uceta, who Detroit claimed off waivers from Arizona, and Miguel Diaz, who was in Toledo last season, are getting some extensive looks. Uceta, like Brieske and Hill, is listed on the 40-man roster while Diaz, who was on the 40-man last season, was resigned as a minor league free agent to give Detroit relief depth.

Wingenter has also turned some heads with a fastball and slider combo in a limited sample size of four innings of work. He is coming back from Tommy John and back surgery that has limited him to just 10 innings of work between rookie ball and Dominican Winter League since 2020, so he could see some time in Toledo first. So here’s the “2.0” version of the bullpen.