Detroit Tigers Notes: Another Castro joins the team

In this week’s Detroit Tigers notes, the Tigers continue to add arms for depth, Spencer Torkelson is doing the work, and we look around the league.

The Detroit Tigers sign pitching depth

Over the last week Detroit signed LHP Zach Logue, C Mario Feliciano and RHP Kervin Castro. Both Feliciano, who saw limited time with the Brewers in 2021 and 2022, and Logue, who pitched for Oakland last year, get spots on the 40-man roster. To make room for the lefty, the Tigers designated for assignment RHP Ángel De Jesus. De Jesus made his major league debut last season with the Tigers, striking out 7 in 12 innings of work out of the bullpen.

Logue was part of the trade that sent third baseman Matt Chapman to Toronto last March. While still with Toronto, this was the write-up Baseball America had on him:

His velocity went from often sitting in the upper 80s to now sitting in the low 90s and topping at 94 mph. It’s not a power fastball, but there’s deception to his delivery that helps him generate more empty swings with his fastball than the velocity might suggest. 

But just looking at his Baseball Savant data, he was averaging around 90MPH. For Detroit, this signing could simply mean that they see more than below the surface of his numbers (6.79 ERA in 14 games). It will be interesting to see how Detroit uses Logue, who also features a changeup that received a “60” grade on FanGraphs. He used it 13.6% of the time, and batters hit just .225 against the pitch. If he can continue to pound the lower part of the strike zone with the pitch to go along with his four-seamer, he may be able to keep hitters off-balance.

Scott Harris is familiar with Kervin Castro. The right-hander was signed by the Giants back in 2015. He pitched well in 2021, appearing in 10 games with the San Francisco. But he struggled in 2022 before the Giants released him. He then spent 1o innings with the Cubs and declared himself for free agency.

Spencer Torkelson working on his swing

Via the New Balance Baseball Instagram feed, (thanks to @DETBaseball for posting the video) Detroit Tigers fans got to see Spencer Torkelson make some impressive sounds with his bat.

Effort has never been a question with Torkelson, but it’s still nice to see him put in the work. If Detroit’s first baseman can make some adjustments and have a productive season, then Tigers fans may allow for the return of some optimism.