The Tigers have re-signed four players, according to their transactions tracker at MLB.com (hat tip to Evan Woodbery of MLive.com and @ebajek85.) The four players are infielder Jermaine Palacios, infielder/outfielder Brendon Davis, catcher Michael Papierski and right-hander Miguel Diaz. They have all been assigned to Triple-A Toledo and will presumably get invitations to major league Spring Training.
All four of these players are being re-signed since they were with the Tigers in 2022, but none of them have lengthy histories with the club. Diaz signed a minor league deal coming into 2022, while the other three all joined the organization on waiver claims this year. All four lost their roster spots earlier this month but will stick with the club and try to earn their way back on.
Diaz, 28, got into 72 games with the Padres over the 2017-2021 stretch before getting into three games with the Tigers this year. In 65 Triple-A innings this year, he posted a 4.29 ERA but with a 24.2% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate and 52.3% ground ball rate. A low strand rate of 62.4% led to a higher ERA than he likely deserved with FIP giving him a 3.91.
Papierski, 27 in February, bounced around quite a bit this season. He started the year with the Astros, got traded to the Giants, before going to the Reds and Tigers on waiver claims. He got into 39 MLB games and hit .143/.228/.187 there but hit .232/.329/.363 in the minors.
Davis, 25, only got into three MLB games this year, spending most of the season in Triple-A. In 139 games at that level, he hit 20 home runs and slashed .235/.340/.423 for a wRC+ of 99.
Palacios, 26, made his MLB debut this year with the Twins but struggled in his 30 games in the show. In 102 Triple-A games, he hit 14 home runs and slashed .283/.341/.462 for a wRC+ of 112. Both Davis and Palacios played all four infield positions this year as well as the outfield corners, with Davis also getting a brief look in center. Since Diaz is a pitcher and Papierski is a catcher, these four moves collectively bolster the depth all over Detroit’s roster.
Papierski!
Davis!
“Four bums get resigned”
…as per a below average commenter.
I run this site I got 8th last year in free agents predictions and may buy the site.
You got dead last in the punctuation jamboree.
They get signed so they can tryout. All four will more than likely get cut before the season starts. There’s nothing wrong with giving these guys a shot because JD Martinez was once one these guys.
These signings should provide decent depth at C and IF in case of emergency. Diaz made it to the Tigers already this year. I just hope Detroit can add some starters in minor-league contracts, preferably Hutchison and Bryan Garcia after their good seasons.
Gruß,
BSHH
WS Caliber team in the making.
So Barnhart is gone. Reds have Quintana & Maile. Tigers have Papierski. What am I missing? “Under the radar” baseball is developing a life of it’s own. Big market teams consider it a 4-letter-word. Small market teams consider it their lifesblood.
We’re in trouble….
You would think minor league slots would be used as a tool to work with agents at the end of the off season…….
Must like these guys somewhat, get me now, precaution.
Tigers are years away from contending stop complaining
With the cuts Harris is making, they are. Both Castros were solid bench players. Candelario was two time Tiger of the year. Don’t see replacements yet. No meaningful additions either. Poor performance by hitting coaches, and injuries derailed a team that hoped to contend. They weren’t that far away. Harris is just looking at last years performance, it seems, to make his decisions. I don’t like his direction so far.
Harold is so underrated. Hope he can land a MLB deal.
I just want them to be competitive, and somewhat fun to watch…..
They get signed so they can tryout. All four will more than likely get cut before the season starts. There’s nothing wrong with giving these guys a shot because JD Martinez was once one these guys.
So what?
Getting rid of the Castros was a step in the right direction. Harold has a career bWAR of -.6 in 5 seasons and Willi has a bWAR of .4 in four years. The Tigers can do better. Hell, they MUST do better.
Harold Castro is overrated. In five seasons, he has a career bWAR of -.6
I wish him all the best, but I’m also glad that the Tigers are rid of him.
I can agree that STATISTICALLY, Harold Castro & Victor Reyes are not and probably never will be GREAT ballplayers, BUT when The Tigers have basically NO OFFENCE,, why would you dump 2 players who were arguably some of the most successful hitters on the team? At least wait until you have someone BETTER.
Nah. It was SO bleak that we don’t even need to wait. I’m glad Harris is cutting off the excess negatives so quickly.
He’s a really bright guy, and his vision of building a team is a lot more in line with actually winning ballgames. It’s just going to take time.
A lot of the ‘slower’ fans are going to be impatient about this, but there’s a lot of muck to sort through. A lot of people think it’s as easy as just “Well go sign Correa and Verlander and ________ and boom, we’re contenders again!”
It’s just not that simple. The meat of restructuring an entire organization that was nearly gutted from years of ineptitude comes from these smaller transactions first. We need to be thorough and diligent to work our way back.
Hooray