We don’t necessarily put up a post for minor league signings, but this one probably has a little more relevance than most. The Tigers and veteran backstop Tomás Nido have agreed on a new minor league deal for the 2026 season. Nido’s defensive abilities and experience make him a pretty good third option, both to have him stashed away at the Triple-A level in case of an injury to Dillon Dingler or Jake Rogers, and also to mentor younger catchers in the system.
Nido, now 31, got some playing time with the Tigers early in the 2025 season while Rogers was on the injured list in April and May. He acquitted himself nicely in 37 plate appearances, hitting .343 with a 101 wRC+ to chip in plenty of singles while the Tigers offense was rolling. More importantly, while he doesn’t grade out as well as Rogers and especially Dingler do behind the plate, Nido is an above average defensive catcher with plenty of experience. That makes him an easy guy for A.J. Hinch and Chris Fetter to trust to lead the pitching staff when one of their two main catchers are unavailable.
Nido is a career .215/.249/.310 hitter at the major league level across parts of nine seasons and 982 plate appearances, so don’t let his batting average this year fool you. He doesn’t walk and he doesn’t hit for any power. He also tends to strike out quite a lot. His brief success was just a matter of putting the bat on the ball and finding some holes, but as a Triple-A backup, you’ll certainly take a bit of production during an injury call-up when you can get it.
This is perfectly sound minor move by Scott Harris and his front office group to bring Nido back for 2026. What’s a little more interesting is how this fits into the progress of the upper level catchers in the Tigers’ system.
Right-handed hitting Eduardo Valencia really blew up offensively in 2026, mashing 24 home runs and putting up a .382 OBP and a 158 wRC+ mark in 433 plate appearances split equally between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. However, the 25-year-old’s defense is still a little too rough to catch much at the major league level.
Valencia reached A-ball back in 2021 at age 21, after originally signing with the Tigers out of Venezuela as an international free agent back in 2018. He then spent several years battling injuries and didn’t really play a full season until 2024. Suddenly, this year he erupted as a hitter and after never playing more than 62 games in any season, he played 103 in 2025. Still, much of that playing time was at first base or in the DH slot, while he caught 39 games total.
All of which is to say that Valencia became a small point of intrigue as his assault on Triple-A pitching carried on in August and September, but only for his bat. He’s Rule 5 eligible in December, and due to turn 26 years old in January. At this point he’s never going to be a starting catcher. The defense just isn’t refined enough, but one could argue that he’s also lost out on some reps along the way and could improve a little more and make it as a backup catcher who can pinch-hit against lefties. We’ll know how the Tigers feel about his potential when the deadline to finalize their 40-man roster arrives. It feels like Valencia has a decent shot of getting picked if left unprotected. Should they add him to the 40-man, Nido is a good player to have mentoring him as Valencia works to make up for lost time and improve his blocking and framing.
Keeping Nido also provides depth while top catching prospects Thayron Liranzo and Josue Briceño look to develop further at the Double-A level. The addition of Nido is probably confirmation that the two will repeat the level in 2026, unless they decide to move Briceño off the position for good. The now 22-year-old Liranzo seems like the more natural fit behind the plate, though he had his struggles defensively as well. It’s unclear if he was dealing with injuries or not, but his workload behind the plate tailed off over the course of the season.
Liranzo and Briceño both reached the Double-A level very quickly. Briceño was still only 20 years old when he arrived in late spring. It’s no surprise that they struggled. There is a ton to learn behind the plate calling a new staff at a much more advanced level even if the catching load is fairly light. Hitting much better pitching is obviously a major leap to deal with as well. If either had thrived in both respects this season they would’ve shot toward the top of national top 100 lists. But as one would expect, they needed time to acclimate and 2026 will really sort them out more as far as their future projections and pathways to the major leagues. One way or the other, Briceño’s bat looks like it will play. Liranzo’s outlook is a little more murky on both sides of the ball though his potential should keep him on top 100 lists this offseason.
I wouldn’t expect either to start the season at the Triple-A level, even if they decide to scrap the catching portion of Briceño’s workload. It’s entirely natural for catchers to take some time in the upper levels before really starting to break out again, so the Tigers should not be pushing either one too quickly. So adding Nido back as depth removes any need to push either young prospect next year, and if one of them does break out in the catching department and reach Triple-A, they’ll also have a good defensive catcher familiar with how Hinch and Fetter like games called to mentor them as well.
We saw repeatedly how important quality minor league depth is to a major league roster during the 2025 season. Tomas Nido’s role with the Tigers a is small one and not likely to expand, but it is somewhat outsized in importance. So it’s well that he’ll return for 2026.