After a few weeks of work that generally has zero predictive value on the upcoming season, spring training is finally reaching a point where pitchers and hitters are no longer just shaking off the winter\u2019s rust. The Grapefruit League season concludes on March 25. Opening Day is March 27 in San Diego. So while we saw Tarik Skubal and Enmanuel de Jesus pitching for their countries on Sunday, and the WBC is ongoing and the Spring Breakout game lays ahead as the final notable day on the the spring calendary on March 20, the focus now turns more acutely toward the Tigers\u2019 Opening Day roster decisions. There are still a few big questions left to answer.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s natural to worry over Grapefruit League production, but year in and year out, it just doesn\u2019t mean anything for established big leaguers. Currently, Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling lead the team with 22 plate appearances. Essentially, no one else has even had five full games worth of trips to the plate yet. So while seeing important players struggle feels a lot worse than seeing everyone cranking homers and looking sharp, the last three weeks of games were little more than a warm-up.<\/p>\n
We should see a significant amount of cuts from major league camp in the coming days, and the regulars starting to get 3 or 4 plate appearances per game more often. If the Tigers don\u2019t already have their Opening Day position player roster basically locked in, the last two weeks could potentially tip the scales somewhat, but more than likely they only have one or two questions at most that they\u2019re looking for answers to in the final weeks of camp.<\/p>\n
Focus for the Tigers position player group will center around two positions, center field and shortstop, as it has all along. And one player is the key to the final Opening Day roster.<\/p>\n
Is Kevin McGonigle the starting shortstop?<\/p>\n
The one roster decision that controls the whole equation is whether top prospect Kevin McGonigle is the Opening Day shortstop. It\u2019s not a certainty that he\u2019s got the job, but it\u2019s been a very impressive camp for an already very impressive young player. He\u2019s done nothing to change our preseason opinion that he was already one of the top hitters on the roster, and so far he\u2019s answered all the defensive questions after an offseason of intense focus on improving his defensive game at the shortstop position. The Tigers may have other ideas, but it certainly feels like something would have to go very wrong for McGonigle to end up in Toledo to start the season.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old prospect came to camp needing to show that he\u2019s cleaned up his footwork and transfer, and could now play a more consistent and efficient brand of defense at the position. He\u2019s done that. The double pumps and extra steps that sometimes plagued him in what has only been a short time of actual play in the minor leagues have been banished so far this spring. His range has looked average or better, his hands and reactions are good, and his decision making with the ball has been excellent. There\u2019s nothing to be done about his arm strength. McGonigle is going to give up a few singles in the hole that a more typical, strong-armed shortstop would not, but the Tigers will have to live with that until a better option, namely #3 ranked prospect Bryce Rainer, arrives in a few years. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to hurt McGonigle\u2019s numbers too badly in the meantime.<\/p>\n
Assuming that McGonigle is the Opening Day shortstop, that really alters the roster by pushing Javy B\u00e1ez and Zach McKinstry into full utility mode rather than splitting time at shortstop as they would if McGonigle wasn\u2019t ready. It makes no sense to promote McGonigle, open a 40-man spot for him, and then only play him part-time trying to ease him into the job. Just turn him loose. In turn, that makes the Tigers roster a lot more flexible with B\u00e1ez and McKinstry capable of playing every and anywhere. In that scenario, carrying someone like Jahmai Jones as a pure bench bat or Parker Meadows as a defense first center fielder becomes easier.<\/p>\n
With Colt Keith starting at third base most of the time, B\u00e1ez might end up handling the weak side of the platoon there. The Tigers could also use him in center field against left-handed starting pitchers. He\u2019ll be entering games to hit lefties or as a defensive replacement on the majority of days where he begins the game on the bench.<\/p>\n
McKinstry can play anywhere but catcher, and while he probably won\u2019t see time in center field, having McGonigle at shortstop frees him up to play all over the place and to pinch hit for someone like Meadows when needed, knowing they\u2019ve several other players who are least solid in center field. Most days, McKinstry will probably freelance as a defensive replacement late in games, while taking occasional starts at second and third base.<\/p>\n
Right now, the Tigers have Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Matt Vierling locked in as Opening Day outfielders. A.J. Hinch and Scott Harris love Vierling, and after a 2025 season ruined by a shoulder injury that never cooperated, the versatile 30-year-old outfielder is swinging the bat well and apparently healthy. He\u2019ll get the opportunity to put 2025 aside and try to get back to his 2024 form. Vierling\u2019s ability to play a reasonably solid center field, play the corners when Carpenter or Greene are the DH, and even backup Colt Keith at third base here and there, basically makes him a lock at this point, though he does have an option remaining.<\/p>\n
That leaves, Parker Meadows, Wenceel P\u00e9rez, Jahmai Jones, along with minor league invite Austin Slater and former prospect Trei Cruz fighting it out for two spots in center field and as the fifth outfielder on the roster. Veteran minor leaguer Corey Julks is on the outside looking in, while Max Clark was never really an option yet and needs to get his seasoning in the upper minors before perhaps taking over in center field later on this summer. His timetable for full time work was always 2027, but he can certainly speed things up by tearing up the Triple-A level this year, particularly if the Tigers needs in center field remain pressing.<\/p>\n
Obviously as the best defensive center fielder on the roster, the Tigers would really like Parker Meadows to show something at the plate over the final weeks of camp. This is shaping up like a below average defensive outfield otherwise, and the Tigers\u2019 entire team strategy is to not worry too much about singles getting through the infield, and focus instead on preventing extra base hits. That means they need the best outfield they can put together. This is otherwise a mediocre defensive club other than behind the plate.<\/p>\n
Riley Greene went from arguably the best defensive left fielder in baseball in 2024, to more middle of the pack with a below average defensive runs saved (DRS) mark, and only slightly above average according to Statcast\u2019s outs above average (OAA) metric. Carpenter is even a little worse than those numbers, though he\u2019s also expected to be the DH much of the time to try and keep him healthy. We can hope Greene bounces back somewhat, and having Vierling in the mix helps solidify things, but without a good center fielder, this is an average at best defensive outfield.<\/p>\n
The two open roles here are the starting center fielder against right-handed pitchers, and the best bat possible to use against left-handed pitching at any outfield position or in the DH slot. For a heavily left-handed group of top hitters, that last role is crucial and Andy Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez and Jones have both seen signficant playing time over the past two years specifically because they did that one thing fairly well, or in Jones\u2019 case last year, extremely well.<\/p>\n
Parker Meadows just needs to get the bat going a little bit, and he\u2019ll continue to have an inside track to a roster spot, even if he\u2019s mainly used as a defensive specialist. Has he been hitting the ball on the ground all spring? Sure, and he can\u2019t just put a disaster at the plate into April without a course correction in the roster, but no one else fits the bill as an above average center fielder who is productive against right-handed pitching.<\/p>\n
Cruz is more of an average center fielder, but he may be able to outproduce Meadows as a left-handed hitter, and his switch-hitting and ability to play all over the infield, including shortstop, gives him at least a broader profile. He\u2019ll need a strong finish at the plate and in the field over the last two weeks to counter Meadows defensive advantage. Still, Cruz does have his fate in his own hands at this point. So does Wenceel P\u00e9rez. Now 26-year-old, P\u00e9rez has put up average numbers at the plate in part-time work, but he\u2019s could really stand to convince the Tigers he\u2019s ready to handle center field. He has the speed and overall athleticism to play the position well, but so far in his career he\u2019s been a little too mistake prone.<\/p>\n
B\u00e1ez posted a 75 wRC+ against right-handed pitching last season, so he\u2019s really not the everyday answer in center field. They could go with Vierling\u2019s more balanced splits in center field against right-handed starters, but he\u2019s a bit fringy in center field as a defender as well, and at least part of the time they may have him in right field with Carpenter in the DH slot. Slater does hit left-handed pitching pretty well, but he isn\u2019t really a center fielder at this point in his career. Corey Julks isn\u2019t a center fielder at all, so his opportunity was solely as a bat to hit lefties. He\u2019ll be extremely hard pressed to convince anyone he\u2019s the superior option to Jahmai Jones in that limited role.<\/p>\n
So, assuming McGonigle making the team, this is a current guess at the 13 total position players the Tigers will take north. The flexibility thus added by freeing up B\u00e1ez and McKinstry makes it a pretty simple decision to take Jones for his lefty mashing stick alone. They\u2019ll still have six other players who are fully capable of handling the outfield, and six players capable of playing the infield, though clearly Torkelson, Torres, and Keith are not cut out to play shortstop.<\/p>\n
The first alternate plan to that positional player group is to take Trei Cruz or Wenceel P\u00e9rez instead of Parker Meadows. The other alternate possibility is that the Tigers drive everyone crazy by deciding they want McGonigle to get some Triple-A time for additional reps at shortstop and against upper level minor league pitching. We can hope that A.J. Hinch has a say in that matter, but should that occur, now you have B\u00e1ez and McKinstry back at shortstop for a while. That opens up an outfield slot for Slater or P\u00e9rez, as well as ensuring Meadows or Cruz is playing center field a lot. I\u2019d bet on P\u00e9rez in that instance, but Slater\u2019s ability and track record against left-handed pitching could convince the Tigers to keep him through Opening Day and evaluatue him a little longer, knowing they can option P\u00e9rez and keep him in their back pocket in Toledo if needed.<\/p>\n
Still, that would require cutting someone for a 40-man spot for Slater, something they\u2019ll already have to do to add McGonigle to the roster at whatever point they choose, and thus two DFAs required before we even get to the pitching side of things. Overall I think the 33-year-old journeyman remains a real longshot to make the roster, though the Tigers would probably love to keep him stashed as a backup option in Toledo.<\/p>\n
In the end this all revolves around McGonigle continuing to play well at shortstop over the final two weeks, and on Meadows showing a little more life at the plate. The McGonigle decision will determine how flexible the Tigers can be with the rest of the roster, and that decision will shape what the Tigers need from their outfield group. The bar isn\u2019t that high for Meadows\u2019 bat considering the Tigers defensive needs. He just needs to look more like he can approach his career numbers at the plate, but if not, we\u2019ll see if Cruz or P\u00e9rez can seize the opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a few weeks of work that generally has zero predictive value on the upcoming season, spring training…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2386],"tags":[5,147,53,39441,2583,4,594],"class_list":{"0":"post-614898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-tigers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-detroit","10":"tag-detroit-tigers","11":"tag-detroit-tigers-analysis","12":"tag-detroittigers","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-tigers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116199315490813922","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}