Here's when Detroit Tigers plan to make final cuts in bullpen for Opening Day roster
LAKELAND, Fla. — The biggest news from the Detroit Tigers on Friday was the difficult decision to option Matt Manning to Triple-A Toledo. Sending Manning to the Mud Hens set the five-man starting rotation with Tarik Skubal, Kenta Maeda, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson and Casey Mize.
But the Tigers made another roster move Friday.
Right-handed reliever Drew Anderson, who signed a minor-league contract after spending two seasons in Japan and increased the velocity of his fastball upon joining the Tigers, was reassigned to minor-league camp.
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Cutting Anderson leaves the Tigers with 29 players remaining in MLB spring training, which is actually 28 players because right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long, scheduled to throw a live batting practice session Saturday, will open the season on the injured list with a left groin strain.
The Tigers need to cut two players, from 28 to 26.
There are four relievers in the mix for two spots: left-hander Joey Wentz, right-hander Beau Brieske, right-hander Alex Faedo and right-hander Miguel Díaz. All four relievers will travel to Tampa on Monday's off day before Tuesday's final spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Only two of them will get on the plane to Chicago.
"The next wave of decisions will be while we're in Tampa," manager A.J. Hinch said, "either throughout the off day or into Tuesday."
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The Tigers play the season opener Thursday against the White Sox in Chicago, with a pregame deadline to set the roster. But the final roster decisions should be official sometime between Tuesday's spring training game at Tropicana Field and Wednesday's team workout at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Wentz and Díaz don't have any minor-league options remaining, meaning the Tigers will risk losing them to other teams through the waiver process if they don't make the Opening Day roster.
Three of the four relievers — Brieske, Faedo and Wentz — have performed remarkably in spring training games. Brieske, 25, has a 0.00 ERA with two walks and seven strikeouts in 11⅔ innings; Faedo, 28, has a 1.64 ERA with one walk and 14 strikeouts in 11 innings; Wentz, 26, has a 2.77 ERA with four walks and 16 strikeouts in 13 innings.
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Anderson, who celebrated his 30th birthday on the day he was eliminated from the roster battle, is expected to report Triple-A Toledo and compete to be the first reliever recalled by the Tigers.
He has struck out 14 batters in eight innings.
"Depth is something that we've talked about over the last few years here as being very necessary and very important," Hinch said. "This year is no different. I feel like we're getting more and more players that have a great case to be on our major league team, and that's a good thing. It's not always good for players at the end of camp when they get sent down, but it makes for a better opportunity to have a winning season."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' plan to make final cuts in bullpen for Opening Day
