Roster battles to watch as Detroit Tigers open full-squad workouts in spring training

LAKELAND, Fla. — We know a few things about the 2024 Detroit Tigers.

We know 26 of them will travel by plane from Tampa, Florida, to Chicago for Opening Day on March 28 against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

We know there will be 13 position players and 13 pitchers on the flight.

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More than that? Finding out the rest begins Monday, as the Tigers' first full-squad workout in spring training is set for the spring training complex in Lakeland, Florida. The Tigers have 59 players in camp leading up to the 2024 season.

"Every team is different," manager A.J. Hinch said. "At this time last year, I hadn't seen virtually everybody in camp, and I have now. ... I'm going to lay out, very bluntly, what we need to get better at and how we plan to address the next six weeks and how, even though we have a small number of spots open, it's still going to be pretty competitive.

"I think the tone of the camp will be positive in nature, just like it always is. We got to get to work. We need to worry less about big picture things and get into the trenches to address some things that are going to help us win more games."

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The position player situation is more defined than the pitcher situation, so let's start there. There appears to be one opening to complete the list of 13 position players.

These 10 position players are all but locked in, barring injury: Javier Báez (SS), Mark Canha (OF), Kerry Carpenter (OF/DH), Riley Greene (OF), Colt Keith (2B), Carson Kelly (C), Parker Meadows (OF), Jake Rogers (C), Spencer Torkelson (1B) and Matt Vierling (3B).

Then there are the two position players likely on the team in utility roles: Andy Ibáñez and Zach McKinstry.

These three Tigers, then, are battling for one spot: Akil Baddoo (OF), Ryan Kreidler (UTIL) and Justyn-Henry Malloy (OF/DH).

Some other players — such as slugging first baseman/left fielder Keston Hiura, who signed a minor-league contract a few days ago and rakes against right-handed pitchers but projects as first base depth in Triple-A Toledo — could work their way into that mix, but for now, they're on the outside looking in.

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In the Tigers' best-case scenario, Malloy hits enough in spring training to garner regular at-bats as the designated hitter. The 24-year-old is a liability on defense in the outfield, but he doesn't have anything else to prove at the plate in Triple-A Toledo after posting a .417 on-base percentage in 611 plate appearances last season.

If Malloy isn't the answer, Kreidler would make the most sense for the final position player spot because of his versatility as a shortstop, third baseman, second baseman and center fielder. He is the best all-around defender in camp, but he failed to hit in the big leagues, albeit in limited opportunities over the past two seasons.

Baddoo probably won't be a fit unless there's an injury to a fellow left-handed hitter — that would be Carpenter, Greene or Meadows — in the outfield.

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The pitcher situation is way more complex.

These eight pitchers are also locked in: starters Jack Flaherty (RHP), Kenta Maeda (RHP) and Tarik Skubal (LHP) and relievers Andrew Chafin (LHP), Jason Foley (RHP), Tyler Holton (LHP), Alex Lange (RHP) and Shelby Miller (RHP). We can probably also count on starter Matt Manning (RHP) and reliever Will Vest (RHP) making the roster.

That leaves seven pitchers battling for three spots (one in the rotation, eventually, and two in the bullpen): starters Casey Mize (RHP) and Reese Olson (RHP) and relievers Beau Brieske (RHP), Miguel Díaz (RHP), Alex Faedo (RHP), Joey Wentz (LHP) and Brendan White (RHP).

Some other pitchers — such as relievers Andrew Vasquez (LHP) and Trey Wingenter (RHP), who returned to the organization on minor-league contracts in the offseason — could work their way into the bullpen mix, but they're currently projected to serve as depth in Triple-A Toledo.

The Tigers will not operate with a six-man rotation, but the Tigers could carry six starters on the Opening Day roster: Flaherty, Maeda, Skubal, Manning, Mize and Olson. In that case, Manning or Olson would piggyback with Mize because Mize will have a pitch-count restriction in his return from Tommy John surgery.

If one of those starters is Triple-A Toledo bound, there will be three openings for relievers. Díaz and Wentz are out of minor-league options, meaning the Tigers can't send them down without the risk of losing them to other teams via the waiver process, whereas Brieske, Faedo and White can be shuffled back and forth between the minors and majors this 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 roster battles as spring training begins for real