Tigers protect three relievers from the Rule 5 draft; designate INF Eddys Leonard

The Tigers made a few adjustments to their roster before the 40-man roster deadline.

Tuesday was the final day for major league teams to add players to their 40-man roster in advance of December’s Rule 5 draft, and the Detroit Tigers had a few adjustments in mind. They added three minor league relievers to the roster to protect them from the draft, and designated three players for assignment to make room.

RHP Tyler Mattison, RHP Tyler Owens, and RHP Chase Lee were all added to the 40-man roster. INF Eddys Leonard, RHP Ricky Vanasco, and RHP Brendan White were designated for assignment in corresponding moves.

The additions make pretty good sense and there weren’t any big surprises. Mattison was arguably the Tigers top relief prospect last spring before tearing his UCL and requiring Tommy John surgery. While he’s unlikely to return to action until at least the summer months in 2025, a team would’ve had a reasonably easy time picking him in the Rule 5 draft. Mattison could eventually be moved to the injured list, temporarily re-opening a roster spot, whereas anyone else selected has to stay on the active 26-man roster all season long or be offered back to their original club.

Owens and Lee were both acquired at July’s trading deadline from the Texas Rangers . Lee came over as part of the Andrew Chafin trade along with RHP Joseph Montalvo, who the Tigers like a lot but is still too raw to worry about protecting from the Rule 5 draft. Owens was the key piece in the Carson Kelly trade and was a big weapon down the stretch and in the postseason for Erie SeaWolves manager Gabe Alvarez in winning a second straight Eastern League championship.

Lee punched out 31 hitters in just 22 innings of work after coming to Detroit in the deal. He throws from a funky, sidearm angle and packs a high spin slider among his four pitch mix. Despite sitting around 90 mph, Lee is tough to pick up, particularly for right-handed hitters. He struck out 32.3 percent of hitters faced with the Tigers, a rate about 50 percent higher than his Triple-A work with the Rangers, and slashed his walk rate from 13.5 percent down to 4.2 percent with the Tigers. Some minor adjustments in his mechanics and where he sets up on the rubber seemed to set off the improvement in his command, and Lee will be in the mix to help the Tigers’ bullpen in 2025.

RHP Tyler Owens is more of a prototypical hard-throwing reliever with an overhand slot and velocity that popped after he came over from the Rangers. Owens was just shy of triple digits during the summer months, sitting closer to 95-95 mph with a really true-spinning fourseamer with a bit of natural cut. He also has a sharp slider and a developing splitter. His strikeout rate went from 24.5 percent with the Rangers up to 28.2 percent with the Erie SeaWolves.

Owens throws a good amount of strikes, and he started collecting more ground balls after working in the Tigers pitching development system. A little sharper command is in order before he’s ready to contribute to the Tigers pen this year, but Owens suppresses home runs quite well and probably isn’t far from a major league debut once he settles in at the Triple-A level to start the year.

The DFA’s weren’t too surprising other than Leonard. Vanasco was picked up late in the season but didn’t make that big of an impression yet. The Tigers might be able to bring him back on a minor league deal.

The same could be true for White, who has some major league experience in Detroit and showed himself capable of punching out a lot of hitters. Dialing in his command is the final piece of the puzzle. Unfortunately, White spent basically all of 2024 on the shelf with arm trouble, requiring hydrodissection in August to alleviate radial nerve issues in his forearm. If White can get healthy he may be able to work his way back into the mix. The high spin arsenal and a good high 90’s fourseamer with plenty of ride and a flat trajectory to the top of the zone will keep him employed if he can put the injury plagued season behind him.

The one minor surprise was infielder Eddys Leonard. Acquired for cash at the 2023 trade deadline, the infielder had an impressive Triple-A debut for the Tigers as he mashed eight home runs in 40 games for the Toledo Mud Hens. This year things went less well as Leonard dealt with injuries and didn’t really get hot until late in the season. Leonard is probably best suited for second base, but he does play shortstop and third base, along with a bit of outfield, and he just turned 24 years old in November.

One might think that the Tigers miserable depth chart at the shortstop position might see Leonard through to another year on the 40-man roster, but he’s really not a solid regular at the position. Along with the injuries, Leonard is a free swinger who seems bound to have trouble with major league pitching unless he can improve his approach. Combine those issues with a season largely lost to injuries, and the Tigers aren’t concerned about Leonard getting picked in the Rule 5 draft.

Among the players left exposed to the draft are fringe catching prospect Liam Hicks, and infielder Gage Workman, who managed a modest breakout season after several years of struggle. Workman is more third baseman than shortstop, but he’s a pretty good defender overall, with power, a good arm, and the speed to steal a good amount of bases. The tools are strong, but the contact ability and recognition remain a work in progress, and Workman can’t really handle left-handed pitching. It’s an interesting profile because there’s plenty of upside. There’s also too much risk for the Tigers to spend a 40-man roster spot on. I wouldn’t be shocked if he was selected by another team, but it’s still unlikely.

Beyond Workman, the Tigers do have some talented young players who are bound for Double-A this year, but aren’t nearly ready to be stashed on a major league roster all season. Outfielder Roberto Campos maybe has a slim chance of getting selected. The same is true for left-handed starter Gabriel Reyes, who I really like but is still pretty raw, along with several right-handers like Joseph Montalvo, and relievers Yosber Sanchez, RJ Petit, and Marco Jimenez. Any of the three is a leap in command away from the major leagues as they move into the upper minors.

Jimenez, catcher Eliezer Alfonzo, and RHP Freddy Pacheco have all signed minor league deals with the Tigers already. That doesn’t exempt them from the Rule 5 draft, however.

In other Tigers news, manager A.J. Hinch finished third in American League Manager of the Year voting. Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt took home the award after turning the Guardians around and getting them back to the ALCS in the wake of a disappointing 2023 season and long-time manager Terry Francona’s brief retirement.

No one gets worked up about MoY voting, but Hinch did have a pretty great case. Yet he only got one first place vote out of 30. Royals skipper Matt Quatraro got two first place votes. So it was nearly unanimous for Vogt.

The Brewers Pat Murphy won the National League edition and also received 27 first place votes.

Finally, the Tigers are rebuilding the playing surface in Comerica Park this offseason as they likewise build a new premium seating area called the Home Plate Club. That will have seating around home plate beneath the existing stands, with a private entrance and seats with heating and cooling systems. Very fancy. Those seats should be ready by Opening Day, though the actual club itself isn’t set to open until next summer.