Serven will get an invite to spring camp as well.
One area the Detroit Tigers badly need to improve this offseason is in their catcher and their infield depth. With Dillon Dingler promoted to Jake Rogers understudy at the major league level, and catching prospect Liam Hicks selected by the Miami Marlins in the Rule 5 draft, the situation was pretty bleak in terms of backstops to provide depth at the Triple-A level and potential injury replacements. On Monday, the Tigers made a move to address it, inking veteran catcher Brian Serven to a minor league contract with an invite to spring camp.
The 29-year-old catcher has been around the block. Drafted out of Arizona State way back in 2016 by the Colorado Rockies , Serven took six full years to reach the major leagues. He eventually played 73 games at the major league level for the Rockies across the 2022-2023 seasons. Prior to the 2024 season, he was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays , and caught 28 games for them, slashing a meager .191/.260/.302 line. He initially was up in April for a few weeks, and then returned at the end of June and was the depth catcher the rest of the season for the Blue Jays until he was DFA’d on September 16, where he eventually cleared waivers and finished the season at Triple-A Buffalo. He elected minor league free agency when the season ended.
The right-handed hitting Serven is not going to provide any offense, but few minor league veteran catchers do. Serven posted a 111 wRC+ at the Triple-A level in 2024, but even there he struck out nearly 30 percent of the time, though he did draw enough walks to put up respectable production for the level. He just doesn’t bring much in the way of power or consistent on-base ability to the table. The Tigers picked him up because he’s been an above average defender.
With pop times and arm strength both grading out a bit above average for a catcher, he gives the Tigers a credible third catcher who can handle the pitching staff and limit the running game. He checked in a bit below average in framing this season, but has posted plus values in that skill in previous seasons.
Serven does already catch much of the time with one knee down, so the Tigers probably won’t be teaching him any new tricks defensively. And if he’s in the lineup for any length of time it’s a bad sign for the Tigers’ offense. However, they really needed some dependable catching options they can stash at Toledo. Probably Serven isn’t the last catcher they’ll pick up to try and develop their best backup option this offseason.
It’s possible Stephen Scott, who spent most of the year at Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo, could return in that capacity as well, though Serven is the better defensive option by a wide margin. Minor league catcher Eliezer Alfonzo is another possible depth option for the Mud Hens after a decent season at the Double-A level, but he too is limited defensively. The Tigers added veteran Tomás Nido back in September on a minor league deal, but he elected free agency in November.
The Tigers will keep looking for catching, but while they’re at it, they need to come up with some better depth on the left side of the infield as well. Jace Jung might qualify if he doesn’t make the team out of camp, and Eddys Leonard did sign a minor league deal after getting DFA’d back in November when the Tigers set their 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft. Still that’s two guys who can play third base, but are better at second base. The same can likely be said about prospect Hao-Yu Lee, who will debut at the Triple-A level this season. The 22-year-old is a fine hitting prospect, but his transition to the hot corner didn’t really go any better than Jung’s did. Both could improve and handle the position better in their second years there, but neither really fits the profile in terms of arm strength.
The real hole continues to be at the shortstop position. The Tigers kept Ryan Kreidler on the 40-man, so while they lost Gage Workman to the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft, they at least do have one player beyond Trey Sweeney and Javier Báez who can play shortstop. Zach McKinstry can certainly help out there as well. Still, with only Kreidler as a credible shortstop in the upper minors, the options aren’t great. In three years of trying, Kreidler has failed to hit even a little bit. Personally I much favored protecting Workman and letting Kreidler go, just for the sake of Workman’s upside, but neither is much of an answer. If Kreidler is playing any significant time, the Tigers are going to be in pretty poor shape, so we’ll see if they can find someone to sign or claim who can support them at shortstop should the need arise.
None of this is exciting news. We’re all waiting to see if the Tigers will do something of real substance to get better this season. Still, they can’t afford to enter the season without a decent supporting cast bound for Toledo. Shortstop, catcher, and first base could all use development of at least one alternate option. The Tigers can’t neglect this area of roster construction, even if it isn’t the focus of the fanbase right now. Expect plenty more small moves like this over the rest of the winter.