2025 Detroit Tigers Season Preview Part II
How will all the injuries and uncertainty affect the Tigers in 2025?
Last week I began my preview of the 2025 season for the Detroit Tigers by looking at their off-season moves, and the pitching staff. If you missed part I please click below.
Today I will look at the position players and how the injuries will affect the roster and the beginning of the season. So let’s jump right in, I’ll go around the horn position by position and look at how I think it should shake out. Then, I will list the players I think will be on the Opening Day roster and what I think the lineups should be against left and right handed starting pitchers.
NOTE: All of the stats listed in this post are current as of Friday 03/21/25.
Position by Position Infield
Catcher
This one is easy. The catchers for the Detroit Tigers in 2025 will be Jake Rogers and Dillon Dingler. At this point there are not any other options for the season, there aren’t even any other catchers on the 40-man roster. So, barring any injuries this is what the Tigers have to work with this season. Jake Rogers will take the majority of games, including every Tarik Skubal start and Dingler will fill in when Rogers needs a rest. Last season neither one had a great season. Rogers hit an abysmal .195 with ten homeruns, 36 RBIs, an OBP of .255, and a SLG of .352 in 102 games. A far cry from 2023 when he hit .223 with 21 homeruns and 49 RBIs. He needs to figure out where all his power went, and get it back, because last year it was only his defense, (and the general crappiness of the Tigers, for most of the season), that kept him on the major league roster. Dillon Dingler, had a short 27 game stint with the Tigers last year and was not very impressive. He hit .167 with one homerun, eleven RBIs, an OBP of .195, and a SLG of .310 in those 27 games. It is a small sample size but he needs to cut down on his strikeouts (30 in 84 at bats) and at least get his bat on the ball more. Last year, in Toledo, before his call-up, he hit .308 with 17 homeruns, 52 RBIs, an OBP of .379, and a SLG of .559 in 71 games. That line, gives me hope that once he gets his timing down and figures out the Major League game. If Rogers can return to his 2023 form and Dingler can live up to his AAA stats, the Tigers would have a great pair of catchers. If they don’t, it could be a long season behind the plate.
First Base
Last year in my season preview I said that this position was one of the easiest to figure out. This year, it is totally different. Last season, Spencer Torkelson was the anointed first baseman. He struggled out of the gate, and never got any better as the season went on. He was so bad that he was sent down to Toledo to work out his issues at the plate. He was recalled up right before the end of the season. He ended the season hitting .219 with ten homeruns, 37 RBIs an OBP of .295 and a SLG of .337 in 91 games. In the playoffs but was just as horrible, he had one single, three doubles, no homeruns, one RBI, three walks and struck out 11 times in 24 plate appearances. That is a batting average of .191 an OBP of .292 and a SLG of .333. For comparison, Parker Meadows hit .269 with five singles, two doubles, one homerun, one RBI, six strikeouts, three stolen bases, an OBP of .345 and a SLG of .462 in 29 plate appearances.
All of this is from the first overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft. In fact, if you look at his numbers Torkelson has had two great months in his MLB career, that's it. I think the Tigers are starting to realize this and when they signed Gleyber Torres, it forced their hand. As I said in Part I, Torres is such a bad defender, he can only play second base, and the Tigers had to figure out what to do with Colt Keith, “the second baseman of the future”. Their solution? Move Keith to first base, a position he has never played in his whole life. What does that say about the Tigers confidence in Tork, if they’re willing to roll the dice with a player that has never played first before? What if all the work Keith has to do to get himself up to speed defensively, hurts his offensive output? What if he can't pick up all the nuances at first? Torkelson is going to start the season in the minors, if he can pull it together in the batter's box, he might be recalled if Keith can't hack it.
What if Torkelson can't figure out his hitting and Keith has trouble at first or in the box, what's the backup plan? Mark Canha played 31 games at first last year, but he is in Milwaukee. Gio Urshela played 18 games at first last season but he's playing for the A’s. Bligh Madris played 20 games at first, but he’s not even on the 40-man roster.1 Andy Ibanez played 19 games at first last year, I think he is the next best option if Keith flounders and Torkelson is still horrible. Justyn-Henry Malloy has also been taking reps at first so far this spring, but the truth is the Tigers have backed themselves into a corner at first. They named Tork the first baseman as soon as they could, and once they did, they completely neglected the position, they didn't draft any players and didn't even invite any first basemen to spring training. Now they are reaping the fruits of their mistake. For the good of the team and for my sanity, I hope the Tigers know what they're doing, because I certainly don't have faith in this decision.
So far this spring Torkelson was been hitting really well, with an average of .302, four homeruns, four walks, nine RBIs and ten strikeouts in 53 plate appearances. This is also Spring Training, when you might not be facing Major League pitchers or those pitchers are working on specific things in a certain game. It is dangerous to draw too many hard conclusions from a player’s performance in spring. whether good or bad. However, with the injuries, he might have hit well enough to spare himself another trip to Toledo. If he is hitting good enough, he could even given Colt Keith a break, if needed at first.
Second Base
The situation at second base is another area with more questions than answers. It is not as clear as it was last year when Colt Keith was the man at second. After the Gleyber Torres signing, Torres will be the second baseman for 2025, he is a horrible fielding, wanna be power hitter, who is trying to resurrect his career with the possibility of a big offensive season in Detroit. As I said in Part I, he started his MLB career at shortstop but was too bad defensively, to be played there, and was moved to second base. Torres made it clear when he signed that he's only here for one year and he’s a defensive liability wherever he plays. Does he even care about the Tigers? I doubt it. Does he want the Tigers to win? Only as much as it serves his purposes. Will he have that career resurgence? My crystal ball says no, but I have been wrong before. Do I think I'm wrong in this case? Nope, sure don't. I think this will go down in Tigers history as one of the worst signings in recent memory. Expect lots of errors and misplays at second and a league-average hitter at the plate. Now on the other side of the coin, he is hitting well this spring but like I said with Tork, it is unwise to say definitively that Torres is going to have a stellar year. He has a .294 batting average with three homeruns, eleven RBIs, seven walks and nine strikeouts in 41 plate appearances. For the good of the team I hope I’m wrong about Torres and he becomes one of my favorite players, but I don’t think he will.
Third Base
The “hot corner” is yet another position with more questions than answers. Last season six different players saw time at third base. Gio Urshela had 74 games, Matt Vierling played 51, Zach McKinstry had 38, Jace Jung played 27, Andy Ibanez had 19, and Ryan Kreidler played eight. The Tigers tried, but failed to land free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, which would have made all these words I’m about to write, a moot point. Now, the Tigers have to figure out what to do with third base for the 2025 season and beyond. The easy answer was Jace Jung, he is being touted as the third baseman of the future. Unfortunately, he was pretty bad in his limited action with Detroit. He hit .241 with no homeruns, three RBIs, no stolen bases, 15 walks, 29 strikeouts, an OBP of .362 and a SLG of .304. He wasn’t any better in the field with four errors and a Fielding% of .917. He wasn’t really showing any improvement this spring, hitting a pathetic .121 with a single, two doubles and a homerun, with four walks and ten strikeouts in 33 plate appearances and was optioned to Toledo on March 17. This doesn’t mean he won’t be the third baseman of the future, just that he needs a little more time in the minors.
So, what are the Tigers going to do with first base? Andy Ibanez and Zach McKinstry will get the most time at the hot corner, but that’s not the only solution., nor can it be, because McKinstry is in the mix at shortstop as well. AJ Hinch has said recently, that Javy Baez will also be getting time at third this season. I have to admit, that I didn’t realize he had played 104 games at third in his career. If he can hit well enough, that could be another piece to the third base conundrum. Otherwise, with no solid timetable on the Matt Vierling injury, it will most often be the combo of left-handed hitting McKinstry and right-handed hitting Ibanez.
Shortstop
The more I'm getting into this position by position review, the more I realize how fragile this season is. Chaos at first, questions at second, tribulation at third, and now we come to shortstop. I sound like a broken record, when I say that third is yet another position with more questions than answers. Will Javy Baez have a career resurgence or will he continue his tragic fall? Will he play more games at third? How will Trey Sweeney do in his first full season in the Majors? Will he even have a full season or will he start off in Toledo and we will have the Baez and Zach McKinstry show with Ibanez at third? At this point it is wait and see.
Last year, Baez played 80 games at short, he hit .184, six homeruns, 36 RBIs, eight stolen bases, twelve walks, 69 strikeouts, an OBP of .221, and a SLG of .294. He had a Fielding% of .972 with nine errors. McKinstry played 118 games, 48 at short. He hit .215, with four homeruns, 23 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, 24 walks, 69 strikeouts, an OBP of .277, and a SLG of .337. He had a Fielding% of .961 with five errors at short. Sweeney played 36 games at short, he hit .218, with four homeruns, 17 RBIs, two stolen bases, seven walks, 32 strikeouts, an OBP of .269, and a SLG of .373. He had a Fielding% of .972 with four errors. Ryan Kreidler played 35 games, 26 at shortstop. He hit .119 with one homerun, two RBIs, five stolen bases, six walks, 19 strikeouts, an OBP of .200 and a SLG of a pathetic .169. Defensively, at short, he had two errors and a Fielding% of .975.
With Baez making $25 million this season, as well as $24 million in 2026 and 2027, it is virtually impossible the Tigers are going to cut Baez, no matter how bad he gets. If he doesn’t improve, maybe in 2026 or 2027, but not now. If he is healthy at the end of Spring Training, he will be, if not the Opening Day starting shortstop, then in a platoon situation with either McKinstry or Sweeney. I think that the Tigers should give Sweeney a legitimate chance to show what he’s got this season and if he can’t improve his hitting, than a stint down in Toledo is warranted, but he is the current long-term solution at short and deserves a long look. If the Tigers want Sweeney to start the season in Toledo, then I hope that they will go with a straight platoon, with Baez playing against left-handed pitchers and McKinstry playing against right-handers. That would mean McKinstry get way more playing time than Baez and that is a good thing for the team and the fans.
Position by Position Outfield
Left Field
Riley Greene is going to be the left fielder in 2025. Last year Greene was one of the best players on the Tigers. He hit .262, with 24 homeruns, 74 RBIs, four stolen bases, an OBP of .348, and a SLG of .479 in 137 games. He led the team in hits, he was second in doubles, first in triples. First in homers, RBIs, walks and batting average (out of players with at least 90 games played). He has the highest OBP and SLG on the team as well (again for qualified hitters). Along with Skubal, Greene was an All-Star in 2024 and is looking to take another step forward this season. Last season, the 137 games was the most he’s played in his two full years in the majors. He needs to prove he can stay healthy and he can become the superstar player the Tigers thought they had when they drafted him. Javy Baez has also been getting time in left this spring. He has played three games in left in his career, but it seems like he is willing to try it to help the team. Good for him! Justyn-Henry Malloy is another piece in left, but his defense is significantly below average. McKinstry can also play in left if they wanted to move Greene to center, and is much better than Malloy defensively but is a fairly weak hitter. It is his glove and the ability to play pretty much everywhere that keeps him on the Tigers roster. Recently the Tigers announced that Greene will play the vast majority of games this season in left, for the simple reason to keep Greene as healthy as possible.
Center Field
The center fielder in 2025 and for many years to come was supposed to be Parker Meadows. He had a challenging 2024 but turned it around after a stint in the minors and ended the season with a .244 average, nine homeruns, six triples, twelve doubles, 28 RBIs, nine stolen bases, an OBP of .310 and a SLG of .433 in 89 games. Over 47 games after his trip to the minors and an injury, from August 3, to the end of the season. He hit .296 with six homeruns, five triples, ten doubles, 23 RBIs, five stolen bases, an OBP of .340 and a SLG of .500. Quite a way to end the season. He is also one of the best defensive center fielders the Tigers have had in years. If he can continue his end of the season run and his defensive prowess, he will be a perennial All-Star. Please enjoy the Parker meadows highlights in the video below.
However, Meadows was diagnosed with a right upper arm musculocutaneous nerve issue, after feeling discomfort on a throw on February 22. I'm not a doctor, (although I have played one on TV), and I don't understand what the issue is with the nerve. Meadows has said it made his arm go numb and he couldn't flex his bicep. He also said that the doctors said that it just needs rest. On March 15, the Tigers announced that Meadows is going to miss opening day. There is no timetable for his return, it could be a week, two weeks or two months, and that is kind of scary.
With Meadows on the shelf for now, what do the Tigers do with center field? Vierling played 57 games in center last season and 31 in 2023. He would be the natural replacement for Meadows but he is hurt as well. Vierling has been diagnosed with a right rotator cuff strain. He was shut down for three weeks and was re-evaluated March 17, he was cleared to ramp up baseball activity, and is doing everything but throwing. But either way he’ll open the season on the 10-day Injured List. He won’t be eligible to play in MLB games until April 6 at the earliest. Now, that both Meadows and Vierling will both miss the start of the season, who will the Tigers turn to to fill those voids? Wenceel Perez, who played 29 games in center last year, has been getting a lot of practice out there this spring and it looks like he is going to be the main guy out there until either Meadows or Vierling comes back. There is another player that might be playing his way onto the roster with his performance in spring training, that is Jahmai Jones. The Tigers signed him as a Minor League free agent but he is hitting .205 with two doubles, a triple, two homeruns, seven walks, eight RBIs, with an OBP of .340 and a SLG of .462 in 46 plate appearances in 20 games so far. He has played with five MLB organizations since he was drafted in 2015; the Angels, Orioles, Dodgers, Brewers and Yankees. He has hit .198 with one homerun, eleven RBIs, seven walks, 49 strikeouts, an OPB of .257, and a SLG of .278 in 69 games over four years. Maybe Jones has finally figured it out, or maybe he is just a Spring Training flash in the pan and he goes back to what his MLB numbers say he is; a career minor leaguer. The Tigers would have to make a spot for him on the 40-man roster but it is something to keep our eyes on.2
Right Field
In 2025, right field belongs to Kerry Carpenter. He will be an everyday player there if he can get opportunities against left-handed pitchers this year. I have never understood the reasoning behind the lack of at bats Carpenter get against left-handed pitchers. He has 134 plate appearances against lefties in his career (that is 577 less then against righties) and has a .202 batting average against them. However, his numbers in the minors and college don’t support the perception that he has an inability to hit southpaw pitchers. Now, he has struggled in the Majors but that is more because of the lack of experience then any lack of ability. Carpenter, himself has said he wants more chances against them, and even said that in Spring Training games if he was lifted for a pinch hitter against a left-handed pitcher he would grab one the Tigers lefties and go to one of the back fields for batting practice. So, AJ Hinch, for the love of all that is holy, please give Kerry chances against southpaws! Last season he missed 75 games because of a back injury, but still hit .284 with 18 homeruns, 57 RBIs, five triples, 16 doubles, 22 walks, 75 strikeouts, an OBP of .345 and a SLG of .587. His defense leaves something to be desired but he doesn’t make errors, he just doesn’t get to a lot of balls, strange for someone as fast as him. Justyn-Henry Malloy could also see time there, especially if Carpenter isn’t allowed to hit against lefties. However, as I said before, Malloy is a defensive liability in the outfield. Having Malloy in right is downgrade, Malloy doesn’t have great range and doesn’t have a great arm from right. Malloy isn’t a good enough hitter against left handers to justify putting him in the game over Carpenter. Recently Spencer Torkelson played a game in right field and has been hitting very well this spring, but his arm is not up to a right fielder’s standard, so I wonder how much of a plan that would actually be.
Designated Hitter
If Spencer Torkelson can convince AJ Hinch that his hitting troubles are behind him, I think he will make the roster and fill the DH role with the Tigers. He is hitting .302 with four homeruns, nine RBIs, an OBP of .362 and a SLG of .581 in 47 plate appearances. I know it’s a small sample size but in his other four years during Spring Training, he has only hit .187, with two homeruns and 16 RBIs, so there is hope. I’m sure the Tigers don’t want to give up on a first overall pick and will give him a little latitude. I could also see Andy Ibanez and Malloy getting time at DH.
Opening Day Roster and Lineups
Everything from here on down is made using the current injury situations for the Tigers and how I think it should shake out. Here is my version of the 26-man Opening Day roster, as it stand right now. As soon as Meadows is ready to play the Tigers will have to send someone down to Toledo, they same goes for Vierling. I’m not sure what will happen once Cobb is healthy, they will need to make room for him on the 40-man roster, so someone will have to be removed unless there is another long-term injury. This list is contingent on everyone else making it through Spring Training healthy:
Starting Pitchers
Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson, Casey Mise, Jackson Jobe
Relief Pitchers
Kenta Maeda, Jason Foley, Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Will Vest,
Brant Hurter, Tommy Kahnle, John Brebbia
Position Players
Jake Rogers, Dillon Dingler, Colt Keith, Gleyber Torres, Trey Sweeney,
Javier Baez, Andy Ibanez, Zach McKinstry, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter,
Justyn-Henry Malloy, Wenceel Perez, Spencer Torkelson
Lineups
This is what I think the lineups could be against left-handed and right-handed pitchers when everybody is healthy:
Right-handed pitcher
Wenceel Perez-Center Field
Gleyber Torres-Second Base
Riley Greene-Left Field
Kerry Carpenter-Right Field
Colt Keith-First Base
Spence Torkelson-DH
Jake Rogers-Catcher
Zach McKinstry-Third Base
Trey Sweeney-Shortstop
This lineup gives the Tigers left-handed hitters in every spot but second and sixth. It would show Keith that the Tigers still have faith in him as a hitter, and gets Sweeney some at bats as the ninth hitter. As low stress as MLB at-bats could be. Hopefully they would be able to score some runs before getting to the weak bottom third of this lineup.
Left-handed Pitcher
Zach McKinstry-Center Field
Colt Keith-First Base
Gleyber Torres-Second Base
Riley Greene-Left Field
Justyn-Henry Malloy-Right Field
Andy Ibanez-DH
Jake Rogers-Catcher
Javier Baez-Third Base
Trey Sweeney-Shortstop
This is a balanced with Greene, Keith, Sweeney and McKinstry as the lefties. Ibanez feasts against left-handed pitchers, so the DH spot is perfect for him. and justlike the right handed lineup hopefully, this version allows the Tigers to score a run or two before getting to the bottom third, which is pretty weak. I know that all of you are disappointed to see Baez in the lineup, but as I said before the Tigers are not going to cut him at this point, and slotting him in the bottom two limits his impact on the game.
Just for fun I’m going to do the lineups as they could be without the injuries. You can see how much better they are.
Right-handed pitcher
Parker Meadows-Center Field
Gleyber Torres-Second Base
Riley Greene-Left Field
Kerry Carpenter-Right Field
Matt Vierling-Third Base
Colt Keith-First Base
Spencer Torkelson-DH
Jake Rogers-Catcher
Trey Sweeney-Shortstop
Left-handed Pitcher
Parker Meadows-Center Field
Colt Keith-First Base
Gleyber Torres-Second Base
Riley Greene-Left Field
Matt Vierling-Third Base
Andy Ibanez-DH
Jake Rogers-Catcher
Justyn-Henry Malloy-Right Field
Javier Baez-Shortstop
These are much better lineup, even with Baez in there against left-handed pitchers. Let’s hope that the injuries to Meadows and Vierling are minor and don’t require much time on the Injured List, and these are the lineups we can go with. There you go, the final post in my look at the 2025 Tigers season. Please, do not take any of this to heart. It is only the ramblings of a baseball loving guy, who doesn’t have any insight, other than what I see, and I certainly do not have any power or pull with the Tigers organization. If I did, they would have been much more successful over the last few years. Next time I’ll make my predictions for the final standings in both the American and National Leagues, including playoff predictions. I hope you enjoy these posts and as always, feel free to share them with anyone who might be interested.
Chris
Bligh Madris was assigned to Toledo after the playoffs but had to clear waivers first. When he did he was signed to a minor league contract and removed from the 40-man roster. He was given an invite to spring training, but the Tigers would have to remove a player from the 40-man to make room for Madris. Unless there are more injuries or he has an unbelievable spring he is a player in Toledo until there is room for him on the roster.
The 40-man roster includes a combination of players on the 26-man roster, the 7, 10, and 15-day injured lists, the bereavement/family medical emergency list, and the paternity leave list. In order for a club to add a player to the 26-man roster, the player must be on the 40-man roster. If a club with a full 40-man roster wishes to promote a Minor League player that is not on the 40-man roster, it must first remove a player from the 40-man roster, either by designating a player for assignment, trading a player, releasing a player, or transferring a player to the 60-day injured list. A player who is on the 40-man roster but does not open the season on the 26-man roster must be optioned to the Minor Leagues. The 40-man roster is an important distinction in the offseason, as players who are on the 40-man roster are protected from being selected by another organization in the annual Rule 5 Draft, held each year in December at the Winter Meetings. Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club's 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.
Here is the Tigers 40-man roster as of Saturday 02/22/25
Pitchers
John Brebbia
Beau Brieske
Alex Cobb
Jack Flaherty
Jason Foley
Sean Guenther *
Brenan Hanifee
Tyler Holton
Bailey Horn *
Brant Hurter
Jackson Jobe
Tommy Kahnle
Chase Lee *
Ty Madden
Kenta Maeda
Matt Manning *
Tyler Mattison *
Casey Mise
Keider Montero *
Reese Olson
Tyler Owens *
Tarik Skubal
Will Vest
Catchers
Dillon Dingler
Jake Rogers
Infielders
Javier Baez
Andy Ibanez
Jace Jung *
Colt Keith
Ryan Kreidler *
Zach McKinstry
Trey Sweeney
Spencer Torkelson
Gleyber Torres
Outfielders
Kerry Carpenter
Riley Greene
Justyn-Henry Malloy
Parker Meadows
Wenceel Perez
Matt Vierling
* Indicates player is in the minors
Players on the 60-day Injured List
Pitchers: Sawyer Gipson-Long, Alex Lange and Jose Urquidy