The Tigers had some housekeeping to do before the real offseason begins, and they made progress on Tuesday by inking veteran catcher Carlos Perez and several of their better minor league relief prospects to new minor league deals.
Pérez took the place of Tomás Nido as their Triple-A depth catcher de jeur back in July, with Nido eventually signing on with the Boston Red Sox. Pérez was red hot with the bat in Toledo until an ankle injury in August ended his season. The 36-year-old backstop has some
major league experience and is regarded as a good game caller with solid defensive skills.
The three relievers signed to new minor league contracts were some of their top relievers at the Double-A level last year. Sinkerballer Moises Rodriguez leads the way with a high 90’s sinker that touches triple digits and a solid breaking ball. He was our 28th ranked prospect, and really the only notable upper level relief prospect on our preseason prospect rankings. The 24-year-old rarely allows hard contact in the air and posted a 2.57 ERA in 2026, but inconsistent command and two good pitches that don’t really pair together that well by shape and appearance out of hand have kept him from breaking through. He signed a one-year deal to stay in the Tigers farm system, though he’s eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason.
Veteran right-hander Marco Jimenez also re-signed with the Tigers. The 26-year-old throws hard and has a quality breaking ball, but the fastball shape plays down a bit from the 97-98 mph typically seen from Jimenez. He has hit triple digits for various stretches in the past, though injuries have also slowed his progress. He only threw 16.2 innings in 2026, but his strikeout rate was decent and his walk rate was excellent. The home runs were a problem though that’s obviously a small sample and Jimenez hasn’t had much trouble with giving up home runs in the past.
Finally, 30-year-old right-hander Wandisson Charles also re-upped with the Tigers. After several years in the Baltimore Orioles system without breaking through to the major leagues, Wandisson didn’t pitch in 2025 and the Tigers brought him in on a minor league deal last winter. He was the key cog in the Erie SeaWolves bullpen this year, striking out 31.2 percent of hitters faced over 63.2 innings of work. Charles is another who throws hard and keeps the ball on the ground. The heater is good enough that he could probably hang in middle relief, but his breaking stuff needs to be more consistent.
The Tigers other minor league free agents not yet re-signed includes outfielder Roberto Campos, utilityman Trei Cruz, and right handed relievers Yoniel Curet, who is young enough and has power stuff worth keeping, and veteran reliever Jack Little. Campos is far and away the most notable name as he received a $2.85 million bonus as a teenager who flew Cuba to the Dominican Republic. Now 24, Campos’ progress has been slow, but it has remained steady as well and he handled the jump to Double-A reasonably well this year. At this point his upside is more of a fourth outfielder type, but the Tigers would probably like to hang onto him one more year to see if he improving selectivity helps him finally tap into more of his raw power.
