On Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers completed finalizing their roster in advance of the December 10 Rule 5 draft at MLB’s Winter Meetings. They made the decision to protect just about everyone who could be exposed
to the Rule 5.
The Tigers added catcher and fifth ranked prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline, Thayron Liranzo, along with sixth ranked prospect infielder Hao-Yu Lee. Those were no-brainers. They also protected 19th ranked LHP Jake Miller, who would’ve ranked higher had injuries not cut off most of his 2025 season. Finally, they also added non-prospects UT Trei Cruz and C/1B Eduardo Valencia to the 40-man roster.
That was five spots they needed to open up on the 40-man roster, plus another one for Gleyber Torres, who accepted the qualifying offer on Tuesday.
To clear those spots, the Tigers designated six players for assignment. RHP Dugan Darnell and RHP Jack Little were recent waiver claims. The two relievers were probably picked up with the understanding that they would be DFA’d today, in the hope that in the frenzy of roster moves and players DFA’d, the two will clear waivers and be outrighted to the minor leagues. RHP Jason Foley, LHP Sean Guenther, RHP Tanner Rainey, and RHP Tyler Mattison were the others designated. The Tigers had already designated reliever Alex Lange last week.
The only prospect the Tigers didn’t protect was RHP RJ Petit. The 25-year-old isn’t that likely to be selected by a team in the Rule 5, but as he profiles as more of a middle reliever than a setup or closer level reliever, the Tigers won’t be too concerned about him getting picked should it play out that way.
After losing catcher Liam Hicks and infielder Gage Workman in the Rule 5 last year, the Tigers weren’t messing around with losing anyone interesting. Workman ultimately couldn’t hang with the Cubs and was returned to the Tigers. Hicks is a fringe average defensive catcher and wasn’t really going to fit on the Tigers’ roster very well, but he did go on to spend the whole year with the Miami Marlins, posting a 98 wRC+ in 390 plate appearances and putting up average defensive numbers.
That may be the impetus for keeping Valencia, whose offensive breakout at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2025 was quite convincing. Like Hicks, Valencia is a bit light in terms of defensive chops, but the bat was too intriguing for the Tigers to part with. In the meantime, Valencia could play first base for the Tigers while they continue to try and sharpen his defensive game. With the ABS challenge system coming, framing is going to matter less in how catchers are evaluated to some degree, so keeping an offensive-minded backstop is becoming a more viable option. Probably Valencia’s throwing is the key component that has to improve for him to be able to snipe Jake Rogers’ job as backup. We’ll see if he can make any more progress this offseason.
As for Cruz, he’s a fine defender who can handle any position on the field and throws well from the outfield too. He lacks in-game power and doesn’t present that much of a threat even as a switch-hitter who walks a ton, but he is a very pesky at-bat and a good baserunner. In short, he gives the Tigers a lot of insurance and can be plugged in all over to fill any holes due to injury.
Miller has advanced command, a good changeup, and a solid fastball and breaking ball. The heater is probably a bit too light for him to make it as a starter, though he sits around 94 mph. It just doesn’t have a real standout trait, but even as he is Miller could make for a good hybrid reliever who can make some starts as required. He hasn’t faced Triple-A yet and spent much of 2025 on the injured list, but if healthy he’s very likely to move quickly into position to help the Tigers next summer.
Liranzo is still a young, switch-hitting catcher and needs plenty more time to develop his full game. Lee is a likely option for 2026 who mashes lefties and can handle second base and a bit of third base. So there may be a role for him even as the 22-year-old tries to improve his game against breaking and offspeed stuff.
Notable players who seemed close to cut line but stayed on the 40-man for now were LHP Drew Sommers, RHP Dylan Smith, RHP Chase Lee, RHP Brenan Hanifee, RHP Beau Brieske, and INF Andy Ibáñez.
You can find the full 40-man roster for the Tigers updated right here.
