DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers are auditioning a new backup catcher. They’ve promoted a new center fielder.
Are there any other surprises left in store for the remaining 35 games of the 2023 regular season?
Maybe. Check back in one week.
It hardly qualifies as a roster “shakeup” but in the last week, the Tigers have made the most substantive moves to a roster of position players that has been relatively stable this season.
They signed catcher Carson Kelly, parting ways with longtime backstop and hometown hero Eric Haase. Two days later, they promoted outfielder Parker Meadows to the big leagues. He’ll likely man center field for most of the final five weeks of the season.
The Tigers had resisted bringing up Meadows -- or any other young player in Toledo -- for stopgap roles during the season. In fact, they went to great lengths to avoid doing so, bringing in a parade of veterans (Isan Diaz, Nick Solak, Jake Marisnick, Anthony Misiewicz, Braden Bristo) to soak up extra at-bats and innings.
“We pressed the button on Parker because we think he can help us in all facets of the game,” said Tigers president Scott Harris. “There are several players in Toledo right now that are knocking on the door. We don’t think those guys are quite ready yet.”
Who might be knocking on the door?
The obvious ones, of course, are infielder Colt Keith and infielder/outfielder Justyn Henry-Malloy.
But those might not necessarily be the players that Harris has in mind. Not only are Keith and Henry-Malloy not currently on the 40-man roster, they don’t have to be added to the 40-man roster this winter.
Infielder/outfielder Wenceel Perez and infielder Andre Lipcius are on the 40-man and have yet to make their big-league debuts. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Kreidler was on the Opening Day roster, but played only sparingly before being demoted and is finally healthy after battling injuries most of the year.
All five of the players mentioned above could be potential late-season call-ups, but there might only be a spot for one or two of them.
Active rosters will expand from 26 to 28 players on Sept. 1. One of those spots is probably destined for rookie Rule 5 pitcher Mason Englert, currently rehabbing with the Mud Hens. The other spot will go to a position player.
Beyond that, there’s not a lot of wiggle room on the current roster. Infielders Zack Short and Andy Ibanez and outfielder Akil Baddoo have options available allowing them to be sent down to Toledo, but all three of them have been playing well. A demotion would be a surprise.
That might leave only one spot available on the roster for another newcomer to join Meadows and Kelly.
It might be someone who gets fans excited, like Keith or Malloy.
Or it might be Tyler Nevin, who has probably been the Mud Hens’ most consistent hitter this season. He’s also hit .122 in 56 plate appearances with the big-league club.
It could also be Nick Maton, who was optioned to make room for Meadows but will be eligible to return to Detroit on...Sept. 1.
Harris said Meadows’ speed and defense were probably big-league ready earlier this year, but the club wanted to get his bat an extended look against Triple-A pitching.
The opposite may be the case for Keith and Malloy.
“I think both guys have had bats that were a little bit ahead of the other facets of their game,” Harris said. “I think both guys are working really hard on their defense. They’re working really hard on their base running. Specifically with Malloy, we think the bat alone is pretty close to helping us for a long time in the future. But he still has only played 15 games in right field, left field is still a pretty new position for him, and we think there’s some work he can do at third base to round out that part of his game. We also think he can be a better base runner.
“That doesn’t in any way temper my enthusiasm for J-Hen and Colt and all the other guys down there. It’s just more of an observation. We’ve got to make sure that these guys are ready to help us in all facets of the game. We don’t want to be the organization that rushes players straight to the big leagues, and they can help in one facet of the game but they’re a little bit behind in other facets of the game.”
Outfielder Kerry Carpenter, currently the Tigers’ best offensive player, is perhaps the most glaring counterpoint to that strategy. If the Tigers had waited until he was a perfectly well-rounded player, he might still be in the minor leagues. Instead, they bet that his bat could play immediately and the rest of his game would catch up. Bringing Carpenter up to the big leagues was, coincidentally, the last act of Al Avila as general manager. He was fired on the day of Carpenter’s debut.
Of course, Carpenter was about to turn 25 when he made his debut. Keith only just turned 22. Malloy is only 23.
Harris’ comments could be an indication that he’d prefer to wait until 2024 for both of the youngsters. Or perhaps he’s just being cautious and not tipping his hand.
Unlike Malloy, Keith is a top-100 prospect, so if the Tigers do envision him being on the Opening Day roster in 2024, new league incentives offer a compelling reason to bring him up now. (Or, at the very least, offer no disincentive for doing so). If there is only space for one of the two prospects, that could tip the scales in Keith’s favor.
Keith is also a left-handed bat who could fit nicely in the Tigers’ current infield configuration at second or third base (or both).
Malloy, a right-handed hitter, could get some outfield at-bats against left-handed pitching but would probably have to spend most of his time at third base (where the Tigers appear skittish about his defense) or designated hitter (where the Tigers have a Hall-of-Famer in the final month of his illustrious career).
Of course, Harris could bypass both Keith and Malloy and go with a more conventional (that is to say, boring) selection to serve as a bench bat for the last month of the year.
We’ll know for sure on Sept. 1.