With Spring Training under way, it only feels right to look at the players down in Lakeland and attempt to predict the 26-Man Opening Day Roster for the 2021 Detroit Tigers. Please remember, this is simply MY opinion and would be the team I would put out onto the field at Comerica Park at the start of the 2021 season.
Positional Players:
Catcher – Wilson Ramos
First Base – Renato Nunez
Second Base – Jonathan Schoop
Third Base – Jeimer Candelario
Shortstop – Willi Castro
Left Field – Robbie Grossman
Center Field – JaCoby Jones
Right Field – Nomar Mazara
Designated Hitter – Miguel Cabrera
Utility – Niko Goodrum
Bench – Grayson Greiner
Bench – Victor Reyes
Bench – Harold Castro
Miguel Cabrera: Miggy will be the everyday DH for the Tigers in 2021. He will get the occasional start at first base, seeing that he has emphatically expressed he want to play the field this year. On the days Miggy gets his feet on the field Nunez will simply replace him as the DH for the day unless Nunez needs a full day’s rest.
Willi Castro: His performance at the plate during the shortened 2020 campaign has earned him the starting role at shortstop to start the2021 season. Hopefully, his defense will take a step forward during Spring Training allowing Detroit’s front office to learn if they have their shortstop of the future or not.
Grayson Greiner: Greiner will be the backup to Wilson on day one. Greiner has not proven that he is a major league caliber player, however, Detroit has a horrific situation at the catcher position. While many people think that Rogers should be the backup, the call-up of Eric Haase a season ago seems to show the front office losing faith in their once touted prospect. Rogers will need to start the season in Toledo to get as many reps as possible to see if his approach at the plate can translate to the Big League level.
Victor Reyes: Victor will become the 4th outfielder on this 2021 roster. Reyes will play against left-handed pitching out in right field due to Mazara’s inability to hit lefties. It is likely that he will also get some starts in both left and center when Grossman and Jones need a day off.
Note: Rule 5 Draft Pick Akil Baddoo has put together a nice spring thus far, but I do not see the Tigers using a roster spot to keep a player they are relatively high on on the bench to get little playing time this season and therefore Harold Castro has made the team over him. Instead of keeping Baddoo on the Major League bench I see Detroit finalizing a trade, so they do not have to return him to the Minnesota Twins and get him plenty of play time in Triple A Toledo.
Staring Pitchers:
SP 1 – Spencer Turnbull
SP 2 – Matt Boyd
SP 3 – Jose Urena
SP 4 – Tarik Skubal
SP 5 – Julio Teheran
SP 6 – Daniel Norris
Disclaimer: Yes, I do believe the Tigers will run a 6-man rotation for the 2021 season. With the lack of play and innings of the 2020 season a number of players are going to be on innings limits and this is the best way to ensure an entire season can be played.
Spencer Turnbull: Turnbull gets Opening Day. The Tigers rotation does not have a true Ace and Spencer is the best arm Hinch can put on the mound to start the season. It’s time to find out what Turnbull is really made of.
Tarik Skubal: He will be the one young arm that makes it out of camp. Skubal has shown he has the ability to miss major league bats already. With the addition of a splitter to his pitcher arsenal Skubal will slide nicely into the No. 4 slot.
Daniel Norris: Daniel is entering his final year before Free Agency and is determined to show he has what it takes to be a starter at the major league level. Detroit needs to see if he can stay healthy for an entire 162 game season and be an effective rotation piece. If Norris is unable to handle the pressures of the starting rotation or cannot stay healthy enough to go 6 innings or more every start, he will be the first casualty of the rotation.
Note: I do not have Mize making the team out of Spring Training. Last season, and thus far during Spring Training his control has not been spectacular. With Norris being on a short leash Mize will likely be the first addition to the pitching staff if/when Norris struggles. Some time in Toledo could do him some good to work out those command issues that arose during his stint in Detroit last season.
Bullpen Pitchers:
Closer – Bryan Garcia
Setup – Gregory Soto
Long Relief/High Leverage – Buck Farmer
Relief Pitcher 1 – Derek Holland
Relief Pitcher 2 – Wily Peralta
Relief Pitcher 3 – Joe Jimenez
Relief Pitcher 4 – Jose Cisnero
Bryan Garcia: He was lights out for the Tigers during the 2020 COVID season. Garcia will be listed as the Closer on Opening Day; however, it is likely that Hinch goes with a “closer by committee” approach with Garcia, Soto and Jimenez. If Garcia wants to take the role for himself, he will need to continue the path he was on last season. He will also need to see an exponential increase in his strikeout numbers to hold down the role.
Derek Holland: Holland will be stretched out during spring training to get his arm ready for a starting role, however, he will start the 2021 season in the Detroit bullpen. He has not had impressive numbers his last few seasons as a starter but could become a lefty specialist out of the pen for Hinch.