After a flurry of moves on Monday, including a late-spring trade with the Cubs, the Tigers appear to have finalized the position players who will be on their Opening Day roster Thursday in Tampa.
Detroit acquired versatile infielder Zach McKinstry from Chicago in exchange for minor-league pitcher Carlos Guzman, shortly before optioning Akil Baddoo and Zack Short to Triple-A Toledo and reassigning veteran Cesar Hernandez to minor league camp.
That means McKinstry, a 27-year-old who's out of minor league options, will likely join Kerry Carpenter and Ryan Kreidler in comprising the Tigers' bench to start the season.
McKinstry split last season between Triple-A and the bigs while spending time at short, second and third. A left-handed hitter who could give the Tigers at-bats against righties, he posted a .904 OPS in in Triple-A, but a .635 OPS in the majors. He went 3-38 (.078) at the plate this spring.
Apparently, the Tigers preferred McKinstry's infield flexibility over that of Short and Hernandez. In the outfield, they prioritized Carpenter's power potential over Baddoo's athleticism after hitting the fewest homers in the majors last season. Carpenter went 17-51 (.333) with a .940 OPS this spring.
The Tigers still have some decisions to make in the bullpen, but it appears their 26-man roster is set in terms of position players and starting pitchers.
They'll roll with Eric Haase and Jake Rogers at catcher; Javy Baez, Miguel Cabrera, Nick Maton, Jonathan Schoop, Spencer Torkelson, Kreidler and McKinstry in the infield; and Riley Greene, Austin Meadows, Matt Vierling and Carpenter in the outfield.
Eduardo Rodriguez, the Tigers' Opening Day starter, will headline a rotation also featuring Matthew Boyd, Spencer Turnbull, Matt Manning and Joey Wentz, with Michael Lorenzen slated to start the season on the injured list with a strained groin.
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