Tigers Sign Curious Detroit Area Native with Independent Ball Experience

The Detroit Tigers might be taking what some would consider the ultimate flier on a pitcher who hasn’t been in a Major League organization in four years.

The Gothic D Detroit Tigers logo on the front of a white jersey during a home game. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s not uncommon for Major League teams to sign players with local ties to minor league or Major League deals.

But Jalen Evans is a bit uncommon in this regard.

The Detroit Tigers signed the right-handed pitcher to a minor-league deal earlier this week, per the team's MLB Transactions log. For Evans it’s a homecoming. He’s from Warren, Mich., which is less than 20 miles outside of Detroit.

The curious part of the deal is that Evans has never pitched for a Major League organization. He’s been toiling in independent baseball since he wrapped up his college career at Texas Wesleyan, an NAIA school in Fort Worth, Texas.

Who is Jalen Evans?

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Evans went to Warren Mott High School. He only played two seasons at Texas Wesleyan, where he went 4-3 with a 4.05 ERA in 22 games, including 13 starts. He struck out 86 and walked 13 73.1 innings. He went undrafted, but he didn’t stop playing.

In 2021 he landed with Burlington in the Prospect League but went undrafted. Then he headed back to Texas to play for Cleburne in an independent league that is the equivalent of organized Double-A ball. After he went 2-3 with a 4.89 ERA in eight games, he returned to Cleburne in w2022 and went 0-3 with a 5.74 ERA in nine games, with five starts.

In 2023 he headed to Billings to play in the Pioneer League, one of the top independent leagues in minor league baseball. He had a rough season, as he went 2-4 with a 9.07 ERA in 11 games, with nine starts. He had more walks (38) than strikeouts (24) and pitched just 45.2 innings.

He did not play organized baseball in 2024. But, last season he returned to independent ball and played for Windy City in the Frontier League. He was used exclusively as a reliever and he bounced back. He went 2-0 with a 5.24 ERA in 21 games, with 19 strikeouts and 17 walks in 22.1 innings. He finished six games and had two saves.

It may be the final season in Windy City that piqued the Tigers’ interest. Evans had never been a full-time reliever in college or independent ball before. Teams like Detroit tend to cast a wide net for relief help in the offseason and signing him to a minor-league contract means there is no risk. It also provides Evans an avenue to a minor league job after spring training, most likely with High-A West Michigan.

The other players the Tigers have announced minor league deals with this week include outfielder Diego Orro, shortstop Oscar Tineo, outfielder Santiago Ventura, right-handed pitcher Yeuri Ramirez, outfielder Douglas Olivo, catcher Roman Silgado, right-hander pitcher Alexander Padilla, right-handed pitcher Jesus Miranda, outfielder Randy Santana, shortstop Eduardo Tusen, catcher Aaron Antonini and right-handed pitcher Tim Naughton.