Tigers Begin Trimming Spring Training Roster with Four Minor League Assignments
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Many things dictate how long you might relieve player will stay in Major League camp. For the Detroit Tigers, they began that culling process on Friday.
The Tigers announced that four players were sent to their minor league camp in Lakeland, Fla. — right-handed pitchers Phil Bickford, Dugan Darnell, Tyler Owens and Troy Watson. In doing so, Detroit reduced its Major League spring training roster to 63 players.
It is not uncommon for Major League teams to begin assigning minor league players to those camps at the end of February or the beginning of March. It's an opportunity for the Tigers to give those players more playing time and more coaching than they might get in Major League camp.
The assignments don't mean that the four of them cannot come back and play for the Tigers in a Major League spring training game. But they are no longer in Major League camp. Detroit, like all teams, has been running a concurrent minor league camp at their facility for more than two weeks.
Detroit Tigers Pitchers Head to Minor League Camp
Bickford is a former first-round pick of the San Francisco Giants who has a wealth of Major League experience since he broke in with the Minnesota Twins in 2020. He is 11-8 with a 4.62 ERA in 187 relief appearances with four teams. He last pitched in the Majors in 2024 with the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old spent last season in the minor leagues with the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. He gives the Tigers a great stand-by option for its bullpen.
Darnell was an undrafted free agent out of Adrian College, a Division III school in Adrian, Mich. He played in the Majors last season with the Colorado Rockies and went 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in nine games. The Rockies waived Darnell in late October. Pittsburgh picked him up, kept him for about a week and then waived him. The Tigers picked him up. He spent time on the injured list last season with left hip inflammation.
Owens pitched in three games for the Tigers last year and finished with a 3.00 ERA. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 13th round of the 2019 MLB Draft from Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Fla. Owens was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2024 and then traded to the Tigers at the 2024 deadline, along with catcher Liam Hicks, for catcher Carson Kelly. Owens spent part of last season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Toledo.
Watson has not pitched in the Majors. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 2018 MLB Draft from University of Northern Colorado. He landed with the Tigers at the 2024 trade deadline in a deal for cash considerations. In the minor leagues last season he went 8-3 with a 2.75 ERA in 36 games (14 starts) with three holds and two saves in three chances.
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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