The Tigers have signed five players to minor-league deals, per a team announcement. Of the group, only left-hander Locke St. John has prior major league experience. St. John (28 later this month) began his pro career as a 32nd-round pick of the Detroit organization but didn’t make it to the majors as a Tiger.
Instead, St. John was selected by the Rangers in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft after the 2017 season. After a year and a half progressing through their minor-league system, St. John got to the big leagues with Texas in 2019. Across 6.2 MLB innings spanning seven relief appearances, he allowed four runs, struck out five and issued four walks. He was outrighted off the Rangers’ 40-man roster last winter.
St. John has struggled with walks in recent seasons but also posted fairly strong strikeout rates in his time in the high minors. He’ll add some depth to a Tiger organization that features Tyler Alexander, Daniel Norris and Gregory Soto as lefty bullpen pieces on the 40-man.
In addition to St. John, the Tigers announced deals with infielder Isrrael de la Cruz and right-handers A.J. Ladwig, Henry Martinez and Zac Shepherd.