The Detroit Tigers made their first significant roster moves in the regular season ahead of Saturday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. They activated Michael Lorenzen from the injured list, called up a left-handed reliever and optioned two players to Triple-A Toledo.
One of the two players, multi-positional infielder Ryan Kreidler, has been sent to the Mud Hens to improve his offense.
“It’s tough because he can help you win in a lot of different ways,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday. “We’ve got to get his bat going a little bit and have him contribute a little bit more on that side of the game. He’ll get more at-bats and more opportunity to move around the field, just like he always has.”
Kreidler, 25, hit .111 (2-for-18) with zero walks and seven strikeouts in 11 games. He showcased above-average defense at second base (20 innings), third base (18⅓ innings) and shortstop (11 innings).
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But Kreidler didn’t receive enough playing time to find a groove at the plate.
“He will very likely be back,” Hinch said. “We love this guy. He can help you in a lot of different ways. It’s tough, but as we’ve said, you got to contribute in all facets to stay. We feel like he needs a little more time to get some at-bats.”
Kreidler, a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft, posted his best results on offense in the minor leagues in 2019, hitting .270 with 22 home runs for Double-A Erie (88 games) and in Toledo (41 games).
He primarily struggles at the plate against right-handed pitchers. Kreidler has played 37 games across parts of two MLB seasons, hitting .165 with six walks and 29 strikeouts.
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Tyler Holton for Garrett Hill
The Tigers swapped right-handed reliever Garrett Hill for left-handed reliever Tyler Holton. Both pitchers can work multiple innings to bridge the gap in games between the starters and high-leverage relievers.
But Hill, 27, wasn’t throwing strikes, and had a 10.29 ERA with five walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings. He had 29 walks in 60⅓ innings last season.
“He has not thrown consistently strikes really from spring training through now,” Hinch said. “He’ll decompress a little bit, get a few innings, continue that role of trying to get himself up and into games, be more effective in that swing role and work his way back here.”
The Tigers replaced him with Holton, a member of the 40-man roster who pitched 10 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. The 26-year-old logged a 7.04 ERA with three walks and seven strikeouts in 7⅔ innings across four games for Toledo this season. Opponents hit four home runs.
“I’m ready to play,” Holton said. “We have a good group of guys here and a lot of good talent. We’re trying to put it all together, and hopefully, I can be a good piece of the puzzle.”
Holton, a self-described crafty lefty, is known for a dynamic changeup and filling up the strike zone in the minor leagues. He trusts his changeup in all counts but primarily throws it to right-handed hitters.
His fastball sits around 91 mph.
“He doesn’t have high-end velocity, but it plays up a little bit when he uses his pitches correctly,” Hinch said. “He’s pretty athletic on the mound. We think he can get through a lineup at least once, which is a good attribute to have in the middle part of the game.”
The Tigers wanted another left-handed reliever, alongside lefties Tyler Alexander and Chasen Shreve, for upcoming series against the Cleveland Guardians and Baltimore Orioles.
“Being left-handed is very key in this stretch,” Hinch said. “Hopefully, he can stay in the strike zone and be a Swiss Army knife-type of reliever in the bullpen for us. His last outing was good in Triple-A. Being on the 40-man helps. We’ll see how effective his pitches can be against major-league lineups.”
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Jonathan Schoop’s walks
Infielder Jonathan Schoop, no longer an everyday second baseman, walked four times in his first 22 plate appearances this season. He needed 93 plate appearances to walk four times in 2022.
Schoop, who primarily plays against left-handed pitchers, has focused on increasing his walks to get more playing time. He walked 19 times in 510 plate appearances last season for a putrid 3.7% walk rate.
“I have to accept it: swing at strikes, swing at strikes, swing at strikes. I want to swing at strikes all the time,” said Schoop, who has a 4.1% career walk rate. “One time, he threw me a pitch out there and I hit a home run. I feel like I can do that every day, but I can’t. Out of 10 at-bats, I can do that once, but in my head, I feel like I can do that all the time. If I want to be in the game, I have to accept it.”
Schoop is hitting .182 (4-for-22) with four walks and eight strikeouts in nine games.
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New lights
The Tigers showed off their new LED lights in Friday’s 7-5 win over the San Francisco Giants in the 11th inning. After Nick Maton’s walk-off home run, there was a light show for fans.
It was the first night game at Comerica Park this season.
“It looks brighter,” Hinch said. “It feels better. Our players certainly aren’t complaining about anything from the dimensions to the lights to the quality of anything we’ve done. We’ve done a good job as an organization perking this place up a little bit.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.