The Tigers have released catcher Andrew Knapp and right-hander Ashton Goudeau, according to their respective transaction trackers at MLB.com. The club also announced to reporters, including Evan Woodbery of MLive, that pitchers Miguel Del Pozo and Kervin Castro have been released with each having undergone Tommy John surgery earlier this year.
Knapp, 31, is the most experienced of the bunch, having appeared in 325 major league games since his 2017 debut. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in January but has been in Triple-A all year. In 70 games at that level, he hit .253/.337/.397 for a wRC+ of 84.
The Tigers have used Jake Rogers and Eric Haase behind the plate in the majors this year, with both of them staying healthy and preventing the club from reaching into its depth. Donny Sands had recently been in Double-A, helping to cover for an injury to prospect Dillon Dingler. But Dingler was recently activated, freeing Sands to return to Triple-A and handle the catching duties there alongside Michael Papierski, which seems to have made Knapp redundant.
Goudeau, 31, has 32 major league appearances on his ledger with a 5.57 ERA. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason but has a 7.42 ERA in 60 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, striking out 16.8% of opponents while walking 10.7%.
The Tigers announced in June that both Del Pozo and Castro underwent Tommy John surgeries, with Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic among those to relay the info at that time. They will each be out of action for the remainder of this season and much of 2024 as well. The 30-year-old Del Pozo has a 9.82 ERA in 27 major league appearances, the last of which was in 2021. The 24-year-old Castro has a 4.91 ERA in 20 big league games, with his last appearance having been in August of 2022.
Each of these players signed minor league deals with the Tigers coming into the year but will now return to the open market and look for their next opportunities. Del Pozo and Castro won’t have any short-term appeal to clubs but could perhaps try to land two-year deals that would allow them to rehab and return late in 2024. Depth catching and pitching tend to always be needed somewhere, which could help Knapp and Goudeau find jobs in the near future.