The Tigers have re-signed right-hander Wilmer Flores and infielder/outfielder Eddys Leonard to minor league offers, experiences Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Flores will make $1MM if he’s within the majors whereas Leonard would get the $760K league minimal.
Neither participant has any main league expertise however each have been on the Tigers’ 40-man roster till lately. Each of them suffered by way of injury-marred seasons this 12 months earlier than being non-tendered by the Tigers final month. That despatched each to free company with out being uncovered to waivers however every has now returned in a non-roster capability.
Flores, to not be confused together with his older brother of the identical title, is a right-handed pitcher who turns 24 in February. He posted some robust numbers as a beginning pitcher as he climbed the minor league ladder and obtained added to the 40-man roster a 12 months in the past to forestall him from being chosen within the Rule 5 draft. That was even if he struggled late within the 2023 season as his velocity dipped.
He was moved right into a main aid function in 2024 however didn’t take to it instantly. As famous by Petzold, he missed over three months on account of a shoulder damage and the numbers weren’t fairly when he was on the mound. He tossed 25 1/3 innings on the Triple-A stage, permitting 8.53 earned runs per 9. His 18% strikeout charge was subpar and his 18.8% stroll charge disastrous.
For Leonard, he was as soon as a Dodger prospect, getting added to that membership’s roster forward of the 2021 Rule 5 draft. He was designated for project in the summertime of 2023 and flipped to the Tigers for money. Per Petzold, a left indirect pressure put him to the IL early within the 12 months, adopted by a proper hamstring pressure afterward. He solely obtained into 67 Triple-A video games and hit .263/.326/.455, which amounted to a 101 wRC+. He exhausted his ultimate possibility 12 months within the course of.
The Tigers weren’t keen to maintain both participant on the roster after they struggled in 2024, however they nonetheless like each of them sufficient to deliver them again and see if issues can get again on monitor in 2025. Flores provides the pitching employees some non-roster depth whereas Leonard does the identical for a lot of the remainder of the roster. He has expertise in any respect three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base.