2021 Detroit Tigers season

The 2021 Detroit Tigers season will be the team's 121st season and its 22nd at Comerica Park. This will be the Tigers' first season under new manager A. J. Hinch following the sudden retirement of Ron Gardenhire on September 19, 2020.[1][2] The Tigers' season will tentatively begin at home on April 1 against the Cleveland Indians, pending changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] They will attempt to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

2021 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Central Division (since 1998)
Location
Comerica Park (since 2000) Detroit, Michigan (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Christopher Ilitch; Ilitch family trust
General manager(s)	Al Avila
Manager(s)	A. J. Hinch
Local television	Fox Sports Detroit
Local radio	Detroit Tigers Radio Network (Dan Dickerson, Jim Price)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
< Previous season

Roster moves

Coaching staff

• On October 30, the Tigers hired A. J. Hinch as the team's new manager. Hinch most recently held the same position for the Houston Astros but was suspended for the 2020 season due to a sign stealing scandal that occurred in 2017 and 2018, later leading to his dismissal.[2]
• On November 6, the Tigers named Chris Fetter as pitching coach, and promoted Juan Nieves (previously pitching coach for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens) to assistant pitching coach for the MLB team. They also announced they would retain base coach Ramón Santiago and quality control coach Josh Paul from the 2020 staff.[4]
• On November 7, the Tigers named George Lombard as bench coach, Scott Coolbaugh as hitting coach and Chip Hale as third base coach.[5]
• On December 8, the Tigers named José Cruz Jr. assistant hitting coach.[6]

Releases

• On October 27, the Tigers outrighted four players from their 40-man roster: outfielder Jorge Bonifacio and pitchers Darío Agrazal, Dereck Rodríguez and Nick Ramirez. All cleared waivers without being claimed by another team.[7] Rodríguez signed a minor-league contract with the Colorado Rockies on November 9, 2020.[8] Ramirez elected to pursue free agency, and was signed to a minor-league contract by the San Diego Padres on December 21, 2020.[9] The remaining two became minor-league free agents.
• On October 28, the following Tigers players declared free agency: catcher Austin Romine, infielders Jonathan Schoop and C. J. Cron, and pitchers Jordan Zimmermann, Iván Nova and Sandy Báez.[10] On January 23, Romine signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Chicago Cubs.[11] On January 26, Nova signed a minor-league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.[12] On February 5, the Tigers re-signed Schoop to a one-year, $4.5 million contract.[13]
• On November 19, the Tigers released outfielder/first baseman Brandon Dixon, who announced his intention to play in Nippon Professional Baseball.[14] Dixon cleared waivers on November 21.[10]
• On December 7, pitcher Anthony Castro was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.[15]
• On December 23, catcher Eric Haase was designated for assignment. He was out-righted on January 6, 2021.[16]
• On January 5, outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. was designated for assignment.[17] On January 12, he was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates and was again designated for assignment two weeks later. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.[18]
• On January 29, infielder Sergio Alcántara was designated for assignment.[19] On February 5, he was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs.[20]
• On February 5, outfielder Travis Demeritte was designated for assignment.[21]

Signings

• On November 20, the Tigers purchased the minor-league contracts of pitchers Joey Wentz, Matt Manning, Alex Lange and Alex Faedo, adding them to the 40-man roster.[10]
• On December 10, the Tigers claimed outfielder Akil Baddoo from the Minnesota Twins organization in the Rule 5 draft.[22]
• On December 14, the Tigers signed pitcher Ian Krol to a minor-league contract, with an invitation to spring training.[23]
• On December 23, the Tigers signed catcher Dustin Garneau to a minor-league contract, with an invitation to spring training.[24]
• On December 23, the Tigers signed pitcher José Ureña to a one-year, $3.25 million contract.[25]
• On January 4, the Tigers signed pitcher Locke St. John to a minor-league contract.[26]
• On January 5, the Tigers signed outfielder Robbie Grossman to a two-year, $10 million contract.[27]
• On January 7, the Tigers signed pitcher Miguel Del Pozo to a minor-league contract.[28]
• On January 12, the Tigers signed pitcher Michael Fulmer to a one-year, $3.1 million contract, avoiding arbitration.[29]
• On January 15, the Tigers agreed to one-year contracts with all remaining arbitration-eligible players, including infielders Jeimer Candelario and Niko Goodrum, outfielder JaCoby Jones, and pitchers Joe Jiménez, Buck Farmer, Matthew Boyd, Daniel Norris and José Cisnero.[30]
• On January 15, the Tigers signed international shortstops Cristian Santana to a $2.975 million contract and Abel Bastidas to a $1.175 million contract.[31] The Tigers also signed outfielders Carlos Pelegrin and Elian Riera, pitchers Joel Baez, Rayner Castillo, and Keni Salgado, and shortstops Jensy De Leon, Yimmy Diaz and Justin Rodriguez.[32][33]
• On January 16, the Tigers signed pitchers Robbie Ross Jr. and Andrew Moore, first baseman Aderlin Rodríguez and infielder Yariel Gonzalez to minor-league contracts.[34]
• On January 19, the Tigers signed pitcher Erasmo Ramírez to a minor-league contract, with an invitation to spring training.[35]
• On January 29, the Tigers signed catcher Wilson Ramos to a one-year, $2 million contract.[36]
• On February 1, the Tigers signed pitcher Derek Holland to a minor league contract, with an invitation to spring training.[37]
• On February 5, the Tigers re-signed second baseman Jonathan Schoop to a one-year, $4.5 million contract.[38]

Season standings

American League Central

AL Central	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago White Sox	0	0	-nan	—	0–0	0–0
Cleveland Indians	0	0	-nan	—	0–0	0–0
Detroit Tigers	0	0	-nan	—	0–0	0–0
Kansas City Royals	0	0	-nan	—	0–0	0–0
Minnesota Twins	0	0	-nan	—	0–0	0–0

Game log

2021 Game Log: 0–0 (Home 0–0, Road 0–0)[39]
April: 0–0 (Home 0–0, Road 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 1 April 1 Indians 2 April 3 Indians 3 April 4 Indians 4 April 5 Twins 5 April 6 Twins 6 April 7 Twins 7 April 9 @ Indians 8 April 10 @ Indians 9 April 11 @ Indians 10 April 12 @ Astros 11 April 13 @ Astros 12 April 14 @ Astros 13 April 15 @ Athletics 14 April 16 @ Athletics 15 April 17 @ Athletics 16 April 18 @ Athletics 17 April 20 Pirates 18 April 21 Pirates 19 April 22 Pirates 20 April 23 Royals 21 April 24 Royals 22 April 25 Royals 23 April 26 Royals 24 April 27 @ White Sox 25 April 28 @ White Sox 26 April 29 @ White Sox 27 April 30 @ Yankees
May : 0–0 (Home 0–0, Road 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 28 May 1 @ Yankees 29 May 2 @ Yankees 30 May 4 @ Red Sox 31 May 5 @ Red Sox 32 May 6 @ Red Sox 33 May 7 Twins 34 May 8 Twins 35 May 9 Twins 36 May 11 Royals 37 May 12 Royals 38 May 13 Royals 39 May 14 Cubs 40 May 15 Cubs 41 May 16 Cubs 42 May 17 @ Mariners 43 May 18 @ Mariners 44 May 19 @ Mariners 45 May 21 @ Royals 46 May 22 @ Royals 47 May 23 @ Royals 48 May 24 Indians 49 May 25 Indians 50 May 26 Indians 51 May 27 Indians 52 May 28 Yankees 53 May 29 Yankees 54 May 30 Yankees 55 May 31 @ Brewers
June: 0–0 (Home 0–0, Road 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 56 June 1 @ Brewers 57 June 3 @ White Sox 58 June 4 @ White Sox 59 June 5 @ White Sox 60 June 6 @ White Sox 61 June 8 Mariners 62 June 9 Mariners 63 June 10 Mariners 64 June 11 White Sox 65 June 12 White Sox 66 June 13 White Sox 67 June 14 @ Royals 68 June 15 @ Royals 69 June 16 @ Royals 70 June 17 @ Angels 71 June 18 @ Angels 72 June 19 @ Angels 73 June 20 @ Angels 74 June 22 Cardinals 75 June 23 Cardinals 76 June 24 Astros 77 June 25 Astros 78 June 26 Astros 79 June 27 Astros 80 June 28 @ Indians 81 June 29 @ Indians 82 June 30 @ Indians
July : 0–0 (Home 0–0, Road 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 83 July 2 White Sox 84 July 3 White Sox 85 July 4 White Sox 86 July 5 @ Rangers 87 July 6 @ Rangers 88 July 7 @ Rangers 89 July 8 @ Twins 90 July 9 @ Twins 91 July 10 @ Twins 92 July 11 @ Twins 93 July 16 Twins 94 July 17 Twins 95 July 18 Twins 96 July 19 Rangers 97 July 20 Rangers 98 July 21 Rangers 99 July 22 Rangers 100 July 23 @ Royals 101 July 24 @ Royals 102 July 25 @ Royals 103 July 26 @ Twins 104 July 27 @ Twins 105 July 28 @ Twins 106 July 29 Orioles 107 July 30 Orioles 108 July 31 Orioles
August: 0–0 (Home 0–0, Road 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 109 August 1 Orioles 110 August 3 Red Sox 111 August 4 Red Sox 112 August 5 Red Sox 113 August 6 @ Indians 114 August 7 @ Indians 115 August 8 @ Indians 116 August 10 @ Orioles 117 August 11 @ Orioles 118 August 12 @ Orioles 119 August 13 Indians 120 August 14 Indians 121 August 15 Indians 122 August 17 Angels 123 August 18 Angels 124 August 19 Angels 125 August 20 @ Blue Jays 126 August 21 @ Blue Jays 127 August 22 @ Blue Jays 128 August 24 @ Cardinals 129 August 25 @ Cardinals 130 August 27 Blue Jays 131 August 28 Blue Jays 132 August 29 Blue Jays 133 August 31 Athletics
September/October: 0–0 (Home 0–0, Road 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 134 September 1 Athletics 135 September 2 Athletics 136 September 3 @ Reds 137 September 4 @ Reds 138 September 5 @ Reds 139 September 6 @ Pirates 140 September 7 @ Pirates 141 September 8 @ Pirates 142 September 10 Rays 143 September 11 Rays 144 September 12 Rays 145 September 14 Brewers 146 September 15 Brewers 147 September 16 @ Rays 148 September 17 @ Rays 149 September 18 @ Rays 150 September 19 @ Rays 151 September 20 White Sox 152 September 21 White Sox 153 September 22 White Sox 154 September 24 Royals 155 September 25 Royals 156 September 26 Royals 157 September 28 @ Twins 158 September 29 @ Twins 159 September 30 @ Twins 160 October 1 @ White Sox 161 October 2 @ White Sox 162 October 3 @ White Sox
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Tigers team member

Current roster

Detroit Tigers 2021 spring training roster
40-man roster				Non-roster invitees		Coaches/Other
Pitchers 70 Tyler Alexander 48 Matthew Boyd 37 Beau Burrows 67 José Cisnero 38 Alex Faedo 45 Buck Farmer 32 Michael Fulmer 36 Kyle Funkhouser 33 Bryan Garcia 51 Rony García 77 Joe Jiménez 57 Alex Lange 25 Matt Manning 12 Casey Mize 44 Daniel Norris 58 Franklin Pérez 71 John Schreiber 29 Tarik Skubal 65 Gregory Soto 56 Spencer Turnbull 62 José Ureña 43 Joey Wentz		Catchers 17 Grayson Greiner 40 Wilson Ramos 34 Jake Rogers Infielders 24 Miguel Cabrera 46 Jeimer Candelario 30 Harold Castro  9 Willi Castro 28 Niko Goodrum 19 Isaac Paredes -- Jonathan Schoop 59 Zack Short Outfielders 60 Akil Baddoo 41 Daz Cameron  8 Robbie Grossman 54 Derek Hill 21 JaCoby Jones 22 Víctor Reyes 20 Christin Stewart		Pitchers -- Zack Hess -- Derek Holland -- Ian Krol -- Gerson Moreno -- Erasmo Ramírez Catchers -- Dillon Dingler -- Dustin Garneau -- Eric Haase Infielders -- Kody Clemens -- Daniel Pinero -- Aderlin Rodríguez -- Spencer Torkelson Outfielders -- Riley Greene -- Jacob Robson -- Danny Woodrow		Manager 14 A. J. Hinch Coaches 98 Jeremy Carrell (bullpen catcher) 53 Scott Coolbaugh (hitting) 27 Jose Cruz, Jr. major league coach) 52 Chris Fetter (pitching) 18 Chip Hale (third base) 26 George Lombard (bench) 61 Juan Nieves (assistant pitching coach) 88 Josh Paul (quality control) 99 Tim Remes (bullpen catcher) 39 Ramón Santiago (first base) 40 active, 0 inactive, 15 non-roster invitees 7-, 10-, or 15-day injured list * Not on active roster ^† Suspended list Roster, coaches, and NRIs updated February 6, 2021 Transactions • Depth Chart → All MLB rosters

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Tom Prince
AA	Erie SeaWolves	Eastern League	Arnie Beyeler
A-Advanced	West Michigan Whitecaps	Midwest League	Brayan Peña
A	Lakeland Flying Tigers	Florida State League	Andrew Graham
Rookie	GCL Tigers East	Gulf Coast League	Francisco Contreras
Rookie	GCL Tigers West	Gulf Coast League	Ryan Minor
Rookie	DSL Tigers 1	Dominican Summer League	Ramon Zapata
Rookie	DSL Tigers 2	Dominican Summer League	Marcos Yepez

References

1. Beck, Jason (September 19, 2020). "Citing health, Tigers manager Gardy retires". MLB.com. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
2. Petzold, Evan (October 27, 2020). "Detroit Tigers hire A.J. Hinch as new manager". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
3. "Detroit Tigers Announce 2021 Schedule". MLB.com. July 9, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
4. Beck, Jason (November 6, 2020). "Tigers name new pitching coach". MLB.com. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
5. Beck, Jason (November 7, 2020). "Tigers add bench, hitting, 3B coaches". MLB.com. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
6. Beck, Jason (December 8, 2020). "José Cruz Jr. named to Hinch's coaching staff". MLB.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
7. Woodbery, Evan (October 27, 2020). "Tigers cut 4 players to begin offseason roster moves". MLive.com. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
8. "Rockies, RHP Rodriguez reach minor league deal". ESPN.com. November 9, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
9. Sanders, Jeff (December 22, 2020). "Minor league moves tracker: Padres add three more arms". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
10. "Detroit Tigers - Transactions". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
11. Bastian, Jordan (January 23, 2021). "Austin Romine, Cubs finalize deal". MLB.com. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
12. Lauber, Scott (January 26, 2021). "Phillies sign veteran pitcher Ivan Nova to minor-league contract". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
13. Paul, Tony. "Tigers bring back Jonathan Schoop on one-year, $4.5M deal". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
14. "Brandon Dixon: Bound for Japan". CBS Sports. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
15. Matheson, Keegan (December 7, 2020). "Toronto claims right-handers Castro, Lockett". MLB.com. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
16. Woodbery, Evan (January 6, 2021). "After long DFA limbo, Tigers catcher clears waivers". MLive.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
17. Petzold, Evan (January 6, 2021). "Why did Robbie Grossman join Detroit Tigers? AJ Hinch's winning culture". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
18. Mackey, Jason (January 29, 2021). "Troy Stokes Jr. stays with Pirates; invited to spring training". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
19. Woodbery, Evan (January 29, 2021). "Tigers announce signing of Wilson Ramos, drop young shortstop from roster". MLive.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
20. Yellon, Al (2021-02-05). "Cubs claim infielder Sergio Alcantara off waivers from Tigers". Bleed Cubbie Blue. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
21. "Tigers' Travis Demeritte: Designated for assignment". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
22. Beck, Jason (December 10, 2020). "Tigers select Baddoo, lose Vest in Rule 5". MLB.com. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
23. Beck, Jason (December 14, 2020). "Krol back with Tigers on Minor League deal". MLB.com. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
24. Beck, Jason (December 23, 2020). "Garneau signs Minors deal with Tigers". MLB.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
25. Beck, Jason (December 23, 2020). "Tigers bolster rotation, sign RHP Ureña". MLB.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
26. Beck, Jason (January 4, 2021). "St. John returns to Detroit on Minors deal". MLB.com. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
27. Beck, Jason (January 5, 2021). "Tigers sign Grossman to 2-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
28. Beck, Jason (January 7, 2021). "Tigers add reliever Del Pozo on Minors deal". MLB.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
29. "Detroit Tigers, Michael Fulmer avoid arbitration with 1-year deal". ESPN.com. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
30. "Tigers avoid arbitration with all 8 remaining players". foxsports.com. January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
31. Beck, Jason (January 16, 2021). "Tigers land pair of top SS in 'deep' int'l class". MLB.com. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
32. Petzold, Evan (January 15, 2021). "Detroit Tigers sign international prospects Cristian Santana, Abel Bastidas, among others". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
33. McCosky, Chris (January 16, 2021). "Tigers sign former Red Sox lefty Robbie Ross to minor-league deal". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
34. Beck, Jason (January 16, 2021). "Tigers add R. Ross, 3 more on Minors deals". MLB.com. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
35. Beck, Jason (January 19, 2021). "Erasmo Ramírez joins Tigers on Minors pact". MLB.com. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
36. Beck, Jason (January 29, 2021). "Tigers fill need with catcher Ramos". MLB.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
37. "Derek Holland agrees to minor league contract with Detroit Tigers". espn.com. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
38. "Jonathan Schoop rejoins Detroit Tigers on 1-year, $4.5M deal". espn.com. February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
39. "2021 Detroit Tigers Schedule" (PDF). MLB.com. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

External links

• Detroit Tigers official site