The 2025 Spring Training season is shaping up to be one of the more competitive ones in quite some time. The various Free Agent signings Scott Harris made has put several Tigers in a position of sink or swim, in order to be apart of the Opening Day, 26 man roster. Next we will look at the top 2 position battles to keep an eye on.

Montero vs. Mize

Keider Montero is a former International signing back in 2017, when he was just 16 years of age. He slowly made his way through the system, and after a rough start to the season in Toledo he made his debut after several injuries  were sustained within the starting rotation. Montero would go on to have a solid debut year, highlighted by a complete game shutout vs the Colorado Rockies. Where he would face the minimum number of batters in a game, often referred to as a “Maddux.” Casey Mize, is a former #1 pick of the draft by the Tigers in 2018. After a solid debut season in 2021 where he finished 7-9 with a 3.71 ERA. He would miss the next two seasons recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Mize would suffer another setback this past year, and he is now facing a make or break year, where he may not even be a starting pitcher on the Opening Day roster. With the recent signing of Jack Flaherty, Mize and Montero may now be competing for the long reliever role, as Jackson Jobe will likely secure the final starting rotation position, unless they elect to expand to 6 starters.

Malloy vs. Torkelson

Malloy made his debut in 2024 after spending a year and some change in the Tiger’s farm system. Malloy was one of two players acquired in a deal to move off of Joe Jimenez. Malloy showed some potential, barreling up pitches and lifting some fly-balls to the pull side for out of the park. He will need to cut way down on his strikeouts if he hopes to make the team out of camp. This feat may be a long shot with a crowded roster, and no true positional versatility. It was announced by Scott Harris earlier this winter that Malloy will take groundballs at first base during the Spring. Spencer Torkelson is one year removed from a remarkable 2nd half of the year that created lofty expectations going into the 2024 season. After two months of poor hitting, he was sent down to AAA to make adjustments. Torkelson was able to give the team a spark in August regaining his power stroke, but closed out the year back where he started. In September he batted .210 and with an OPS of .677. He virtually un-hittable with runners in scoring position. Tork will have the edge going into camp, being that he has proven that he can at least play a serviceable first base defensively, which is imperative with the unknown of how well Colt Keith will transition from his primary position at 2nd. Torkelson’s name has swirled around in some trade talks so there’s an outside chance that could be on the move this Spring.

From June 9th to September 29th in 2023, Spencer Torkelson slashed .241/.320/.508 with 26 Homers and 68 RBIs in 425 Plate Appearances.

His .828 OPS over the stretch, of nearly 100 games, would’ve been good for 24th best in baseball in 2024.

What happened?

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