Tigers add trio of RHPs to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5

The Tigers added three relievers to their 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s deadline to protect eligible prospects from next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Right-handers Chase Lee, Tyler Mattison and Tyler Owens were all selected to the roster. Infielder Eddys Leonard (No. 29 prospect) and right-handed relievers Ricky Vanasco and Brendan White were designated for assignment to make room.

The moves demonstrate again the nuance of protecting prospects in a deep farm system. The Tigers have five eligible players ranked on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 prospects list. None were protected for various reasons, many likely due to their relative inexperience in the farm system.

Players first signed at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the 26-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.

For this year, that means an international prospect or high school Draft pick signed in 2020 at age 18 or younger must be protected. A college player -- or 19-year-old high school player -- taken in the 2021 Draft is in the same position.

It’s a way to give prospects who are blocked in an organization a pathway to the Majors. For years, the Tigers were beneficiaries of the system by plucking prospects from other farm systems, including outfielder Akil Baddoo in 2021 and reliever Mason Englert in 2022. Now the tables have turned, and the Tigers have more prospects they like than they can protect on a roster already deep in Major League talent.

Both Lee and Owens came from the Rangers at the Trade Deadline in deals for Andrew Chafin and Carson Kelly, respectively. Both flashed high-strikeout form down the stretch in the Tigers' system.

In Lee’s case, a reliever named Chase is going to grab attention, especially after averaging 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings over his Minor League career. The sidearming right-hander experienced a big improvement at Toledo, where he posted a 3.27 ERA and 31 strikeouts over 22 innings. His 32.3 percent strikeout rate with the Mud Hens was his highest since his first pro season in 2021. Just as important, he slashed his walk rate to 4.2 percent, about half his career percentage.

Lee isn’t a hard thrower, but with an unorthodox arm angle and a quality slider, he has a chance to fit into Detroit’s bullpen at some point next year.

The 23-year-old Owens, a 13th-round pick by Atlanta in the 2019 Draft, has been a fairly consistent reliever through his pro career. With a mid- to upper-90s fastball and a varied arsenal, he fit well into a Double-A Erie bullpen that successfully defended its Eastern League title, compiling a 3.31 ERA in 13 games. He struck out 20 batters over 16 1/3 innings. His 28.2 percent strikeout rate was his highest since Rookie-level ball.

Mattison is an interesting pick, because he didn’t pitch at all this past season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March. He seemed to be on a fast track to Detroit before that, fanning 91 batters over 59 2/3 innings across 41 games in 2023 between Erie and High-A West Michigan. When he’s healthy, the 2021 fourth-round pick from Bryant University in Rhode Island is a big-bodied, late-inning power reliever.

The Tigers could’ve taken a chance that no club would want to carry a reliever working back from major surgery, particularly a reliever with one full, healthy season of pro ball under his belt. The Tigers liked the talent enough to not want to take that chance.

Among the Rule 5 Draft-eligible prospects who weren’t protected are five ranked prospects: RHP Joseph Montalvo (No. 16), OF Justice Bigbie (No. 21), OF Roberto Campos (No. 25), LHP Lael Lockhart (No. 26) and utilityman Gage Workman (No. 30).

Unranked infielder/outfielder Andrew Navigato, who posted a 21-homer, 22-steal season at Triple-A Toledo, was also not added. Nor was sidearming reliever and former fifth-round pick Tanner Kohlhepp, who struck out 78 batters over 61 1/3 innings at West Michigan, nor 6-foot-8 right-hander RJ Petit, who fanned 76 batters over 58 2/3 innings at Erie.