Tigers announce ALDS roster; Montero on, Mize off

CLEVELAND -- The Tigers don’t need any more arms for pitching chaos in a best-of-five American League Division Series. They will, however, have one different arm from their Wild Card Series roster, adding Keider Montero in place of fellow right-hander Casey Mize on their 12-man pitching staff.

Mize did not pitch in the Wild Card Series. Montero was on Detroit’s taxi squad for that series, and spent time working on his delivery as well as some secondary pitches that the Tigers believe could prove useful against the Guardians lineup.

“We knew who we were going to play if we won that series, so we could even target some things that he's going to need for this series,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “And obviously with Casey coming back from his [hamstring] injury, he showed flashes of velo. He showed flashes of the split that's really gotten guys out. He also had a couple of outings that were less efficient.

“So it's nothing that he did or didn't do. It's just a strategy of picking the guys that you think are going to be put in position to get as many outs as we can, and we're going with Keider this time. Obviously, the secondary stuff is going to come into play -- especially the left-handed hitting lineup or switch-hitting lineup. And the fact that he pitched well against these guys during the season was in Keider's favor.”

Montero tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his only appearance against the Guardians on July 8 at Comerica Park. He threw fastballs on 35 of his 73 pitches that day, but mixed his slider, curveball and changeup effectively. He drew four called strikes on the curve, a pitch that became less prominent for him later in the season.

Mize and fellow right-hander Kenta Maeda will throw to hitters on Sunday during the Tigers’ off-day workout at Progressive Field, Hinch said, to stay ready in case they’re needed as injury replacements.

Here’s the Tigers’ full ALDS roster:

Pitchers: Beau Brieske, Jason Foley, Sean Guenther, Brenan Hanifee, Tyler Holton, Brant Hurter, Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden, Keider Montero, Reese Olson, Tarik Skubal, Will Vest

Catchers: Dillon Dingler, Jake Rogers

Infielders: Andy Ibáñez, Jace Jung, Colt Keith, Zach McKinstry, Trey Sweeney, Spencer Torkelson, Matt Vierling

Outfielders: Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez