CLEARWATER, Fla. -- For a player, getting word of not making the team is one of the toughest pieces of news to receive. It’s arguably tougher when it comes at the very end of a strong Spring Training.

“Aw, man, dude,” said No. 8 prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy, who was reassigned to Minor League camp on Thursday but was part of the Tigers’ travel roster in a 4-3 win Friday against the Phillies. “You just start seeing the grim reaper catch your boys, and you don’t want it to happen to you. There’s a sense of excitement, like I’m giving myself a good chance. There’s also that sense of nervousness. Again, you’re seeing that reaper catch your boys and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, is it after me next?’

“It just so happened the grim reaper was after me next. There’s that obvious emotion of, ‘Hey, you’re not going to break [camp with the club].”

It’s a roller coaster of emotions, Malloy said, and it's different for each player. Frustration can easily be one of those emotions.

“Not nervous,” said infielder Ryan Kreidler, who was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday after a strong spring. “To be honest with you, I think I should’ve made the team. But again, it’s out of my control, and that’s the attitude that you have to have as a player. You think you should make every team, and I do. I think I belong in the big leagues, and I think I’ll be there when the time is right. That’s all I can do is just keep playing hard.

“I got excited towards the end. These guys, I feel like I’m close to everyone in here, so it’s hard to part ways at the start of the season. But I know from experience it’s a long year, and anything can happen.”

Kreidler had made his case on the field, showcasing outstanding defense at shortstop and third while batting .355 (11-for-31) with two homers, six RBIs, eight walks, 10 strikeouts and a pair of stolen bases. He has 37 games of MLB experience over the last two seasons, but injuries have slowed his career progression. Health, he said, was a huge reason for his success at the plate.

“I’m proud of my spring,” he said. “It just didn’t go my way.”

Kreidler’s chances at making the Opening Day roster dropped when the Tigers signed Gio Urshela in late February. That deal arguably hurt Malloy’s chances as well.

“The way the roster’s constructed, there wasn’t really a fit for me,” Kreidler said he was told. “Hard to hear as a player, but I understand the reasoning. Never what you want to hear, though. Not gonna say I’m not frustrated with it, but at the end of the day, it’s not my decision.”

So how do the players on the other side of the roster take it?

“Same guy,” Malloy said. “Be the same guy every day. That’s kind of the mentality that I’ve always had. I just think the consistent guy that’s the same guy every day will always give himself the best opportunity and the best shot.”

Skubal enters Opening Day prep mode
Tarik Skubal’s final Spring Training tune-up showed much of the same stuff he has put on display since the start of camp. His five innings of three-hit, one-run ball included six strikeouts and 17 swinging strikes across five different pitch types. Six of them came on a fastball that topped out at 98.8 miles per hour according to Gameday.

Now starts the prep work for next Thursday against the White Sox.

“Even before this outing, it was kind of there,” Skubal said. “I thought about that a little bit, but I’m not sure it’ll truly set in until the day of.”

Quick hits
• While Detroit’s positional roster and rotation are decided, the final decisions for the bullpen could go into the final days. Though the Tigers close Spring Training on Sunday against the Rays at Joker Marchant Stadium, they’ll face the Rays again in an exhibition Tuesday at Tropicana Field.

• Parker Meadows’ camp work on bunts paid off Friday with a well-placed single, Detroit’s lone hit off Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. Meadows reached a sprint speed of 30.0 feet per second, according to Statcast -- the threshold for elite speed -- for the third time this spring.