Detroit Tigers playoff roster set for MLB wild-card series vs Guardians
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CLEVELAND — The Detroit Tigers have set their 26-man postseason roster for the American League wild-card series against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
There weren't any big surprises.
Game 1 of the AL wild-card series is scheduled for 1:08 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, so the Tigers had to set their roster for the best-of-three series by 10 a.m. before Tuesday's game. The roster can change before every series in the playoffs.
The Tigers are carrying 14 position players and 12 pitchers.
For the position players, it's the same group that ended the regular season: catchers Dillon Dingler and Jake Rogers, first baseman Spencer Torkelson, second baseman Gleyber Torres, shortstops Javier Báez and Trey Sweeney, third basemen Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez, left fielder Riley Greene, center fielder Parker Meadows, right fielder Wenceel Pérez and designated hitters Kerry Carpenter, Jahmai Jones and Justyn-Henry Malloy.
For the pitchers, the Tigers slashed two arms — right-handed relievers Chris Paddack and Tanner Rainey — from their group that ended the regular season to get down to 12 pitchers.
Right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee joined the Tigers for Monday's workout, but the Tigers didn't activate him for the wild-card series against the Guardians.
Hanifee has been one of the team's best relievers, but he wasn't eligible to pitch for the Tigers throughout the final 15 days of the regular season because he was stuck in the option cycle after getting sent down to Triple-A Toledo.
In 2025, Hanifee posted a 3.00 ERA across 60 innings in 54 games. His weakness: Left-handed hitters had a .373 batting average and a .995 OPS against him, which is why the Tigers didn't put him on their wild-card roster.
The Guardians have a surplus of left-handed hitters on their wild-card roster, including star Steven Kwan and prospect Chase DeLauter, but the Tigers decided to carry just two left-handed relievers — Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter — in their bullpen.
The winner of the Tigers and Guardians will advance to play the Seattle Mariners in a best-of-five ALDS. For the postseason rosters, teams are limited to 13 pitchers among the 26 players, but there's no cap on position players.
Detroit Tigers playoff roster vs Guardians
Here is the Tigers' 26-man postseason roster for their AL wild-card series against the Guardians:
- Catchers (2): Dillon Dingler, Jake Rogers.
- Infielders (6): Javier Báez, Andy Ibáñez, Zach McKinstry, Trey Sweeney, Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres.
- Outfielders (6): Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Jahmai Jones, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez.
- Right-handed pitchers (9): Kyle Finnegan, Jack Flaherty, Brenan Hanifee, Tommy Kahnle, Troy Melton, Casey Mize, Rafael Montero, Paul Sewald, Will Vest.
- Left-handed pitchers (3): Tyler Holton, Brant Hurter, Tarik Skubal.
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers playoff roster set vs Guardians in MLB wild-card series
