Get To Know the Five Newest Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers Add Five Players to 40-Man Roster

If you’re a frequent visitor to our site, or you listen/watch our podcasts, then you probably don’t need much more information about this quintet. They are all on our prospect list.

But this post is for the newbies. Those of you using Google, or Bing, or Brave, or some godforsaken AI aggregator to learn about these new players. Welcome. What took you so long?

Anyway, here’s what you need to know about the newest Detroit Tigers.

Who the Detroit Tigers Added

Trei Cruz – Age: 27 – Pos: UTIL – Bats: Both – Throws: Right

Trei Cruz’s grandfather Jose Cruz made two All-Star teams over a terrific 19-year MLB career. His father Jose Cruz Jr. spent 12 years in the big leagues, winning a Gold Glove in 2003. Now Trei finally gets his chance to enter the family business. And it’s a chance he earned.

The Tigers selected him in third round of the 2020 draft out of Rice University, but his early tastes of pro ball were a struggle. Cruz hit just .161 over 63 games in A ball in 2021. He showed some improvement in 2022, batting .233 with a 16% walk rate, and he received a late-season call-up to Double-A Erie.

Cruz spent most of the next three seasons back in Erie, posting increasingly impressive numbers. He finally got a shot at Triple-A in July, and he made the most of it. Cruz hit .284/.423/.458 with six home runs and eight stolen bases in his 58 games with the Mud Hens.

Why the Tigers Added Him: Versatility

Trei Cruz does a little bit of everything. He consistently puts together quality plate appearances, he has enough pop to keep pitchers honest, and enough speed to steal. He’s a switch hitter, which always helps with lineup construction, though he is significantly better from the left side of the plate — all 22 of his home runs over the past two seasons have come as a lefty. But defense is where Cruz really helps. He’s not an elite defender at any one position, but he’s passable to good at basically every position but catcher and first base.

Watch him hit a walk-off grand slam

Hao-Yu Lee – Age: 22 – Pos: 2B/3B – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

A native of Taiwan, Hao-Yu Lee was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies shortly after he graduated high school in 2021. Philly shipped in to the Tigers in the Michael Lorenzen deal in July 2023, but injuries held Lee to just 8 games with High-A West Michigan.

Lee had something of a breakout in 2024, moving up to Double-A Erie and posting an .851 OPS over 87 games. But once again injuries ended his season prematurely, though in this case it was after taking multiple fastballs to the helmet.

There was a fair amount of hype surrounding Lee heading into 2025, but he struggled in spring training games, particularly against elevated four-seam fastballs. Those struggles mostly continued at Triple-A, though he still finished the year with a wRC+ of 104, and he hit .299/.395/.523 against left-handed pitching. 

Why the Tigers Added Him: Right-handed Balance

Lee does a lot of different things pretty well, and he’s young enough to expect some continued improvement. His aggressive, high-energy style of play is infectious, and though he’s a bit error-prone at third base, he’s a strong defender at second base, and athletic enough to handle a move to the corner outfield if needed. There’s a reasonable chance he becomes a solid, Andy Ibanez-style role player who splits his time between Detroit and Toledo over the next few seasons.

Thayron Liranzo – Age: 22 – Pos: Catcher – Bats: Both – Throws: Right

Thayron Liranzo was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2021. He spent two seasons in rookie ball, then broke out with a .962 OPS and 24 home runs in Low-A in 2023.

Liranzo struggled for much of the 2024 season, but he was a revelation after  he came to the Tigers in the Jack Flaherty trade in late July 2024, finishing the regular season with a flourish, and then dominating in the Arizona Fall League to propel himself onto many top-100 prospect lists.

Last year didn’t go nearly as well for him. He hit just .206 with 11 home runs in 88 games, and his strikeout rate spiked to 32%, while his 12% walk rate was a career low. Perhaps most concerning was a lingering shoulder injury that led to Liranzo playing just 45 games behind the plate.

Why the Tigers Added Him: Power and Position 

There are a lot of holes in Thayron Liranzo’s game, on both sides of the ball. But he has the physical ability to catch at the MLB level, and switch-hitting backstops with Liranzo’s raw power are exceedingly rare. He would get demolished by MLB pitching in 2026, but teams would line up to take him and let that happen, because he could be an everyday catcher who hits 30 home runs in 2029.

Jake Miller – Age: 24 – Pos: LHP – Bats: Left – Throws: Left

Jake Miller is a good example of the value of scouting. A native of New York, he pitched for two seasons at Valparaiso, where he compiled an unimpressive 6.75 ERA over 72 innings. But the Tigers liked his stuff and selected him in the 8th round of the 2022 draft.

That didn’t look great when he posted 7.56 ERA over his first two pro seasons, which amounted to just 50 innings because of injuries. But Miller broke out in a big way in 2024, starting the season as something of a bulk reliever in Low-A Lakeland, and ending the year with a scoreless start in Double-A, and a few loud outings in the Arizona Fall League. 

Miller likely would have made his MLB debut in 2025, but he spent almost all of the season on the injured list. He came back late in the season, only to get drilled in the back by a line drive. 

Why the Tigers Added Him: Depth and Strikes

Miller’s raw stuff doesn’t jump off the screen, but he has multiple quality offerings, a deceptive delivery, and he throws a ton of strikes. He probably fits best as a lefty reliever, which the Tigers need. But he could also function as a depth starter…which the Tigers need.

Eduardo Valencia – Age: 25 – Pos: 1B/C – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

What a fun story. Eduardo Valencia signed with the Detroit Tigers out of Venezuela way back in April of 2018. He was 18 at the time, and he had a strong pro debut, batting .313 with good plate discipline and some gap power over 57 games. He then spent most of the next six seasons as essentially a minor-league backup catcher.

He showed occasional flashes, but never played in more than 62 games in a season. And then, out of nowhere, he went bonkers in 2025. Valencia began the year in Double-A Erie, where he hit .304 with 11 home runs over 53 games. That was fun, but it was hard to believe it was real because he had never shown this kind of production before. So then he went to Triple-A and hit .319 with more walks, fewer strikeouts, and 13 home runs in 50 games.

Valencia’s defense remains a question mark. He played a little more first base than catcher on the season, and he’s not great at either spot. But there’s no reason he can’t continue to get better defensively, and his bat is very interesting.

Why the Tigers Added Him: Power and Position 

It’s a similar story to Liranzo here. Valencia isn’t a perfect prospect by any means, but he brings the sort of right-handed power and hitting prowess the Tigers need. And he’s perfectly capable of playing catcher at the MLB level. The Tigers just probably don’t want him back there very often.