What Enmanuel De Jesus to Tigers' 40-man roster means for Opening Day
FORT MYERS, FL – The Detroit Tigers were forced into a roster decision with 16 days remaining until 2026 Opening Day : Add left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus to the 40-man roster or let him leave to pitch in Asia.
The Tigers chose to keep De Jesus.
In making that choice, the Tigers purchased De Jesus' minor-league contract Tuesday, March 10, to put him on the 40-man roster – creating space by placing right-hander Troy Melton on the 60-day injured list with right elbow inflammation .
"He's been really good," manager A.J. Hinch said before Tuesday's spring training game against the Boston Red Sox . "Given how we see he can fit in multiple roles, there's a potential for him to make our team. We're going to give ourselves every opportunity to evaluate him."
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De Jesus isn't guaranteed to join the Tigers on their Opening Day roster. He has all three minor-league options remaining, so he can be optioned to Triple-A Toledo at the end of spring training.
For now, though, De Jesus remains in the mix to secure a spot as one of the final relievers in the Tigers' bullpen, with Opening Day set for March 26 against the San Diego Padres .
He projects to work as a starter in the Triple-A rotation if he doesn't make the MLB bullpen.
"We'll see how it works out at the end of camp," Hinch said.
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The Tigers signed De Jesus to a minor-league contract in mid-December , following two seasons as a starter in the KBO League in Korea. The 29-year-old hasn't competed in MLB since September 2023, when he came out of the bullpen for two games with the Miami Marlins .
In spring training, De Jesus has impressed the Tigers with his consistency – blending a 93 mph fastball with two above-average secondary pitches in his slider and changeup, all while filling up the strike zone.
He then joined Team Venezuela for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, dominating against Team Israel on Saturday in his first appearance. He allowed one run on two hits and zero walks with eight strikeouts across five innings, throwing 63 pitches.
De Jesus is scheduled to pitch again for Team Venezuela in a multi-inning role when the WBC single-elimination bracket gets underway, possibly Friday in the quarterfinals.
The WBC championship is March 17.
"He's tough to pick up," Hinch said of De Jesus, who generated 15 whiffs on 32 swings for an elite 46.9% whiff rate against Team Israel. "There's something about the swings that he's getting that demonstrates some deception. When you match velocity with his strike-throwing ability and multiple pitches, there's a lot to like."
From 2024-25 in Korea, De Jesus combined for a 3.83 ERA with 88 walks (6.1% walk rate) and 343 strikeouts (23.8% strikeout rate) over 334 innings in 62 starts.
He had a 3.96 ERA across 162⅔ innings for the KT Wiz in 2025.
Back in 2023, De Jesus registered an 11.37 ERA with four walks and five strikeouts across 6⅓ innings in two games for the Marlins, along with a 4.78 ERA with 51 walks and 61 strikeouts over 84⅔ innings in 17 games (16 starts) for Triple-A Jacksonville.
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Looking ahead, the Tigers appear to have seven relievers locked into their eight-man bullpen on the 2026 Opening Day roster : right-handers Kenley Jansen , Kyle Finnegan , Will Vest , Drew Anderson and Brenan Hanifee and left-handers Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter .
The Tigers are still undecided about whether to carry two or three left-handed relievers, but if it ends up being three lefties in the bullpen, De Jesus will likely make the Opening Day roster.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Enmanuel De Jesus on Detroit Tigers' 40-man roster before Opening Day
