Tigers set playoff roster vs. Guardians: Casey Mize left off squad for ALDS, Montero in

Story by

Story by
Tigers set playoff roster vs. Guardians: Casey Mize left off squad for ALDS, Montero in

Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press · Detroit Free Press

Sat, Oct 5, 2024 ·

3 min read

About Our Ads

CLEVELAND — The Detroit Tigers have finalized their 26-man MLB playoff roster for the ALDS matchup against the Cleveland Guardians , setting the stage for Game 1 on Saturday (TBS, TruTV).

The Tigers and Guardians last met on July 30, a game that Cleveland won 5-0, and the Tigers fell to 52-57. But comparing season stats in this series offers few clues about this series because the Tigers have a new team with lots of new faces.

"I didn't even have half this team it feels like," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Friday.

On the other side, the Guardians will start right-handed pitcher Tanner Bibee , the Guardians' best pitcher this year.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize (12) hands the game ball to manager A.J. Hinch for pitching change during the seventh inning against Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.

A LONG HISTORY: Detroit and Cleveland should hate each other. Maybe Detroit Tigers playoff series will help.

"I think Tanner from the beginning, had a great year last year," Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said Friday. "Put himself on the map and went through some early season – not going to call them struggles, but had a few hiccups for the first time in his Major League career. Really since then he's beared down. He's competitive. This kid wants the ball in big moments. And Tanner wants to be the guy. He believes that he's number one. And we do, too. And really excited to see him showcase that in the playoffs."

Even though the Tigers lineup has changed dramatically over the last two months, Hinch has deep knowledge of the Guardians, a team the Tigers faced 13 times.

"I think familiarity is both a good thing and a trap," Hinch said. "You know, we can kind of rest assured that we're coming in here with some at-bats stacked on some of their pitchers. They've faced some of our pitchers. But that doesn't mean you're not going to study as much, you're not going to prepare as much. If anything, you're going to do it more to make sure you're not missing anything because of that familiarity. It's nice and convenient."

Teams are allowed to carry a maximum of 13 pitchers and can change their roster before every series in the playoffs, if they advance.

Here is the Tigers' 26-man postseason roster for the ALDS against Cleveland, with pitcher Keider Montero moving onto the roster and Casey Mize coming off:

MORE: Detroit Tigers epic run no flash in the pan: The organization is set for long-term success