LAKELAND, Fla. -- A few months ago, Tyler Collins’ potential to land a spot on the Opening Day roster looked tenuous at best. But with less than a week remaining before rosters are finalized, the 25-year-old outfielder appears to be a virtual lock to begin the season with the Detroit Tigers when they open the season in Miami against the Marlins.
Manager Brad Ausmus would not say so definitively, but he left little doubt that Collins controls his own fate. “Is there another option?” Ausmus joked before Tuesday’s Grapefruit League game against the Toronto Blue Jays. “I’ll fall short of saying he’s on the roster, but he’s in the driver’s seat.”
Collins, who hit .266 in 60 games with the Tigers last season, entered spring training with his job in jeopardy, particularly after the Tigers made the splashy signing to ink left fielder Justin Upton to a six-year $132.7 million contract. Upton and J.D. Martinez were penciled in to man the corners of the outfield, while Cameron Maybin and Anthony Gose were expected to platoon at center.
But an injury to Maybin in the first week of Grapefruit League play changed the dynamics of the Tigers’ depth chart, and Collins acquitted himself well since Maybin has been out.
Maybin, who sustained a broken left wrist when hit by a pitch in an early March game against the New York Yankees, has begun swinging a bat and soft tossing this week, but he has been ruled out for Opening Day.
Further, outfield prospect Wynton Bernard was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday morning, with both management and coaches feeling he required more seasoning.
Earlier this spring, the team had discussed using Bernard as an internal option at center if needed, but Collins’ play made Bernard’s demotion an easy decision.
“Wynton, he needs more development,” Ausmus said. “He’s a guy that we think – who’s come a long way in two years. We feel he has the chance to be a major-league player but he needs to go down there and learn, not only himself, but he needs to continue to improve at center field, continue to improve at the plate. It’s really two-fold. It’s best for him and it’s best for us, right now.”
The Tigers have now trimmed their roster to 35 players; Sunday is the day the final cuts must be submitted. The roster decisions yet to be made concern the remaining bullpen spots and the club’s catcher situation. The Tigers are currently carrying three -- starter James McCann, free-agent acquisition Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Bryan Holaday, the latter of which is out of options and is thus a possibility to be traded.