3 Tigers Who Won't Be on the Roster at the Start of the 2023 Season

The Detroit Tigers entered the 2022 MLB season with high hopes. After all, the team posted a 77-85 record in 2021 and looked poised to get back over the .500 mark. Nothing has gone according to plan, though, as the Tigers sit at the bottom of the AL Central division with a dismal 45-75 record.

The veterans on the team are struggling to hit consistently at the plate and the rookies have shown they still need time to develop their skills. It's better to look ahead to next season at this point, so here's three Detroit players who won't be on the roster when Opening Day rolls around in 2023.

Detroit Tigers Roster

1. Tucker Barnhart, C

Tucker Barnhart is on the final year of his current contract and bringing him back in 2023 doesn't fit the mold of a Tigers rebuild. The 31-year-old is slashing .210/.269/.238 across 73 games this season, which is well below his career averages. Barnhart has also shown little pop in his bat and has failed to hit a single home run in 227 plate appearances. Detroit's No. 10 prospect, Dillon Dingler, is already playing at Double-A and Eric Haase remains under team control for a few years. That leaves little room for Barnhart to make an impact behind the plate, anyways. Letting him test the free agent waters is the obvious way to go here.

2. Michael Pineda, SP

Another veteran with an expiring contract is starting pitcher Michael Pineda. The nine-year journeyman has missed a ton of time this season due to injuries and was recently placed on the 15-day IL with triceps tightness. When healthy, Pineda has been subpar at best. He owns a 2-6 record to go along with a 5.27 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 10 starts this season. All the signs point to the Tigers still being in the midst of a rebuild and re-signing a 33-year-old pitcher past his prime does not coincide with that strategy. Younger starters like Matt Manning and Garrett Hill have much more upside moving forward.

3. Jonathan Schoop, 2B

This one comes down to Jonathan Schoop's goals for the 2023 season. He has a player option built into his contract, meaning he can return to the team as the starting second baseman or enter free agency with the hopes of joining a contender. Schoop has struggled at the plate this season (.202/.235/.316), but his defensive abilities have been on full display. Schoop leads all of baseball in outs above average (23) and he has made just three errors in 966.2 innings played. A team much better than the Tigers is going to see that and want Schoop roaming the infield for them next summer.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.