Today is the day major league teams can expand their rosters, and the Detroit Tigers announced six players they're calling up from Triple-A Toledo. But could more be on the way?
According to Jason Beck, the Tigers plan on adding more players once the Mud Hens' season ends next week. Foremost among them will be the one name that was conspicuously absent yesterday (yet we didn't mention), pitcher Armando Galarraga.
Apparently, the Tigers are sticking to the 10-day assignment normally required for options to the minors, rather than move pieces around on the 40-man roster to get Galarraga back up here sooner. Perhaps they want him to rest that elbow more. Or maybe Nate Robertson's start on Saturday was impressive enough to temper any urgency.
Galarraga is eligible to be recalled from Toledo on Saturday. In the meantime, he's scheduled to pitch for the Mud Hens on Friday.
So who else could be coming up to bolster the roster? Freddy Dolsi, Clay Rapada, and Zach Simons could each give the Tigers' bullpen a fresh arm to use. Simons (62 strikeouts in 66.1 innings) would be the most appealing of the three, given that we haven't seen him pitch in Detroit yet. Alfredo Figaro might be someone who can help fill in if any starters need a rest, as Tom Gage points out.
On the position side, it's a little trickier, since players like Don Kelly and Scott Sizemore aren't on the 40-man roster. Sizemore seems unlikely to get the call, as he's one of the players the Tigers will send to the Arizona Fall League. It's probably more important for his development to play regularly there, as opposed to sit on the bench in Detroit.
Kelly, however, can play virtually every position on the field and supplies a decent left-handed bat, though not much power. He hit .250/.308/.354 in 19 games with the Tigers through most of June and early July, playing almost exclusively in left field. With the Mud Hens, however, he has a .329/.402/.465 average, which puts him in contention for the International League batting title. But to add him, the Tigers would have to do something like move Jeff Larish to the 60-day DL.