Tigers add minor league pitchers Myles Jaye and Chad Bell to 40-man roster

Friday morning the Tigers announced that they had added Triple-A pitchers Myles Jaye and Chad Bell to the 40-man roster. Jaye was acquired prior to the 2016 season along with Bobby Wilson when Bryan Holaday was traded to the Texas Rangers. Coincidentally, Chad Bell was also acquired from the Rangers when the Tigers sent Bobby Wilson back to Texas.

The Tigers also reinstated righthander Drew VerHagen from the 60-day disabled list, filling their 40-man roster.

Jaye is if nothing else an intriguing arm that isn’t very far down on the starting pitcher depth chart. Given that the Tigers will most likely look to get rid of the salaries of Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey, Jaye could very well be next in line behind Buck Farmer in the rotation.

Adding Bell to the 40-man roster is a somewhat questionable move, given his age and lack of peripheral statistics. In 80.1 innings pitched with Triple-A Toledo, he struck out 7.7 batters per nine innings, but walked 4.2 batters per nine. However, he overcame his high walk total to post a modest 3.70 ERA for the Mud Hens. For Bell, the Tigers most likely see something in him that they can work with, and there’s no harm in protecting him on the roster this early in the offseason.