3 Detroit Tigers who won’t be on the roster by May 1

Detroit Tigers who won’t be on the roster: INF Jonathan Schoop

Schoop has seen a reduction in playing time early. He is 2-for-12 (.167/.333/.500) and the struggles go back to last season, where his power numbers experienced a deep decline. After hitting 22 home runs in 2021, he hit just 11 and experienced a career low WRC+ of 62. He struggled during the World Baseball Classic and in spring training.

Hinch has stated that Schoop will start against lefties but only expected to start “sporadically” against righties per the story by Evan Woodbery of Mlive.com 

What options do the Tigers have at second base? Scott Harris acquired Zach McKinstry for several reasons. One, he is a left-handed bat to go along with utility player Ryan Kreidler. Two, he fits the philosophy that Harris is looking for, and that is controlling the strike zone.

"“That performance hasn’t translated into the big leagues yet. However, if you look at his career at every stop of the Minor Leagues, he’s been challenged to perform — and he has responded at every stop of the Minor Leagues. We’re going to give him that opportunity in the big leagues here. … We think we can build an environment that can maximize his chances of translating that performance to the big leagues here in Detroit, and we intend to do that.”"

However, he struggled in spring training, and it has carried over into the regular season. He is off to a 3-for-19 start with just one walk to five strikeouts. Detroit may look once again to Toledo at either Justyn Henry-Malloy or Andre Lipcius. In order for Malloy to get the call-up, the Tigers would have to designate either Schoop or McKinstry.