When the Tigers signed Jose Valverde, the 40-man roster was already full so it was clear somebody was going to have to be exposed to waivers, released or traded. Some thought it would be a pitcher who was a longshot to make the team, such as Casey Fien or Alfredo Figaro. Others thought it might be a position player in the same position, like Don Kelly.

I didn’t hear anybody mention Jeff Larish, but that’s who the Tigers decided to outright to Toledo to make room. Like I said, the move was described as Larish being outrighted to Toledo, and that means he has been taken off the 40-man roster and assigned to Toledo. It also means he has already cleared waivers, so 29 teams took a look at his skills and passed.

That means there’s really no reason to criticize the Tigers for picking the wrong player, as they seem to have correctly assessed the interest around the league in Larish. I suppose what you could criticize is the idea that they might not have cared too much about whether there was interest elsewhere.

He is, after all, a powerful, patient left-handed bat who could serve as something of a backup to Cabrera and maybe get the occasional start as a left-handed bat at DH. The problem is he just doesn’t seem to be a good enough hitter to fill that role. If Cabrera stays healthy, he’d play something like five to ten games at first and fill the rest of his time as a designated or pinch hitter. You have to rake in that role and Larish hasn’t hit well enough to fill it. Not only that, the Tigers have made it very clear they want more flexibility from their bench players.

That’s probably the more intriguing part of this move to me. The Tigers’ bench is going to consist of a:

Backup Catcher (Robinzon Diaz or Alex Avila, probably)
Ramon Santiago (or somebody like him if he gets hurt)
Ryan Raburn
Another Backup Outfielder (Clete Thomas most likely, but maybe Casper Wells or Wilkin Ramirez)
Somebody else

We know that somebody else isn’t going to be Larish, so what will they look for there? Personally, I believe they’ll look for somebody else who can play second base. Santiago and Everett seem likely to be in another time share at shortstop. If they also use Santiago to spell Sizemore at second, he could get to where he’s exceeding the amount of playing time they want him to have. Since I think they will want to give Sizemore some days off, I think they’ll look for that fifth bench player to fill in.

On the current roster, that could be Brent Dlugach or Don Kelly. Then there’s always the chance they look to a veteran through either waivers, a low cost trade (something like the Josh Anderson deal last year) or free agency. Before this move, I thought that fifth spot was the best chance for a bat like Ryan Strieby or Jeff Larish to make the team. I suppose it's still possible - though very unlikely, in my opinion - the reason they're okay with losing Larish and Thames is they really like Strieby for that spot.

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