Detroit Tigers' Christin Stewart, Aderlin Rodriguez among minor-league free agents
Back in 2015, the Detroit Tigers drafted left-handed slugger Christian Stewart with the No. 34 overall pick from Tennessee. Six years later, the organization has cut the outfielder loose as a minor-league free agent.
Stewart is one of 20 minor-league free agents from the Tigers' farm system, along with reigning Triple-A East MVP Aderlin Rodriguez. On Tuesday, Baseball America provided the full list of free agents for all 30 teams.
Although these players can sign elsewhere, the Tigers could bring some of them back.
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Stewart, 27, played 157 games in the majors from 2018-20, hitting .225 with 15 home runs, 59 RBIs, 49 walks and 146 strikeouts. In the shortened 2020 campaign, he hit .167 with three homers, nine RBIs, five walks and 30 strikeouts over 36 games.
His poor results forced the Tigers to demote him to Triple-A Toledo in September 2020.
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Stewart didn't make the 2022 Opening Day roster, which wasn't a surprise, and spent the entire year in Toledo. He hit .254 with 21 home runs in 89 games for the Mud Hens. He has a career .263 batting average with 48 homers across 233 games at the Triple-A level.
Rodriguez, 29, earned Triple-A East MVP honors for his performance in 2021.
He hit .290 with 29 homers, 94 RBIs, 42 walks and 127 strikeouts in 116 games. Although Rodriguez is a solid player for organizational depth, it's tough to see him making his MLB debut for the Tigers, considering he is confined to first base, third base and designated hitter.
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Rodriguez has 12 years of minor-league experience, playing for the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres and Tigers. Detroit signed him to a minor-league contract in January 2021.
Here's the full list of Detroit's new minor-league free agents:
RHP Jose Appleton
C Juan Centeno
RHP Cale Coshow
RHP Isrrael De La Cruz
2B Yariel Gonzalez
RHP Drew Hutchison
RHP Xavier Javier
RHP Mark Leiter Jr.
3B Josh Lester
RHP Henry Martinez
RHP Gerson Moreno
RHP Pedro Payano
RHP Ricardo Pinto
RHP Wladimir Pinto
3B Aderlin Rodriguez
LHP Robert Ross
RHP Zachary Shepherd
LHP Locke St. John
OF Christin Stewart
3B Drew Ward
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.