Battles for the fifth and final spot in the Detroit Tigers starting rotation are an annual staple of spring training down at Joker Marchant Stadium. This year’s competition, however, sticks out from years past, both for the depth of talent and the fact that it essentially ended in a stalemate.
While it became clear early on that the Tigers would slot in ace Tarik Skubal and veteran free-agent signings Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda into the team’s rotation, three young arms vied for two rotation spots in Casey Mize, Reese Olson, and Matt Manning. When the dust settled, nobody got injured, and Manning narrowly finished as the odd man out, losing the race to a former #1 overall pick and a 2023 young breakout arm.