Thursday afternoon, the Detroit Tigers announced that catcher Jake Rogers and infielder Isaac Paredes had been optioned to Triple-A Toledo to begin the 2021 season. Both Rogers and Paredes were embroiled in camp battles for backup positions on the Tigers’ major-league roster, but will evidently have to wait for their turn in Comerica Park.
Paredes is the more well-regarded player of the two, making his MLB debut last season at only 21 years old. Major league pitching wasn’t kind to him, and he hit only .220/.278/.290 in 21 games. The surface numbers don’t tell the whole story, though.