Tigers Not Counting Out Moya

DETROIT—The good news for power-hitting right fielder Steven Moya is that he posted solid numbers while playing in the Dominican League this winter.

The bad news is that a big league roster spot will be quite difficult to come by this spring. The Tigers signed Justin Upton to a lucrative six-year deal and will have nine outfielders with big league experience in camp.

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But general manager Al Avila warned against overlooking Moya.

“Moya had a very good winter,” Avila said. “If he continues in Toledo where he left off in winter ball, then he will be on his way to playing in the big leagues.”

Moya, 24, was listed at or near the top of the team’s prospects list for several years, but slipped out of the top 10 this year. He has impressive power and a strong arm but has struggled to develop plate discipline.

Moya hit 20 home runs and knocked in 74 runs in 2015, his first season at Triple-A Toledo. But he also hit just .240/.283/.420 and had 162 strikeouts and 27 walks in 535 plate appearances. Moya has a .249 average, a .733 OPS and 750 strikeouts in 606 games in seven seasons in the minors.

Moya’s numbers while playing winter ball for Toros del Este were much improved, albeit in a small sample size. He hit .298/.350/.466 with 34 strikeouts and 10 walks. Those 34 strikeouts in 131 at-bats mean he still struck out about a quarter of the time, but that does represent an improvement on his career 32 percent strike out rate.

Yoenis Cespedes was traded during the 2015 season and Rajai Davis hit the market as a free agent at the end of the season, which left the Tigers a bit thin in the outfield. But they have added Cameron Maybin, Mike Aviles and, now, Upton, to go with J.D. Martinez, Anthony Gose and Tyler Collins.

Moya will have an uphill battle this spring to make the big league roster as a power bat off the bench. But if he swings the bat this spring like he did this winter, he has a shot.

TIGER TALES

• Lefthander Daniel Norris is 100 percent and ready for spring after undergoing offseason surgery to deal with thyroid cancer.

• The chikungunya virus put an early end to reliever Bruce Rondon’s Venezuelan League season and kept him away from the team’s annual winter caravan in late January.