The Detroit Tigers traded second baseman Ian Kinsler to the Los Angeles Angels in December 2017 as one of several early moves in their rebuild under general manager Al Avila, who was fired less than five years later.
The return package: outfielder Troy Montgomery and right-hander Wilkel Hernandez.
Montgomery flamed out in Double-A Erie in 2019, but Hernandez has remained active in the Tigers’ organization – until now. The 26-year-old was one of 24 players from the Tigers who became minor league free agents on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Here is the full list of minor league free agents: catchers Eliezer Alfonzo and Brian Serven, infielders Jake Holton, Carlos Mendoza, Andrew Navigato, Kevin Newman and Riley Unroe, right-handed pitchers Jordan Balazovic, Austin Bergner, Ryan Boyer, Blair Calvo, Jhoan De Los Santos, Randy Dobnak, Woo-Suk Go, Richard Guasch, Wilkel Hernandez, Jesus Mejia, Freddy Pacheco, Esmerlin Peguero, Erinson Reyes, Nick Starr, left-handed pitchers Andrew Magno, Nick Margevicius and Carlos Peña.
Hernandez didn’t advance past Triple-A Toledo.
He spent all of 2025 with the Mud Hens, logging a 4.80 ERA with 44 walks and 96 strikeouts across 114⅓ innings in 34 games (19 starts). He received a non-roster invitation to MLB spring training before the season.
Kinsler, now 43, played 14 MLB seasons with the Texas Rangers (2006-2013), Tigers (2014-17), Angels (2018), Boston Red Sox (2018) and San Diego Padres (2019). The four-time All-Star retired in December 2019 with 1,999 hits.
Five of the 24 minor league free agents have MLB experience: Newman, Balazovic, Calvo, Dobnak and Margevicius. None of them appeared for the Tigers in 2025.
Nine of the new free agents are already playing winter ball in search of 2026 contracts: Holton and Peña in the Dominican Republic, Alfonzo and Mendoza in Venezuela, Bergner in Puerto Rico and Navigato, Unroe, Guasch and Margevicius in Mexico.
Meanwhile, Hernandez – from the Kinsler trade – is expected to begin pitching as a starter in Venezuela soon.
Leave a Reply