Keston Hiura, a former infielder with the Milwaukee Brewers, has signed a minor-league contract with the Detroit Tigers.
When Hiura returns to Lakeland on Monday, he will be the 19th non-roster invitee and 59th player in the Tigers’ camp.
Hiura, 27, played second base with the Brewers for a portion of his four seasons in the major leagues before switching to first base. He was a corner outfielder in the past as well.
Hiura was a unanimous top-20 prospect entering the 2019 season after being selected in the first round of the 2017 draft, ninth overall, out of UC-Irvine. Despite having a strong rookie season—he hit 19 home runs in 348 plate appearances—he has not been able to duplicate those achievements in the following years. He worked with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville for the most of 2023.
Right-hander Hiura is expected to contribute depth for the Tigers at Triple-A Toledo, playing numerous positions.
TIGERS’ SPRING ROSTER (59)
Andrew Chafin, Sean Guenther, Tyler Holton, Brant Hurter, Kolton Ingram, Tarik Skubal, Andrew Vasquez, and Joey Wentz are the eight left-handed pitchers.
Drew Anderson, Beau Brieske, Miguel Diaz, Mason Englert, Alex Faedo, Jack Flaherty, Wilmer Flores, Jason Foley, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Brenan Hanifee, Garrett Hill, Jackson Jobe, Alex Lange, Ty Madden, Kenta Maeda, Matt Manning, Shelby Miller, Casey Mize, Keider Montero, Reese Olson, Devin Sweet, Will Vest, Brendan White, and Trey Wingenter are the right-handed pitchers in this group of twenty-four pitchers.
Catchers (6): Carson Kelly, Jake Rogers, Donny Sands, Dillon Dingler, Anthony Bemboom, and Eliezer Alfonzo.
The following twelve players are infielders: Colt Keith, Ryan Kreidler, Eddys Leonard, Andre Lipcius, Zach McKinstry, Wenceel Perez, Spencer Torkelson, Matt Vierling, Keston Hiura, Andy Ibañez, Jace Jung, and Javier Báez.
The following nine players are outfielders: Parker Meadows, Ryan Vilade, Riley Greene, Bligh Madris, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Justice Bigbie, Mark Canha, and Kerry Carpenter.
