Veteran catcher Tomás Nido was designated for assignment by the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
The move was the expected corresponding transaction for the return of catcher Jake Rogers, who was reinstated from the injured list and will start Tuesday’s game in St. Louis.
Nido will now either be traded or placed on outright waivers. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll become a free agent. The Tigers would love to keep him as a depth option at Triple-A Toledo if they can.
Nido was hitting .343 (12-for-35) as a backup to Dillon Dingler over the last six weeks.
The 31-year-old signed with the Tigers last September and played in three games for Toledo at the end of the 2024 season. He wasn’t eligible for the postseason because of his late signing; otherwise, it’s likely he would have accompanied the team as an emergency taxi squad player.
Drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round in 2012, Nido built a reputation as a strong defender while rising through the system. He debuted in 2017 and became a reliable backup catcher.
After struggling offensively in 2023 and dealing with vision issues, he was designated for assignment and later outrighted to Triple-A. Nido returned briefly to the Mets in 2024 before being released in June. He signed with the Chicago Cubs but was sidelined by a meniscus tear and released in August.
If Nido is acquired by another team or chooses to sign elsewhere, Brian Serven would become the No. 3 catcher in the Tigers’ organizational depth chart behind Dingler and Rogers.
Nido’s final act as a Tiger was throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings in Monday night’s blowout loss to the Cardinals.
If this is the end of his Tigers’ tenure, Nido will go out with a .343 batting average and 0.00 ERA.
TIGERS’ 40-MAN ROSTER (38)
Left-handed pitchers (5): Sean Guenther, Tyler Holton, Bailey Horn, Brant Hurter, Tarik Skubal.
Right-handed pitchers (16): John Brebbia, Beau Brieske, Alex Cobb*, Jack Flaherty, Jason Foley**, Brenan Hanifee, Jackson Jobe, Tommy Kahnle, Chase Lee, Matt Manning, Tyler Mattison**, Casey Mize*, Keider Montero, Reese Olson*, Tyler Owens, Will Vest.
Catchers (2): Dillon Dingler, Jake Rogers.
Infielders (9): Javier Báez, Jace Jung, Andy Ibáñez, Colt Keith, Ryan Kreidler, Zach McKinstry, Trey Sweeney, Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres.
Outfielders (6): Akil Baddoo, Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Brewer Hicklen, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Matt Vierling*.
*On 10-day or 15-day injured list
**On minor-league injured list
Right-handed pitchers Alex Lange (right lat strain and surgery), Sawyer Gipson-Long (Tommy John surgery and hip), José Urquidy (Tommy John surgery) and Ty Madden (rotator cuff strain); and outfielders Parker Meadows (right upper arm inflammation) and Wenceel Pérez (lower back inflammation) are on the 60-day injured list and do not count against the 40-man roster.
