The Detroit Tigers are close to finalizing their Opening Day roster, and the last bench spot is shaping up to be one of the more interesting decisions A.J. Hinch has to make this spring. On one side is Jahmai Jones, a known commodity with big-league experience and a defined role. On the other is Trei Cruz, a prospect with no MLB service time but a skillset that may be more useful across a full season than Jones's.

This is not a straightforward call. But the case for Cruz deserves a serious look.

The numbers are not subtle. Against left-handed pitching in 2025, Jones posted a .288/.393/.577 slash line with a .970 OPS and a 173 sOPS+ — that last figure meaning he was 73 percent better than the league average hitter in that split. He started 26 games against left-handed starters and delivered a .982 OPS with five home runs in 88 plate appearances. He came off a productive World Baseball Classic run with South Korea that reinforced those same qualities against high-level competition. Jones is a professional hitter who knows exactly what he is and executes it at a high level.

The issue is not what he does against left-handed pitching. The issue is everything else.

Against right-handed pitching, Jones posted a .797 OPS and a 72 sOPS+ — 28 percent below league average. In 28 plate appearances against right-handers he managed a .280 average with no home runs. That gap between his splits is one of the widest on the roster, and it defines the ceiling on his bench value. When the matchup is not there, Jones is a below-average hitter asking for playing time on a roster that does not have room for situational limitations at the end of the bench.

Cruz is ranked No. 31 on the TMLR top 50 and No. 26 on MLB Pipeline, which on paper does not scream Opening Day roster. But the rankings undersell what he actually offers a big-league club in 2026. He is a switch-hitter who has played shortstop, second base, third base, and all three spots in outfield across his minor league career, reaching Triple-A Toledo last season. That kind of positional flexibility is exactly what Hinch has historically valued in a bench piece. When he made the move to centerfield two years ago, it was in the footsteps of his father, Jose Cruz, and made the transition easy. 

The Tigers got a look at that versatility this spring. Cruz has been one of the more professional at-bats in camp regardless of the matchup, and that regardless is doing a lot of work in this argument. A switch-hitter who can play four positions and put together a quality at-bat against both handednesses is a fundamentally different roster tool than a player who peaks at a 173 sOPS+ against one hand and falls below replacement level against the other.

Detroit's bench is built around specific roles. Jake Rogers provides the backup catching option. Zach McKinstry and Colt Keith give Hinch infield depth with offensive upside. The final spot has historically gone to a player who can do a little bit of everything — cover a double switch, spot a starter on a scheduled off day, provide middle infield depth when the inevitable injury arrives.

Jones fits one of those scenarios well. Cruz fits most of them adequately, and some of them better than anyone else on the roster.

The deeper issue is organizational momentum. Cruz is at the point in his development where Triple-A at-bats without a defined path are not moving the needle. He has absorbed what Toledo has to offer. Putting him in Detroit now, in a limited role where he can get meaningful big-league at-bats and acclimate to the environment, sets him up better for the expanded role he is going to be asked to fill when the roster needs him. And it will need him — this Tigers team is built to compete, and a 162-game season creates opportunities.

Jones's platoon splits are real and they are impressive. But a bench spot built entirely around one matchup is a luxury a contending roster can rarely afford for a full season. The Tigers have left-handed bats throughout their lineup. They have Hinch, who manages matchups as well as anyone in the American League. What they may not have enough of is a player who can plug three different holes on three different nights without a platoon caveat attached.

Jones may win this job in March and he would not be an undeserving choice. His numbers against left-handed pitching are among the best in the organization and that has real value in a pennant race. But the more forward-looking version of this roster keeps Cruz in Detroit and lets him start building big-league experience now, while the development window is optimal.

If Jones opens the season on the roster and the matchup does not come up enough to justify his spot, Cruz is the first call. He has been the first call for a while. The question is whether the Tigers get ahead of it.

Watch Trei Cruz's name closely as soon as the first roster crunch arrives. He may be one of the first players a call up to Detroit. 

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