The Tigers finalized a minor league deal with reliever Dugan Darnell, a move first noted on MLB.com’s transaction log. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the agreement includes a non-roster invitation to big league camp. If Darnell were to earn a spot on the major league roster, he would make slightly more than the $780,000 league minimum.
While Darnell will be present in camp, he is not expected to appear in games. The 28-year-old had surgery in late September to repair a torn labrum in his left hip, an injury with an estimated eight-month recovery that should keep him sidelined until May. Once healthy, he’s likely to report to Triple-A Toledo and attempt to work his way onto the MLB roster.
A Michigan native from Northville, Darnell pitched collegiately at Division III Adrian College. After going undrafted, he spent time in independent ball before catching on with the Rockies organization. He posted a 3.74 ERA across 200 minor league outings with Colorado, including a strong 3.19 ERA over 53 2/3 innings at hitter-friendly Triple-A Albuquerque last season. That performance earned him his first major league promotion, where he allowed five runs in 11 2/3 innings before suffering the injury.
Darnell, a right-hander, features a three-pitch arsenal highlighted by a 93–94 mph fastball. He pairs it with a splitter, his primary secondary pitch against left-handed hitters, and mixes both the splitter and a slider more evenly versus right-handers. His brief MLB showing wasn’t enough to secure a 40-man roster spot with Colorado, leading to waiver claims by Pittsburgh and then Detroit. The Tigers later non-tendered him but were able to re-sign him on a non-roster deal, similar to how they handled Jack Little, Tyler Mattison, Tanner Rainey, and Sean Guenther.
Petzold also reported that Detroit reached minor league agreements with Dylan File, Woo-suk Go, and Wandisson Charles. None of the three received spring training invitations, suggesting they’re viewed strictly as depth options. All have previously been on 40-man rosters but have yet to reach the majors.
File is coming off a 4.70 ERA split between Double- and Triple-A in the Mariners system and owns a 4.33 ERA over seven minor league seasons as a starter. Go, once a closer in South Korea, signed a two-year, $4.5 million deal with the Padres before the 2023–24 season but didn’t make the Opening Day roster and was later dealt to Miami in the Luis Arraez trade. He’s spent the past two seasons in the upper minors, including 20 appearances in Detroit’s system last year. Charles, a 29-year-old reliever with a fastball that touches 98 mph, has struggled with control throughout his career and has pitched in the A’s and Orioles organizations, as well as in Mexico during the 2025 season.
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