Detroit Tigers Sign RHP Burch Smith to Minor-League Deal, Non-Roster Spring Invite

The Detroit Tigers added veteran right‑hander Burch Smith on a minor‑league contract that comes with a non‑roster invitation to spring training and a $1.5 million major‑league pay guarantee if he reaches the big‑league roster, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free‑Press reports. Petzold wrote the deal “includes a non‑roster invitation to MLB spring training and pays $1.5 million if he makes the MLB roster, plus $250,000 available in incentives,” and called the signing part of a continued push for pitching depth, writing, “The Detroit Tigers continue to add pitching depth.”

Smith, who turns 36 in mid‑April, was a 14th‑round pick by the San Diego Padres out of the University of Oklahoma in the 2011 draft and has a long, journeyman resume. Free‑Press reporting summarizes his big‑league line as a 5.79 career ERA in 247 1/3 innings with 230 strikeouts and 99 walks across 152 games and 13 starts, noting a 20.8 percent strikeout rate and a 9 percent walk rate. Smith’s MLB stops include the Padres, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Miami Marlins and Baltimore Orioles, and his travels include 64 2/3 innings in Japan for the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2022 and brief time in Korea with the Hanwha Eagles in 2023.

His recent results are a mixed blueprint for a comeback. Smith posted a 4.95 ERA in 56 1/3 innings between the Marlins and Orioles in 2024, but struggled at Triple‑A Indianapolis in 2025, registering a 7.08 ERA in 19 outings with an elevated 12.2 percent walk rate before his July release. He has countered that slide with a stronger winter showing in the Dominican Republic, where he tossed 15 1/3 innings with a 20:6 strikeout‑to‑walk ratio and three runs allowed, a line MLB Trade Rumors highlighted as evidence for his renewed viability.

Detroit’s scouting and the deal’s structure appear to hinge on Smith’s raw stuff. Petzold reported a 94.1 mph average fastball that topped out at 97.2 mph and generated a 27.8 percent whiff rate, writing that “It plays at the top of the strike zone.” Those metrics help explain why the Tigers placed a relatively rich minor‑league guarantee on a veteran reliever entering his 36th year.

The move slots into a broader Tigers strategy of stockpiling experienced bullpen arms. MLB Trade Rumors and syndicated outlets list recent non‑roster signings including Tanner Rainey, Sean Guenther, Scott Effross, Dugan Darnell, Jack Little, Tyler Mattison and Cole Waites, and analysis from Roundtable Sports via Yardbarker framed the addition as part of a pattern, writing the signing “fits neatly into a growing offseason pattern. Detroit continues to stockpile veteran arms with big league experience, parking them in Toledo as both depth and insurance.”

Reporting timelines vary: Petzold’s piece states Smith signed Dec. 23, MLB Trade Rumors posted the item on Jan. 7, and one summary lists a March 3‑4 announcement; the club’s transaction log will be the definitive record on timing. With a non‑roster spring invite and a $1.5M payoff on the line, Smith’s spring will be a direct audition — he must convert the winter ball strikeout gains into sustained command and lower his walk rate against big‑league hitters to force the Tigers’ hand on who earns bullpen spots or emergency depth in Toledo.