Detroit Tigers: Opening Day breeds new competition behind the dish

The Detroit Tigers have finalized their roster and are preparing for first pitch to kick off their regular season. The organization signed Wilson Ramos this offseason to be their starting catcher, which means that there was going to be a battle for the backup spot.

Between Grayson Greiner and Jake Rogers, the two both were fighting for time. Both Greiner and Rogers battled down in Lakeland, but Greiner would edge him out for the backup job. As the roster is finalized, Greiner earned the backup job while Rogers was optioned to the alternate training site.

The Detroit Tigers have bred a new battle for this backup catching job. They have several players who could have earned this job, but they opted to bring in Greiner. They could have opted to go with Eric Haase or Dustin Garneau, who also provided some competition.

While Garneau and Haase were more than likely going to be optioned to the alternate training site regardless, the two both added an extra layer of competition to the mix. Ramos has things pretty much on lock in the big leagues, so the backup role was the most sought-after role.

The Detroit Tigers catching situation breeds new competition behind Wilson Ramos.

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The starter at the MLB level for the Detroit Tigers is going to be Ramos, but Greiner is the backup to start the 2021 season. The bigger question is if Rogers will be able to work his way to the big leagues.

Rogers has not totally panned out to be the catcher that the organization was expecting.

However, Rogers could be battling for the backup role if he can prove that he can be a big-league hitter during the 2021 season. The defense is there, but offensively, he has shown nothing.

The biggest issue with this positional battle is that Rogers is going to have the defensive skills but not the defensive skills to get by as a big-league catcher.

The battle that is being bred is between Rogers and company from the alternate training site.

The odds are that Greiner will lock down the job, but competition has been bred. If Rogers really wants to prove that he can hang at the big league level, then he needs to make major strides. Being at the alternate training site while the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens await confirmation to start their season, he will need to continue putting in work.

It will take a substantial increase in ability or appearance of an increase in ability to show the coaches that Rogers deserves a promotion to the big league team. However, from the sounds of it, Rogers is going to do whatever he can to try and earn a shot in the big leagues.

With Ramos anchoring down the starting role, Rogers will be looking to earn a look over Greiner, who is currently serving as the Tigers backup catcher.