Tigers Face Last-Minute Decision on Colt Keith, Matt Vierling for ALDS Roster

Both Keith and Vierling's seasons were upended by injury. For Vierling, it was an oblique strain that caused him to miss half of August and all of September. Keith finished the year on the 10-day injured list with right rib cage inflammation.

Of the two, Keith is the most interesting case for this series in particular. It's still a question as to whether or not he will go, but he did play catch on Wednesday.

Seattle's rotation consists of all right-handed pitchers. Keith could provide another lefty bat with some pop to serve as a platoon option for the series. Against righties this year, Keith slashed .267/.346/.439 with 21 doubles, 13 homers and 44 RBI. He only had seven hits against lefties, so all of his season long production was against right-handers.

"He took a step forward over the last 24 hours, which is good. I don't know what that means yet. ... Good signs, but I don't know that anything can be drawn from it quite yet," AJ Hinch said of Keith before Wednesday's game aginst Cleveland.

Both Keith and Vierling took batting practice on Friday, which is even more progress than before.

"We're going to get a few reps to see where Colt is at, to see where Vierling is at. ... We're likely to take as much time as we have allotted to us to make the final decision," Hinch said to Petzhold on Friday.

Hinch has yet to comment on Vierling's injury any further. The utility man only played 31 games on the season, after missing time with a shoulder injury before the oblique. He has been out longer than Keith, hitting the IL on August 10.

On the season, he hit .239 with 3 doubles, a home run and 11 RBIs.

The Tigers got big hits from Wenceel Perez, and they have Meadows and Greene patrolling the outfield as well. Against a pitching staff that's right-handed heavy, Detroit might opt to not rush Vierling back for this series, and try to go with Keith for the platoon advantage.