The Detroit Tigers made a calculated decision on Nov. 18, the deadline day for major league teams to cut players from their 40-man rosters, or add them. By adding a minor league player to the 40-man roster, a team protects him from being poached by a rival in the annual Rule 5 Draft.

The Tigers decided not to protect their No. 30 prospect, an intimidating, right-handed pitcher named RJ Petit who was Detroit's 14th-round selection in the 2021 MLB amateur draft. Presumably, the Tigers hoped they could slip him through the Rule 5 Draft — which allows teams to take unprotected players who meet certain conditions from other minor league systems — without losing Petit.

But Petit is a hard man to hide. Standing 6-foot-8 and tipping the scales at 300 pounds, the 26-year-old will become the

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