The Detroit Tigers are adding a new arm to their pitching depth chart, signing left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus to a minor-league deal that includes an invite to spring training. It’s a low-risk move with some upside - the kind of deal that gives a club flexibility, especially heading into a long season. De Jesus still has all three minor-league options, which means the Tigers can move him between Triple-A and the big leagues without the pressure of a roster crunch.
De Jesus, 29, is coming off a two-year stint in the KBO League, where he served as a starter for the Kiwoom Heroes in 2024 and the KT Wiz in 2025. While he didn’t dominate overseas, he showed enough consistency to warrant another look from MLB clubs.
Across those two seasons, he posted a 3.83 ERA over 334 innings, striking out 343 and walking 88. That’s a 23.8% strikeout rate and a 6.1% walk rate - numbers that suggest solid command and the ability to miss bats, even if he's not overpowering.
He’ll earn $1.3 million if he cracks the big-league roster, but the Tigers aren’t necessarily expecting him to break camp in the rotation. More likely, De Jesus enters spring as a depth starter with an outside shot at a bullpen role, depending on how the roster shakes out. If nothing else, he gives Detroit another option to call on if injuries or performance issues crop up early in the season.
De Jesus last pitched in the U.S. in 2023, when he made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins. It was a small sample - just two appearances - but the results weren’t pretty.
He gave up eight runs on nine hits, four walks, and three hit-by-pitches across 6⅓ innings, resulting in an 11.37 ERA. Still, he struck out five, and there were flashes of potential in his pitch mix.
At Triple-A Jacksonville that same year, De Jesus made 17 appearances (16 starts), logging a 4.78 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 51 walks over 84⅔ innings. The command was inconsistent, but he showed enough to remain on the radar for teams looking to bolster their pitching depth.
Back in 2023, his MLB pitch mix included a four-seam fastball (31.6%), changeup (28.7%), slider (22.1%), and sinker (17.6%). The fastball averaged 93.4 mph, while the changeup stood out as his most effective offspeed weapon - generating whiffs and limiting damage. His slider had its moments too, including his first big-league strikeout, a swinging punchout of Alec Bohm.
De Jesus also represented Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, throwing 63 pitches in a single outing against Team Israel. He allowed just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out five in 3⅔ innings. It was another glimpse of what he can offer as a multi-inning reliever or back-end starter.
Originally signed by the Boston Red Sox out of Venezuela in 2013, De Jesus has taken the long road to the majors. He’s pitched in the minor league systems of the Red Sox, Giants, and Marlins, including a stop in Triple-A Sacramento in 2022 - when current Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris was still with San Francisco.
Now, he gets a fresh opportunity in Detroit, where the Tigers continue to build out their pitching depth with an eye on flexibility and long-term development. De Jesus likely opens 2026 in Triple-A, but if he can carry over the gains he made in Korea, he could be a name to watch when the inevitable need for innings arises.