After failing to win a spot on the Tigers' Opening Day roster out of spring training, the 36-year-old backstop was reassigned to the minors, but never saw action with any affiliate. Pena first reached the majors in 2005 and served mostly as a backup over parts of 12 seasons with the Braves, Royals, Tigers, Reds and Cardinals, accruing a .259/.299/.351 slash line and 23 home runs for his career. With his playing days behind him, Pena is slated to transition to the coaching ranks. He'll serve as the skipper for one of the Tigers' rookie-ball squads this summer, according to George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press.

There was some talk earlier that Pena could make the team as a third catcher, but he will start the year at Triple-A Toledo instead. James McCann will be the starter with John Hicks, Derek Norris and Jarrod Saltalamacchia still competing for the No. 2 job.

New Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire often carried three catchers when he managed the Twins, and he's talked about the idea in Detroit. "If you have that luxury, it's really nice," Gardenhire said. "I've had that before. That's a really nice luxury to have. But I don't know if we have that here right now." Pena is a ways away from having an everyday role with the Tigers and didn't appear in the majors in 2017, but he could be an insurance policy in case anything happens to McCann.

Pena, who spent all of last season in the minors after failing to break camp with the Royals, last appeared in the majors in 2016, when he struggled to a .154/.214/.231 line during a brief stint (nine games) with the Cardinals. He should get a chance to compete for the Tigers' backup catching gig in spring training, though he's more likely destined for a role as organizational catching depth in 2018.