Norris was in camp with the Tigers the offseason but was released after failing to make the team. The 29-year-old has a career .230/.304/.380 line over six major-league seasons.

Norris was expected to serve as organizational catching depth for the Tigers after failing to break camp with the big club, but with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Brayan Pena also in the team's organization, Norris was ultimately deemed expendable. He'll look to catch on elsewhere, but given his struggles at the plate over the previous two seasons (.190/.256/.343 across 178 games), the 29-year-old will likely have to settle for a minor-league deal.

The Tigers also reassigned fellow veteran backstop Jarrod Saltalamacchia to their minor-league camp Thursday, meaning that John Hicks has made the Opening Day roster as the second catcher behind top option James McCann. Norris has displayed some intriguing power relative to others at his position during his previous stops in the majors, but his poor approach at the dish has limited him to on-base marks below .260 both of the past two seasons. His return to the big leagues doesn't seem imminent.

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." Norris slashed just .201/.258/.380 in 53 games with the Rays last year, but he's blasted 10 or more home runs in a season three times in his career, so he can at least offer a little pop if he gets any playing time in Detroit.