The Tigers are coming up on another decision point in terms of their offseason roster housekeeping.

The deadline to set the 40-man roster and protect or expose prospects in the Rule 5 draft is 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Tigers’ president Scott Harris already has done some heavy lifting on this by adding prospects Jackson Jobe, Jace Jung, Ty Madden, Brant Hurter, Trey Sweeney and Eddys Leonard to the roster last season.

But difficult decisions remain and inevitably, some promising players will be left unprotected.

“Talk about a blessing and a curse,” Harris said last month at the end-ofseason press conference. “You want to go into this deadline with a lot of tough decisions because it means you have a lot of talented players. But it’s really tough to decide who you want to protect and who you don’t.”

Here are five prospects that might present the toughest decisions for Harris and his staff:

Joseph Montalvo, right-handed pitcher

Rated the No. 16 prospect in the system by MLB Pipeline, the 22-year-old Puerto Rico native was acquired from Texas in the Andrew Chafin deal and finished the season at High-A West Michigan.

The Tigers liked his arsenal despite a 4.74 ERA in five starts.

Justice Bigbie, outfielder

He was being touted as the next Kerry Carpenter after he slugged 19 homers over three levels in 2023 and earned an invite to bigleague camp last February. But he struggled mightily in Triple A last season (four homers and a .334 slugging percentage in 558 plate appearances).

The No. 21-rated prospect will turn 26 in January.

Roberto Campos, outfielder

The power tool the Tigers anticipated when they signed him at age 18 for $2.85 million, then the biggest contract given to an international signee, hasn’t materialized.

He spent the last two seasons in High A, producing a career-best 10 home runs and a .767 OPS last season.

The No. 25-rated prospect will be 22 next season.

Lael Lockhart, lefthanded pitcher

He will turn 27 on New Year’s Eve and he’s logged 98 innings in Triple A the last two seasons, primarily as a starter. With an elite splitter, which he pairs with sliders and curveballs, the club’s No. 26 prospect misses bats.

He had 145 strikeouts in 121 innings last season.

Gage Workman, infielder

He’s coming off a career season (.280/.366/.476 with 18 homers and 89 RBIs) but unfortunately, it was the 24-year-old’s third at Double-A Erie. That he wasn’t promoted to Triple A, even with his stellar season, probably tells the tale.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time on this,” Harris said. “But I hope we get asked these questions every single year because it means we have a talented system with players who can really help us and players that other teams want.”

Other notable Rule 5 eligible prospects: Pitchers Chase Lee, Austin Bergner, R.J. Petit and Dylan Smith, infielders Andrew Navigato and Trei Cruz, outfielders Ben Malgeri, Austin Murr and Brady Allen.

The Tigers’ 40-man roster is presently full.