Tigers Outright Yoniel Curet, Zack Short
The Tigers sent righty Yoniel Curet and infielder Zack Short through outright waivers, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News was among those to relay. Short is still weighing whether to accept the assignment or elect free agency. This is the first career outright for Curet, so he has no choice but to report to Triple-A Toledo.
Both players were recent acquisitions. Detroit picked up Curet off waivers from Philadelphia in the middle of April. They traded for Short, who was playing on a minor league contract, in a cash deal with the Nationals on Friday. Detroit called him up on Sunday and designated him for assignment on Tuesday after he went 0-3 in two games.
Curet, 23, has yet to pitch in the big leagues. He garnered some prospect hype after a strong run between 2022-24 in the low minors of the Rays’ system. Tampa Bay carried him on the 40-man roster for two years as a long-term development project. A shoulder injury sidelined him for the first half of last season, and the big righty struggled to throw strikes once he got healthy. The Phils picked him up in a DFA trade in December but dropped him from the roster early in April.
The Tigers will now get to work with Curet without needing to carry him on the 40-man roster. He has a mid-90s fastball and showed big strikeout potential early in his minor league career. It seems likelier at this point that any MLB future is going to come out of the bullpen. Curet spent the first couple weeks of his time in the Detroit system at their Florida complex, presumably to work on his mechanics. He has only pitched once for Toledo and walked three of his six opponents.
Short is a utility player who owns a .171/.269/.295 line in just shy of 600 big league plate appearances. Detroit was very thin on upper minors shortstop depth behind Kevin McGonigle once Javier Báez joined Zach McKinstry and Trey Sweeney on the injured list. McKinstry returned this week and they brought in Paul DeJong on a minor league contract on Tuesday, pushing Short down the depth chart a couple notches.
Phillies Claim Grant Holman
The Phillies announced that they have claimed right-hander Grant Holman off waivers from the Tigers and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Detroit designated him for assignment a few days ago. The Phils had a couple of 40-man vacancies and don’t need to make a corresponding move.
Holman, 26 this month, has been riding the waiver wire quite a bit in recent months. He pitched for the Athletics in 2024 and 2025 but that club designated him for assignment in February. He was claimed by the Diamondbacks and has since gone to the Dodgers, Tigers and now Phillies on subsequent claims. He’s been kept on optional assignment this year, having not pitched in the big leagues since last season.
The major league track record isn’t particularly impressive. Holman tossed 38 2/3 innings for the A’s in the two previous seasons, allowing 4.66 earned runs per nine. His 18.8% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate have been subpar. His 43.9% ground ball rate has been above average by a couple of ticks.
His minor league numbers have been stronger. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has thrown 62 innings on the farm with an ERA of 0.87. That is at least a bit misleading, as his .218 batting average on balls in play and 88.3% strand rate in that sample have been very fortunate. His 10.6% walk rate is on the high side but he paired that with a 28.1% strikeout rate and solid ground ball numbers as well. He’s mostly a fastball-splitter guy, throwing those two pitches roughly 85% of the time, with his slider taking up the rest of his usage.
For the Phils, as mentioned, they had a couple of free roster spots. They designated Dylan Moore for assignment a few days ago and traded Trevor Richards to the White Sox. Since Holman still has options, they’ve used one of those two open spots to grab him and stash him in the minors as some extra bullpen depth. If he sticks on the roster, he could be called upon whenever they need a fresh arm in the big league level.
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images
Tigers Place Gleyber Torres On IL With Oblique Strain
The Tigers announced that second baseman Gleyber Torres has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 4th, with a left oblique strain. Infielder Jace Jung was recalled in a corresponding move.
Torres departed Saturday’s game due to left side tightness. He didn’t immediately go on the IL but it now seems the club has decided to put him on the shelf, at least for a little while. It’ll be a blow to the Detroit lineup. Torres only has two home runs so far but is drawing walks at the best rate of his career, a 17.4% clip which is about three ticks better than last year. That has led to a .259/.389/.328 batting line that is a little unusual but still translates to a wRC+ of 111, indicating he’s been 11% better than the league average hitter overall.
His absence is all the more notable because of the game of musical chairs the Tigers have been playing on the infield. Trey Sweeney has been on the IL all year due to a shoulder strain. Zach McKinstry was on the shelf for a few weeks due to left hip/abdominal inflammation and Javier Báez just recently suffered an ankle sprain.
To address those injuries, the Tigers have brought guys like Zack Short and Paul DeJong into the system. Short even got a brief stint on the roster but was quickly bumped off when McKinstry was reinstated from the IL yesterday. Now just after getting McKinstry back, Torres departs.
With Báez out, Kevin McGonigle should be covering shortstop pretty much every day. Second and third base may be more of a rotation, with guys like Colt Keith, McKinstry, Jung and Hao-Yu Lee all in the mix at those spots.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
Framber Valdez To Serve Five-Game Suspension
4:39pm: The suspension has been reduced to five games and Valdez will begin serving it tonight. Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group was among those to pass along the update.
3:20pm: Major League Baseball announced that Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez has been issued a six-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing at Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story last night. He’ll begin serving the suspension tonight unless he appeals. Manager A.J. Hinch has also received a one-game suspension and undisclosed fine. He’ll begin serving his suspension tonight.
Valdez was getting torched by the Sox last night. He allowed ten runs, seven earned, in three-plus innings pitched. The top of the fourth started with homers by Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu. Then Trevor Story came up and was promptly beaned, which led to the benches and bullpens clearing, as seen in this video from MLB.com. Valdez was then ejected.
The lefty denied that the beaning was intentional but it was hard to believe. His own manager didn’t seem to defend him too hard. “We play a really good brand of baseball here,” Hinch said. “That didn’t feel like it.” Many observers pointed out that Valdez hardly ever throws a four-seam fastball and that the pitch that hit Story was his first four-seamer thrown this year.
When players are suspended for on-field infractions, they can’t be replaced on the roster, so the Tigers will have to play short-handed when Valdez is serving his suspension. Unless it gets shortened on appeal, he will have to miss at least one turn through the rotation. That’s a notable blow since Detroit is already pretty banged up in the starting pitching department, with each of Tarik Skubal, Justin Verlander, Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe, Troy Melton and Reese Olson currently on the injured list.
Jack Flaherty is starting tonight and then the Tigers are off on Thursday. Keider Montero and Ty Madden are scheduled to go on Friday and Saturday. It was going to be Valdez on Sunday, so some other plan will be required for that game, unless Valdez appeals. Perhaps the Tigers will opt for a bullpen game or call someone up for a spot start. Sawyer Gipson-Long and Jake Miller are on optional assignment but both are injured in the minors. The Tigers do have an open 40-man spot after Zack Short was designated for assignment yesterday, so they could opt for a non-roster option like Bryan Sammons or Dylan File.
Photo courtesy of Lon Horwedel, Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: Skubal’s Injury, The Marlins’ Catchers, Eldridge Called Up, And Volpe Sent Down
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Tigers ace Tarik Skubal requiring elbow surgery (1:25)
- The Marlins calling up Joe Mack, optioning Agustín Ramírez and designating Chris Paddack for assignment (8:35)
- The Giants calling up Bryce Eldridge (21:50)
- The Yankees optioning Anthony Volpe (33:15)
- The Red Sox dealing with injuries to Garrett Crochet and others (41:55)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- What kind of package could the Rockies get if they traded Chase Dollander? (46:20)
- What can the Brewers do to address the left side of the infield? (56:50)
- Instead of using guys like Scott Kingery or Nicky Lopez on the bench, shouldn’t the Cubs call up a better player from the minors? (59:35)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson – listen here
- Kevin McGonigle, The Padres’ Franchise Valuation, And Edwin Díaz To Miss Time – listen here
- Lenyn Sosa Traded, And Injury Concerns For The Astros, Cubs And Orioles – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Evan Petzold, Imagn Images
Tigers Designate Zack Short For Assignment
The Tigers announced that infielder Zach McKinstry has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Fellow infielder Zack Short has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
Short is a glove-first infielder who was just brought into the mix by Detroit to address their recent injuries. He was acquired from the Nationals in a cash deal last week and then was added to the roster two days ago. He went hitless in three plate appearances and has now been quickly bumped off.
Though he’s competent in the field at multiple positions, Short is a .171/.269/.295 hitter in his career. The Tigers only really turned to him because they had a trio of infielders on the IL at the same time. McKinstry hit the IL over two weeks ago due to left hip/abdominal inflammation. Trey Sweeney has been on the shelf all year due to a shoulder strain and was moved to the 60-day IL in April. Javier Báez suffered a right ankle sprain about a week ago and hit the 10-day IL.
Short was used as an emergency tourniquet to stop the bleeding but he’s no longer needed with McKinstry’s return. Short now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Tigers could take five days to explore trade interest, but they could also place him on waivers at any point before that. Given his light hitting, Short would likely clear waivers, as he has done before.
If he does clear waivers again, he would have the right to elect free agency, but perhaps he would stay. He is plenty familiar with the organization and the Detroit infield depth is still a bit light due to injuries, though they did add Paul DeJong via a minor league deal earlier today.
Now that McKinstry is back, he can return to the multi-positional role that he was in before. He has experience at the three infield spots to the left of first base and in the outfield as well. He’s at third base tonight with Colt Keith heading to the bench. Second base is mostly covered by Gleyber Torres but he has missed a few recent games due to side tightness, which has led to more playing time for Hao-Yu Lee. Shortstop was being shared by Kevin McGonigle and Báez but the IL stint for the latter has largely left that spot to McGonigle. With Parker Meadows on the IL, the outfield mix includes Matt Vierling, Wenceel Pérez, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Jahmai Jones.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
Tigers To Sign Paul DeJong
9:15am: DeJong would earn a prorated $1MM base salary in the majors, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports.
8:38am: The Tigers and veteran infielder Paul DeJong have agreed to a minor league contract, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The C.L. Rocks client recently opted out of a minor league deal with the Yankees.
DeJong, 32, is a veteran of nine big league seasons. The slick-fielding, righty-swinging shortstop can handle any infield position at an average or better level. At the plate, he’s a strikeout-prone, low-OBP hitter with above-average power. DeJong has taken exactly 3500 plate appearances in the majors and slashed .229/.294/.416 with 146 home runs, fanning at a 27.9% clip against a below-average 7.1% walk rate.
Though he only took 83 plate appearances with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton, DeJong popped six home runs in that short time. He also drew walks at a huge 19% clip. However, he hit only .203, leading to an oddball slash line of .203/.361/.516 during his relatively short stint in the Yankees organization.
DeJong has played in each of the past nine big league seasons. Last year’s 208 plate appearances with the Nationals were the fewest he’s logged in a 162-game season, though his playing time was hindered by a frightening injury early in the season, wherein DeJong took an errant fastball to the face. He suffered facial fractures and lacerations, ultimately spending about two months on the shelf. DeJong hit .228/.269/.373 with only six homers last year, but a year prior he ripped 24 long balls in semi-regular work for the White Sox and Royals while slashing .227/.276/.427.
The Tigers aren’t immediately adding DeJong to the big league roster, though it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him get a look before long. Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry and Trey Sweeney are all on the injured list (the latter on the 60-day IL). Rookie Kevin McGonigle has seized an everyday role while splitting time between third base and shortstop. Gleyber Torres is locked in at second base. Colt Keith is playing third base frequently — particularly against right-handed pitching.
That doesn’t leave much room for regular playing time, but Detroit’s bench currently features journeyman Zack Short and rookie Hao-Yu Lee. Short is hitless through his first three plate appearances, which isn’t a concern for any batter in and of itself, but he’s a lifetime .171/.269/.295 hitter in 597 big league plate appearances (including a prior stint in Detroit). It’s not reasonable to expect him to provide even DeJong’s modest levels of offense at the plate. Lee, meanwhile, has struggled in a part-time role. If the Tigers want to get the 23-year-old regular at-bats to build on last year’s .243/.342/.406 line from Triple-A (14 homers, 22 steals, 106 wRC+), they could option him out and plug DeJong into the bench mix.
Tarik Skubal To Undergo Surgery To Remove Loose Bodies From Elbow
The Tigers received a gut-punch medical update, as ace Tarik Skubal is headed for arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, manager A.J. Hinch tells the team’s beat (link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). A timetable for his recovery has not yet been determined, but Skubal will obviously be placed on the 15-day injured list for now. The Tigers will recall righty Ty Madden and go with a bullpen game opened by Tyler Holton in Skubal’s place tonight.
Skubal has been his typically excellent self so far in 2026. He’s started seven games, totaled 43 1/3 innings and notched a tidy 2.70 ERA to begin the season. His average fastball is down about a mile per hour relative to last year’s 97.6 mph peak, but this year’s 96.6 mph average is right in line with his 2024 levels, when he won the first of his two Cy Young trophies. Skubal has fanned 27.1% of his opponents against a superlative 3.6% walk rate.
Though it may not be the strongest start of Skubal’s career, his track record makes him the consensus top pitcher in the American League — if not all of MLB. Losing him for what will surely be an extended period is brutal for the Tigers, particularly given the team’s lackluster start to the season. Detroit is 18-17, tied with Cleveland for first place in the American League Central. Had the Tigers rushed out to a big lead, the loss of their ace — while still demoralizing — might have been easier to weather. Instead, their pedestrian play thus far has kept even the last-place Twins (15-20) within three games of a share of the division lead.
Every injury is different, but precedent suggests that Skubal should still be able to return to the mound this year. He’s not even a lock to be placed on the 60-day IL. Illustrating the variety of possible outcomes here, Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both underwent surgery to remove loose bodies within days of each other this spring. Schwellenbach was immediately placed on the 60-day IL and still hasn’t begun throwing despite a nearly two-month layoff. Waldrep, meanwhile, was never placed on the 60-day IL and is set to throw bullpen sessions this week. He could feasibly return by late May or early June.
Cautioning that the absence might “only” be two to three months isn’t much of a silver lining for Detroit fans, but it’s still noteworthy that Skubal has a very real chance of being back later this summer — possibly with a decent portion of the season left. In the meantime, however, the Tigers’ rotation depth is being put through the wringer.
Skubal joins Casey Mize, Justin Verlander and Reese Olson on the injured list. Mize is dealing with a groin strain. Verlander has inflammation in his hip. Olson underwent shoulder surgery and will miss the entire 2026 season. Prized young righty Jackson Jobe is also on the 60-day injured list while he continues his yearlong rehab from last June’s Tommy John surgery. Jobe could potentially be an option in July or August. It’s possible he and Skubal will be ramping up to return to the rotation around the same time, even. Another promising young right-hander, Troy Melton, has been out all season due to an elbow strain.
With so many pitchers on the shelf, the Tigers will go with Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty and Keider Montero atop the rotation for the time being. Swingman Drew Anderson is an obvious candidate for the rotation. He’s posted a 5.12 ERA in 19 1/3 innings of relief this season but was dominant in the Korea Baseball Organization last year and signed a one-year, $7MM contract in free agency this winter. Anderson’s 26.5% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 13.7% swinging-strike rate all suggest that his ERA ought to be a fair bit lower; metrics like SIERA (3.45) and xERA (4.06) are far more bullish on his work.
Righty Sawyer Gipson-Long is on the 40-man roster down in Triple-A and could get a look at some point. Several of the Tigers’ minor league arms — Jake Miller, Troy Watson, Joseph Montalvo — are on the injured list in Triple-A and Double-A as well. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Detroit try to go outside the organization for some more depth, though it’s in short supply this time of season. Mize and Verlander will have spots waiting for them upon return, but Verlander has been down about a month already and isn’t yet on a rehab assignment, while the Tigers haven’t given a clear indication of how long Mize will be shelved.
The more immediate concern is how the Tigers navigate this injury and what it does to their chances in the American League Central, of course. However, Skubal’s surgery and how he pitches upon returning also cloud what could be the most lucrative trip to free agency for any pitcher in history.
Skubal clearly won’t be winning a third straight Cy Young Award now. A setback, a longer-than-anticipated rehab process and/or poor performance upon returning from the injured list could all impact what was shaping up to be the loftiest earning power of any pitcher in MLB history. If he makes it back to the mound midsummer and immediately snaps back into old form, it’s possible the injury won’t ultimately weigh down his contract much, but there are too many unknowns right now to gauge the situation with any semblance of certainty.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Skubal was being scratched from his start tonight.
Tigers Select Zack Short, Designate Grant Holman For Assignment
The Tigers announced that they are selecting the contract of infielder Zack Short for tonight’s game with the Rangers. Fellow infielder Jace Jung was optioned to Triple-A Toledo, and right-hander Grant Holman was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man for Short. (Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press was among those to relay the moves before the Tigers’ official announcement.)
Short was acquired in a trade from the Nationals two days ago, and the infielder is now poised to get his first big league action of the 2026 season. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment for Short, who spent his first three Major League seasons in Detroit after debuting in 2021. Short hasn’t hit much (.172/.271/.296) over his 594 career plate appearances, yet his ability to play multiple positions brings depth to a Tigers club that is dealing with a rash of injuries.
Gleyber Torres is day to day with side tightness, while Javier Baez, Zach McKinstry, and Parker Meadows have all gone to the injured list over the last few weeks. Shortstop Trey Sweeney also has yet to play this season due to a shoulder strain. It would seem like Short’s primary backup role will be shortstop since the Tigers currently have nobody behind Kevin McGonigle, though it doesn’t look like the hot-hitting McGonigle will be coming out of the lineup any time soon.
This is the fourth time in less than three months that Holman has been DFA’ed, as the righty has gone from the A’s to the Diamondbacks to the Dodgers and finally to the Tigers on a series of waiver claims. Amidst all of these moves, Holman hasn’t gotten any looks in the majors this season, and a 6.75 ERA over four innings and three appearances for Toledo didn’t turn any heads in Detroit.
Holman has two minor league options remaining, and he delivered a sparkling 0.47 ERA over 58 minor league innings in 2024-25. His 4.66 ERA, 18.8% strikeout rate, and 10.2% walk rate over 38 2/3 career MLB innings with the Athletics over those two seasons is less impressive, but it is easy to see why teams keep stepping up to claim Holman as a depth arm. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Holman changes organizations yet again during the DFA period, though if he does clear waivers, the Tigers can outright him to Triple-A.
Tigers Notes: Torres, Verlander, Melton
Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres left tonight’s game with left side tightness, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. He had two singles in his first two plate appearances and was thrown out at home in the first, showing no obvious signs of injury. Although Torres remained in the game through the third inning, he was replaced by Hao-Yu Lee at the keystone in the top of the fourth. Torres is undergoing further evaluation, according to McCosky.
Pulling Torres may turn out to be a cautionary move. Two of Detroit’s infielders – Zach McKinstry and Javier Báez – landed on the injured list in April. The starting infielders have done well at the plate, particularly Kevin McGonigle, but the injuries to McKinstry and Báez still depleted the Tigers’ infield depth. They called up Lee when McKinstry went down, and they also acquired Zack Short as depth yesterday. A Torres IL placement would be a more significant hit than McKinstry or Báez, though, so it makes sense for the club to pull him from the game out of caution. The team will likely announce more in the next few days, pending the outcome of Torres’ evaluations.
On the pitching side, injured right-hander Justin Verlander is set to throw a bullpen session this weekend, according to the team’s injury report. Verlander landed on the 15-day IL on April 4 due to left hip inflammation, with Keider Montero being recalled in his place. The injury was described as minor and the IL placement precautionary, though it was perhaps unsurprising given the injuries Verlander has experienced in his 40s. It’s unclear if he will require a rehab assignment. It’s possible the team will have a clearer timeline pending the outcome of the bullpen session.
As with their infield, Detroit’s rotation depth has been tested recently. Casey Mize had a 2.90 ERA through 31 innings but was placed on the 15-day IL on Wednesday for a right adductor strain. Jack Flaherty has a 5.90 ERA and has failed to complete five innings in five of his seven starts. Montero has filled in decently, but the lack of depth behind Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez may be a point of concern going forward. A quick return for Verlander would go a long way to improving that, especially if he can repeat his serviceable back-end performance from 2025 with the Giants.
Troy Melton will also factor into the rotation depth. He was placed on the 60-day IL in early March after being slowed in camp by elbow inflammation. According to the team’s announcement, Melton is set to begin a rehab assignment with the Tigers’ Low-A affiliate tomorrow. The righty had a 2.76 ERA in 45 2/3 innings as a swingman last year and will continue to be built up as a starter. He’ll need a longer rehab assignment to build his pitch count, but he could vie for starts in a month or so if all goes well.