Right-hander Josh Tomlin could be approaching a crossroads in his career with the Indians, writes Zack Meisel of The Athletic (subscription link). The 33-year-old has made four starts this season and surrendered at least five runs in each of them, totaling 19 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings of work out of the rotation. Tomlin’s starts have too often put a tax on the bullpen, Meisel writes, and haven’t given a struggling Indians lineup the ability to compete to keep the game close. Injuries to Danny Salazar and Ryan Merritt have preserved Tomlin’s spot for now, but his road won’t get any easier moving forward, as his next start is set to come at Yankee Stadium. Tomlin, it should be noted, has had plenty of sustained success in the big leagues and posted excellent K/BB numbers in 2016-17 while making 55 largely serviceable starts in the Cleveland rotation. However, Meisel posits that one of Adam Plutko, Shane Bieber or veteran Alexi Ogando could be looked at as an alternative sooner rather than later if Tomlin isn’t able to return to form.
More from the division…
- Similarly, an injury to Tigers left Daniel Norris will likely dissuade the club from making any kind of drastic move of putting Jordan Zimmermann in the ’pen, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. However, Woodbery notes that Zimmermann’s tenure in Detroit is rapidly beginning to resemble the final few years of Anibal Sanchez’s ill-fated five-year deal. Zimmermann’s K/BB numbers early in the season are more encouraging than in 2016 or 2017, he points out, but the bottom-line results still aren’t there. Woodbery suggests that manager Ron Gardenhire is losing patience, as he’s openly questioning the quality of Zimmermann’s pitches — an uncharacteristic trend for manager that has historically shied away from being too critical of his veterans in a public setting.
- Carlos Collazo and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America still project the Tigers to select Auburn right-hander Casey Mize with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. As they explain, while organizations like the Astros and Braves have saved money with top picks in recent drafts and reallocated the savings to first-round talents who are considered tough signs later in the draft, that strategy is riskier than it would be in most years this time around. Mize is “a cut above everyone else” in the draft, per the Baseball America duo, and the Tigers would be gambling by trying to get creative at the top of the draft when two clubs (Kansas City and Tampa Bay) will each have three selections between Detroit’s first and second picks. Collazo and Cooper have expanded their mock draft out to pick No. 15 in their latest version.
Giving a 30+yo huge contracts is silly in todays younger game. JoeyVotto is an exception, but hes a 1b whos a hofer. Well see how good he does this year.. Good to see GMs tired of albatross contracts.
Let’s see how that contract looks in a year or two, or when he turns 40. They’re just now getting into the beginning of the downside of that contract. Unless the player is in his early to mid 20s, ten year contacts are almost never a good idea.
Gardenhire doesn’t do it with veterans. The only way you become a veteran is if he likes you. Look at all the guys the twins gave up that went on to have success other places. If he doesn’t like you, you won’t succeed with him!
Name two veterans who left the Twins with Gardenhire who went on to have success….
Hunter, Hawkins, Guardado
So guys who were already successful in their stints with the Twins.
Tomlin has always been prone to giving up the long ball, but he’s definitely outdone himself so far this year. I really don’t know what CLE intends to do with him if he continues getting torched every time out. He might have some value to teams in pitchers’ parks like SD, LAD, or MIA, but I doubt the Tribe could expect much in return. At this point just keeping him away from the mound is the best strategy.
Might be time for ‘Lil Cowboy to ride off into the sunset.
I’m guessing they’ll find an injury to shelve him for a minute while they give auditions on his slot.
Would love to see Bieber get a shot.
I’m no doctor, but it would be hard to find someone who would argue against the diagnosis that Tomlin has a tired arm or at least a serious case of whiplash from jerking his head around after every one of those dingers so far.
Please tigers, let Mize drop. The Royals NEED his arm in the system. Starting pitching is a must in the draft for the Royals. They need to like quadruple down. First 4 picks all pitchers would be awesome for the farm. Won’t happen though.
Keep dreaming. There are 16 other teams that would take him before the Royals if Detroit passes.
it says tomlin has given up at least five in every start, but actually, he pitched 5 innings of 0 run ball against detroit in his second start.. that just goes to show you how incredibly HORRIBLE he’s been in the others.
If and when Salazar ever gets even kinda healthy that spot will be his. I couldn’t imagine using Tomlin out of the bullpen right now even for just mop up duty.
Can someone with a BA subscription please copy and paste the Mock Draft in the comments?