The Tigers have made one big rotation splash this winter, signing Eduardo Rodríguez to a five-year, $77MM guarantee. Yet they also non-tendered Matthew Boyd and will be without Spencer Turnbull for most or all of next season due to a July 2021 Tommy John surgery. Boyd, Turnbull and depth options Wily Peralta and José Ureña — each of whom has reached free agency — combined to toss 304 innings out of the rotation last year, thinning the Detroit depth.
With that in mind, Evan Woodbery of MLive writes that the Tigers are likely to pursue another starter coming out of the lockout. Carlos Rodón and Clayton Kershaw are the top free agent starters available, with most of the other options (Peralta and Ureña included) projecting as back-end types. As things currently stand, the Tigers look likely to open the season with a starting five of Rodríguez, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning and Tyler Alexander.
That’s a rather young group. While it’s full of pedigree, Manning struggled last season. Skubal posted solid strikeout and walk numbers but had the league’s second-highest home run rate (2.11 HR/9) among pitchers with 100+ innings. A veteran depth addition at the back end makes plenty of sense, particularly with prospects Joey Wentz and Alex Faedo among the leading internal depth options.
Neither Wentz nor Faedo has yet made their major league debuts, and both pitchers are coming off fairly recent Tommy John procedures. Wentz underwent the surgery in March 2020 and returned in late May; Faedo went under the knife in January 2021. The 26-year-old’s timetable for a return to the field remains unclear, but he tells Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press he’s begun to throw off flat ground.
Faedo pitched his way to Double-A in 2019 and tossed 115 1/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball with plus strikeout and walk rates (28.3% and 5.3%, respectively) there that year. A former first-round pick, Faedo’s prospect stock has dipped in recent seasons but he was nevertheless selected onto the Tigers’ 40-man roster over the 2020-21 offseason. Baseball America ranked the former University of Florida star 25th among Detroit farmhands midseason, writing that he projects as a back-of-the-rotation arm.
It’s also possible Faedo and/or Wentz break into the bullpen mix at some point. Tigers’ relievers ranked just 22nd in ERA (4.50) and 28th in strikeout/walk rate differential (11.4 percentage points) last year. Detroit didn’t do anything to address that area of the roster over the first couple months of the offseason, and Woodbery suggests the Tigers could look to add a reliever or two from outside the organization this winter.
Kenley Jansen is the top free agent reliever available, with such arms as Joe Kelly, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Collin McHugh among the setup types on the market. Of course, Detroit could look to the trade market, waiver wire or even perhaps the Rule 5 draft as alternative means of adding to the bullpen. Amir Garrett, Cole Sulser, Chris Stratton and Lou Trivino are among the late-game options who might be attainable via trade once the transactions freeze concludes.
The Tigers signing of Eduardo Rodriguez for 2 years and 28 million is going to go down as the best signing of the entire off season. I say 2 and 28 because he’s obviously going to opt out of that deal.
Hope you’re both right and wrong
Why are so many Detroit starting pitchers needing Tommy John surgery? Boyd, Turnbull, Wentz and Faedo is a lot over such a short period of time. Is it a coincidence or does it have something to do with the pitching philosophy the Tigers organization likes to implement?
Don’t forget Michael Fulmer and our catcher Jake Rogers. I honestly think we don’t have that disproportionate amount of young pitchers getting tj for this era. we just happen to have a lot of news worthy young arms.
None of them were overworked-probably just a statistical anomaly.
Fulmer and Wentz needed the surgury shortly after coming over from other organizations. And I agree that some is simply that its happening to their better known players. They have basically not had this problem arise since Porcello and Verlander came up. It was a nice run while it lasted.
The Ray’s have had their share of TJ injuries over the past 4 years.
Fulmer had TJ 3 seasons into his big league career. He had an elbow procedure in his second season. After he had tossed about 300 innings in the tigers org.
Not like the TJ epidemic is only a Tigers issue. Hard to know exactly why so many pitchers have TJ surgery but some of the research suggests that it has to do with how much young pitchers throw during their developmental years (Little League, Travel Ball, etc). This is why someone like James Andrews MD has suggested younger kids not focus exclusively on baseball and not pitch year round.
Many were critical of the Tigers taking Jackson Jobe this past year but he is exactly the opposite of what most pitchers are today. He played 3 sports and never really took up pitching until HS.
BTW, Matt Boyd did not have TJ surgery.
Yeah I agree, we don’t seem to burn them out and are pretty cautious with innings limits.
There’s a chance he’ll be in Det for five and be a #4 by then. WYSIWYG with Eddie; bend a lot but rarely break, give you 6 and win a lot of games with run support and a good pen, and if he does just that in 2023, it’s 100% he’ll opt out.
Tigers definitely need another starter, even if just an innings eater. I’m kind of surprised no one has interest in Rick Porcello. Tigers could be really good next year if Greene and Torkelson are ready.
Greene is on the fringe. A good Spring Training and he might make the team. I don’t believe Tork is that close.
He played 41 games at Triple-A and had a .881 OPS. If he’s healthy, he’ll probably be on the team at the beginning of May at the latest.
It’s odd that no one has made a run at Porcello, but my guess is that RP is just not interested in pitching anymore. As a Tiger fan I followed him from day 1. He had the flattest affect of almost any professional athlete I’ve ever seen. He never gave many interviews and when he did they were very dull. I bet a lot of sportswriters were frustrated by his indifference in front of a microphone. In addition, his off the field life was very low key. He was never in the tabloids. Never any controversies.
I remember one on field scuffle, I think with Kevin Youkalis, over a beanball war with the BoSox, but that’s about it.
I think he walked away with plenty of $$$ and no desire to go through that meat market ever again.
If they really want another starter, they should try to get Peralta back, assuming the price is right….he had a nice string of starts for us last year.
Peralta was a lot of baserunners, low strikeouts, and some great escape artistry. Doubt he would accept a minor league contract, but I only see him as a depth option, not some one I’m using if the roster is healthy.
Wily Peralta had a 2.0 WAR in 2021. Based on his results before 2021, I doubt he will come anywhere close to replicating that, but he still was way more than just a depth option.
Better than Eduardo Rodriguez 2021 WAR 1.9
Better than Collin McHugh 2021 WAR 1.9
Better than Jon Gray 2021 WAR 1.7
Better than Alex Wood 2021 WAR 1.5
Better than Blake Snell 2021 WAR 1.4
Better than Yu Darvish 2021 WAR 1.4
Better than MadBum 2021 WAR 1.4
I don’t really think WAR is a good comparison here. Rodriguez pitched 60 innings more than Peralta, faced 200 more batters, had 185 strikeouts in 173 2/3 innings as compared to 58 in 92 1/3 for Peralta. Peralta had a better ERA sure, but Rodriguez had fairly bad defense behind him. I mean honestly save Madbum there is not a single pitcher on this list that I think you can say was objectively less valuable than Peralta last year. You’d have to pretty much only consider era, which would certainly be a choice.
Agree with you Mookie, but Peralta still pitched pretty well and I hope we get him back on the Tigers. We need him for the 4-5th spot and another starter up front imo. We don’t have any depth at all right now.
Always need so depth, especially these days with covid protocols.
They need 1 starter for sure and maybe 2. They need a TOR and a solid innings eater. Course loaded up the BP could be a way to mitigate the sitch if they can’t land a big arm.
Cutting bait with Jimenez would be a start, rather than giving him $1.8
Yes!! Jimenez needs to go! Time for that experiment to be over!
Boyd is coming back. Just a one year prove it deal. He’ll provide inning relief in Aug/Sep
He’s coming back for sure. I just don’t think it’ll be in Detroit.
Crappy rotation,they will lose 90.
So, they’re five games worse than 2021? Not picking them to win 90 but betting on 72 would probably be a loser. The problem with the rotation is not that they’re “crappy”, but just a huge ???
Bring back Willy Peralta who was clutch last year in the rotation.
Also, Tigers have the $ to resign Matthew Boyd.
I can’t believe the Tigers are “pinching pennies” on Boyd.
Boyd was the Tigers pitching staff leader who carried the Tigers rotation during the rebuild.
Now that the Tigers are ready to “Win Now”, Boyd should be in the Rotation
to see the fruits of the long Tigers rebuild.
Tigers could spend the same or less on guys who will not produce as much as
Matthew Boyd (Tigers has spent more on ineffective 1 year starters the past 2 years
then what they would spend on Boyd).
Giving Boyd $7 mill makes a lot more sense than $1.8 to Jimenez or whatever they gave Urena.
@whonoze
Jimenez will be going to arbitration and have a non guaranteed deal. Urena is a FA- no contract from the Tigers. It was never a choice of one or the other. Boyd would have gone thru arbitration, too.
I was referring to what they gave Urena in 2021 but Ithey’ll give Jimenez another shot and guaranteed $$ if he has a decent ST but don’t think he’ll be there by Sept or even earlier.
So give Boyd the equivalent of $21 mill. a year since he’s only going to pitch one-third of the season following elbow surgery? And if hes successful he pockets the money and goes into free agency. If he fails, he pockets the money. No thanks! I’m sure the Tigers offered him a two-year contract and the sides couldn’t come to terms. Good luck, Matthew – you’re a class act!
Don’t know that the Tigers are “penny pinching” on Boyd. He is injured. He’s likely to miss 2/3 of the season and would have been a FA at the end of the year. He just hired Boros to be his agent. He’s one of my favorite players, but there were a lot of factors here, that led to this. Hoping he re-signs, but I understand not giving a raise to not pitch.
Has a good shot at coming back by late June; it’s a risk for sure but don’t see much difference between Eddie Rod at about the same price for half a season. Of course, this is all moot if they re-sign him for $3.5 in July, but having said all that, you’re right, given all the circumstances, and Boros, it was the best move.
MLBTR, you should do a piece on the Rosenthal firing (if you dare).
Don’t forget the Tigers have Elvin Rodriguez and Angel DeJesus in Toledo ready to go. Faedo hasn’t pitched in 2 years I just don’t see him making the rotation this year
They need a solid #4 or 5 starter. Manning and Alexander are going to drag that bottom part of the rotation.
What they really need is a bona fide Ace.
Those are few and far between these days…
True. Hopefully, one of the kids emerge as a true Ace. Be nice if more than one does.
Mize has the stuff. We’ll see if he’s able to harness it over the next few seasons
Skubal is ace material, just cut down on the HR
Absolutely Skoob has the stuff to be an ace. You’re right about the homers, too. He needs to quit over challenging the hitters is all, much like Matt Boyd had to learn.
Take an innings eater to help preserve the young guys’ arms. Wily Peralta would do.
After paying top dollar for ERod i doubt the Tigers swim in Kershaw or Rodon waters. Zack Grienke could probably be had on a short term deal (just not sure how much he’s looking for)
Zach Davies could be interesting. J.A. Happ pitched must better in St.Louis and can probably be had on the cheap. Johnny Cueto could be interesting as well.
Mike Fiers is probably not on the list…
They also saved a lot of money by getting Javy over a top SS like Correa. They were said to be interested in guys like Gausman so I don’t see why they wouldn’t try and get someone like Rodon. They’ve got the cash for it
Why would Rodon want the Tigers?
@alien bob
Same reason any FA signs-$$$$$. I don’t think the Tigers will go that route, but not my decision.
Opportunity to lead the staff of a rebuilt team? Lots of money? What answer are you looking for here?
I would not rule out Fiers. He pitched well for us in Detroit and liked it here. AJ isn’t the type to hold grudges and has been very forthright about his role in the Astros cheating scandal.
One more solid starter. (Greinke is my choice.) Then add 2-3 arms for the bullpen. Chaffin would be a nice add at the back end. McHugh could be another option. They need a veteran for both the rotation and pen.
Pretty sure the Tigers will go after another starter. Avila pretty much said so in his comments prior to the lockout. But he also said he was not specifically looking for OF or bullpen help. So Woodbury’s comments likely reflect what he perceives as the Tigers need.
Not that I disagree with him, Tigers back end was decent, with Cisnero, Fulmer and Soto. But it still was overall, one of the weaker pens out there. While the Tigers do have some good young arms with potential for the pen, a veteran arm or two could help. IF the Tigers do end up adding bullpen arms it will be a veteran middle relief guy or someone who can swing to the rotation. Not going to sign a high profile high $$ guy. And quite possible that they add any bullpen help as MiLB signings with a spring training invite.
I’d like to see them trade for Sonny Gray (only $10.5 mil is cheap). Sign McHugh. Alexander can be the lefty out of the pen if/when they get the other SP. I thought Fulmer, Soto, Funkhouser and Cisnero were pretty good in the second half.
LF-Grossman (.350 obp, 20+ hr/sb)
3B-Candelario (ML doubles leader)
DH-Cabrera
SS-Baez
2B-Schoop
1B-Torkelson
C-Barnhart/Haase
CF-Greene
RF-Baddoo
Not too shabby but I think we’re still 6-7 games behind the White Sox.
put Badoo in left and Grossman in right……
Don’t forget Funkhouser. He looked pretty good last year, for just a baby.