5:53pm: Detroit announced that Mize has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. It’s a procedural move designed to free 40-man roster space for reliever Will Vest, who has returned from the COVID-19 IL.
The move isn’t indicative of a change in Mize’s timetable. He’s now out for 60 days from his initial placement on April 15, not two months from today. That means he’ll be eligible to return on June 14. After an absence of this length, Mize will surely need a couple rehab starts before returning to the big league rotation. Even though he’s seemingly making progress, he wasn’t going to be back on the mound at Comerica Park within the next two weeks.
12:16 pm: The Tigers’ outfield has been lambasted by injuries so far in 2022, with each of Austin Meadows, Robbie Grossman, Victor Reyes and top prospect Riley Greene landing on the injured list. There’s some welcome news on the health front for Detroit fans, however, as manager AJ Hinch revealed today that Meadows has been cleared to begin a minor league rehab assignment (Twitter link via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic). Meanwhile, Greene made his Triple-A debut last night after appearing in a couple of Low-A games as he continues to build toward a possible MLB debut.
Meadows has been out since May 16 due to vertigo-like symptoms that sidelined him for several games in the middle of the month. He attempted to return on May 15, only to exit the game early with continued symptoms, leading to his current IL stint.
Prior to landing on the injured list, Meadows had been productive from an on-base standpoint but had yet to show off his above-average power. The former Rays slugger was batting .267/.362/.347 through 116 plate appearances to begin the year. Meadows’ 10.3% walk rate to date would be the second-best mark of his career over a full season, and his 12.1% strikeout rate was far and away the lowest clip of his career. However, he’s yet to hit his first Tigers homer and was sitting on a tiny .079 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) — a far cry from the .229 clip he carried into the season. It may not be elite production, but it’s considerably healthier than what the Tigers have received from Derek Hill (.250/.288/.324), Daz Cameron (.156/.250/.156) and Willi Castro (.287/.333/.356) of late with so many outfield alternatives banged up.
As for Greene, it’s not clear just how long he’ll need before he’s deemed ready for his first big league look, but the 2019 No. 5 overall pick and consensus top-10 overall MLB prospect was seen as a favorite to break camp with the Tigers this spring. That changed when a fractured foot landed him in a walking boot — an injury that came with an expected recovery period of six to eight weeks. Greene indeed returned to game action in about eight weeks’ time, though he’ll now spend some time rehabbing in the minors to shake off some rust. The 21-year-old hit .301/.387/.534 between Double-A and Triple-A last season, however, and it could be a relatively short stay in Toledo if he can quickly round into that form.
Just as the organization is hopeful that Greene will eventually be a building block in the outfield, they’re hopeful that ailing righty Casey Mize will be a fixture in the rotation. Mize has been out since mid-April due to a sprained medial ligament in his elbow (not the same ligament that typically required Tommy John surgery), but he’s set to ramp up the intensity in his throwing program in the coming days, tweets MLB.com’s Jason Beck. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick played catch yesterday and reported no issues, and he’ll move to a long-toss program sometime next week.\n
Mize pitched in just two games this season, totaling 10 innings before landing on the shelf. The hope was that after a solid run in 2021 — 150 1/3 innings, 3.71 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate — he could join fellow top prospects Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning and offseason signee Eduardo Rodriguez to fill out the bulk of the Tigers’ rotation. Of that group, however, only Skubal has avoided the injured list so far in 2022. Manning (shoulder) and Rodriguez (ribcage) are both on the injured list, as are lefty Tyler Alexander (elbow strain) and righty Michael Pineda (fractured finger). Mize all but ditched his sinker in favor of more four-seamers prior to his injury but was shelved too early to glean much meaningful data from that experiment in pitch selection.
The Tigers’ injury bug has even spread to the team’s coaching staff, it seems, as MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery writes that first base coach Gary Jones won’t be on the field for at least four to six weeks. A line drive hit by Jeimer Candelario struck Jones on the leg this week and resulted in a fractured ankle. The injury will relegate Jones to some off-the-field work (e.g. outfield positioning, in-game strategizing with Hinch). Assistant hitting coach Mike Hessman will step into the coach’s box and assume that portion off Jones’ duties for the time being.
Even the coaches can’t stay healthy?
I was at that game and it was probably a 100 mph line drive off the ankle. The only thing more surprising than needing surgery was that he got up on the ankle and finished out the game .
Gary Jones is a tough cookie. No injury can stop him until now
Can you say snakebit? Hoping Mize will make it back this season and avoid anything major
Derek Hill has quietly got his bat going. Even hit his first homer. Tork is heating up as well.
Once Greene moves up which will probably be late June to save money and not give him super 2 status I’m curious to see how well another LHH outfield bat Kerry Carpenter does. He is killing it in AA so once Greene clears out he’s next in line for Toledo. 17 HR, 1100 OPS. Yes he’s old but that 2019 college draft class bore the extra brunt of missing 2020. Guys like Carpenter and Pasquantino who were drafted late had little time to shine. We’ll see.
I’d really like to see what the Tigers would look like without all the injuries, I’m in no way saying they would be a first place team but the overall record would be significantly better IMHO.
The injuries don’t really explain the lack of hitting that has plagued them much of the season.
With the exception of Cabrera and Harold Castro.
Cabrera was written off as dead weight and he’s a leading hitter, which is a nice surprise.
Cabrera’s OPS+ is 118, let’s not get too carried away. He’ll likely regress in the second half.
Lots of singles, occasional doubles, and one home run. It’s fine tho. Better than weak ground outs/double plays (which is what we saw often last year).
And regression? Perhaps. But, Cabrera typically (and of late) has gotten better as the season progresses. So, I wouldn’t bet on it.
I wish him the best but he’s 39 and hitting better than he has in a few years. I’d bet on regression but who knows?
Nobody’s mentioning the excellent job Alex Faedo has done in each of his starts. Looking really good.
totally agree. he just may be the dusty jewel in all these young arms. He’s paid his dues and knows how to pitch and use his solid arsenal.
Totally agree. He just may be a dusty jewel in all these young arms. He got poise and knows how to pitch and use his solid arsenal.
Not true. Medial Collatarel Ligament is another term for Ulnar Collateral Ligament. The other bundle of ligaments not associated with Tommy John’s Surgery is the Radial Collateral Ligament, also known as the Lateral Collateral Ligament.
https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_mcl-injuries-elbow.asp
I agree that even with all the injuries they’ve had (and it’s been a TON) this team should be hitting better than a collective .222 (30th in MLB) and 30th in HRs, Runs and SB’s. Thank God for this patch work of a rotation pitching to an amazing 3.68 ERA which is absolutely crazy considering they’ve only had 1/5 of their rotation for most of the season! Without them, we’d be chasing 2003 Detroit Tigers record territory! Hopefully all get well enough to maybe gel the rest of this season, let the rookies take their lumps, get Baddoo straightened out and get some experience. Then maybe a run in 2023?
I’m not so sure they are out of contention in the AL Central. Not yet. Their hitting has improved over the last week and they are winning some games. Even late inning comebacks.
They’re only 11 games back right now. After this series with the Twins. It may be 9. Twins are faltering, and Correa is off for COVID.
And Joey Wentz, the starter for game 2, was just pulled due to apparent arm problems.
He had pitched masterfully against the 1st place Twins, and had only given up 1 hit thru 4+ and was efficient (55 pitches).
Has there ever been a MLB team with seven starting pitchers injured at the same time? I can’t remember ever seeing anything like it.
I feel like the Mets have been there
Really? When?
I think it was last year at one point. It might only have been five or six, I dunno exactly.
Fair enough.
Looks like six SPs down last year for the Mets but not necessarily all at the same time. So I guess it doesn’t actually qualify.
Assuming Wentz goes on the IL, that will be seven (all at the same time) for the Tigers. They need some of these guys to get healthy before Skubal, Brieske, Faedo, Rodriguez or Garcia gets hurt.
I do not recall hearing about so many starters being down for 1 team, all at the same time.
They are calling it a “left shoulder strain”. He was pitching a heck of a game, too. Retired all but 2 batters. 1 got a hit, and left one for Peralta because he was pulled in the middle of the at bat.
Last year, the Tigers buried themselves early on, but they played winning baseball from like May 8th on.
This year, May 12 might be the date. Since that day, they are 10-7.
The similarity is is incredible. Last year, the Tigers faded in their last 40 or so games. This year, they’re a better team (at least on paper). I still say they’ll win about 85 games this year… But they have a lot of work to do.
To win 85 games they’d have to play at about a 58% win rate. That’s 94 wins per 162 games. Seems pretty unlikely to me.
They should be capable of going 66-47 the rest of the way. They just need to play to their potential, nothing more.
Everything would have to go right, but sure
Even without the injuries, the Tigers wouldn’t be much better. Zero offense.
In truth, I predicted a last place finish and shouted down for it. Last year’s success was, in large part, due to the down years by the rest of the division.
The rebuild is a failure. There is no core to build around. The rebuild was geared around pitching and middle infielders. Casey Mize wasn’t selected because he had the most potential, he was selected because he was the most MLB ready and be called up the fastest. Neither he, Matt Manning nor any other high draft prospects are as good as they are hyped to be. Tarik Skubal is the lone exception but he was a 9th round draft pick (Represented by the Boros Corporation).
The Tigers shelved the middle infield project and went for free agents. The best hitter is still a 40 year old DH who hits and runs like a defense first catcher.
In my book, the Tigers lost every trade they participated in save one. The Cubs gave the Tigers Jeimer Candelario and Issac Peredes. I don’t believe that the Tigers wanted the “earth and moon” for Matthew Boyd. Other GMs became accustomed to dumping off their waiver wire trash the likes of Justin Verlander and half his salary, JD Martinez and Nicholas Castellanos.
Spencer Torkelson is MLB caliber. He was a must draft #1 overall. Riley Greene is over hyped. He’s a poor defender but as Al Avila’s pet, he will get every possible chance regardless if other young players are performing better.
The Tigers rebuilt their scouting department but most already quit.
Greene is overhyped? 24 bombs, 84 RBI’s, .301 average last year in AAA. #4 rated prospect in Baseball. Hit over .400 in Spring Training. Fielding rating is a 55 which is considered above-average
Most of that was at AA but as young as he is, his stats are promising.
@ garyharris
You’re quite blind if you don’t see the core to build around. Mize, Skubal, Faedo, Manning, Wentz, Turnbull, Brieske, Alexander, Soto, Fullmer, Lange, Cisnero, Funkhouser, Rogers, Haase, Baddoo, Castro, Hill, Greene, Cameron, Reyes, Candelario, Clemens, Castro, Torkelson, all have come up from the Tigers minor league system, and are major league players. Plus they added Meadows, Rodriguez and Baez on multi year, affordable contracts. Many are injured, but its not like they will stay that way. Lots here to work with.
Guys like Baez, Schoop, Grossman and Candelario have a history of hitting. Rarely great, but generally fairly good. This year, they’ve all gotten off to bad starts. It’s disappointing, but at least most of these guys will get better. Plus Torkelson is starting to hit. Add Meadows and Greene… The Tigers should have an OPS+ of about 95 to 105 by the end of the season. This season isn’t over, not by a longshot.
So….owners have to be dying before they try to win the WS?
MLB IS TOTALLY RUINING BASEBALL.
Tickets for Round Rock Express
WENT FROM $20 TO $50.
MLB SUCKS
MANFRED SUCKS
BASEBALL IS NOTHING BUT A RIP OFF!!!!
MLB SUCKS!!!!!
Is this something that really needed to be posted in EVERY thread?
Forget your Ritalin?!
Time to call up a bunch of minor league players. Get them some playing time this year so when things reset next year they’ve got a little experience in the bigs. Use the DL to our advantage