The Tigers announced that they have placed left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list and infielder/outfielder Matt Vierling on the 10-day injured list. The former has a left index finger pulley rupture while the latter is dealing with a low back injury, with both moves retroactive to May 29. Right-hander Braden Bristo and infielder/outfielder Tyler Nevin have been recalled in corresponding moves.
The absence of Rodriguez will be an unfortunate one for the Tigers, as the lefty has been out to an excellent start this year. He has a 2.13 ERA through his first 11 outings, a figure that would easily be the best of his career, which is the 3.81 mark he posted in 2019 with the Red Sox. He’s had a bit of luck from a .253 batting average on balls in play and 83.3% strand rate but his 6.1% walk rate is on pace to be the lowest of his career and his 25.5% strikeout rate is a bit above his career 24% rate.
That excellent campaign will now be put on pause and it seems unlikely he will be able to return after the 15-day minimum. A detailed injury report from the Tigers, relayed by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, says that Rodriguez will rest for seven to days before being re-evaluated for a throwing program. That seems to suggest he’ll need at least a small ramp-up after that rest.
For however long he’s out, the club will need to find another starter to join Michael Lorenzen, Matthew Boyd, Alex Faedo and Joey Wentz in the rotation. Finding a replacement will be a bit tricky given the club’s other injuries, as staters Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Beau Brieske and Spencer Turnbull are each already on the IL themselves. Reese Olson and Garrett Hill are on the 40-man roster, though each has an ERA above 5.00 in Triple-A this season. Non-roster options include Rony García, Ashton Goudeau and Zach Logue, though they each have a Triple-A ERA of 4.97 or higher this year. The club has an off-day on Thursday but will need a solution at some point this weekend.
Rodriguez has also been floated as a speculative trade candidate for this summer on account of his strong season. That’s complicated by a couple of factors, one is the weak American League Central division. Despite a 25-27 record, the Tigers are in second place in the division and just two games back of the Twins. If they are able to hover around that level, trading one of their better players would be a tough sell.
It’s also complicated by his contract, which allows him to opt out after this season when he will have three years and $49MM remaining on the deal. His strong season was putting him on track to trigger that opt-out, thus making him a rental. However, the three remaining years would give pause to any acquiring club, as they would have the downside of remaining on the hook for that money if Rodriguez got hurt or underperformed after a trade. Such options and opt-outs generally make trades tricky and that would have been the case for Rodriguez. This injury will only add a further layer of complication on any future trade talks.
As for Vierling, he was acquired from the Phillies this offseason and has received regular playing time from the Tigers, appearing in 46 of 52 games thus far. He’s hit .241/.297/.352 for a wRC+ of 82 while stealing four bases and bouncing to all three outfield spots as well as brief stints at second and third base. It’s unclear how long he’s expected to be out of action but it’s possible that utility players like Nevin and Zach McKinstry get some more playing time next to outfield regulars Riley Greene and Akil Baddoo.
When is Skubal due back?
Skubal just pitched to live bp. Next step is a rehab assignment. Probably end of June is realistic.
Yeah, late June/early July if everything goes well.
And Manning should be back within two or three weeks.
Alexander has not been good in the pen, but has been a passable 5th starter. Might be time to stretch him out again. Replace him with Logue to the bull pen.
I’d rather see them get rid of Alexander altogether.
Maybe they could bring Hannifee up for a couple of starts. Not ideal, but he can’t possibly be any worse than Wentz.
3/$49MM for E-Rod is not an over pay. What contender finds $16.6 MM too expensive for a front end starter? I believe his value is higher if he opts in, not lower. The risk is he would opt out and leave.
He ll definitely b getting more if he opts out. Even if Tigers are atop the weak AL Central at trade deadline, he should b traded if the right offer is there. Even if they were to make playoffs since someone in division has to, they re not going anywhere with their lineup.
Need to offer E Rod $10 million bonus to sell his opt out. If they trade or not, it will guarantee he’s not going anywhere
I’m not even sure if collective bargaining agreement witn MLBPA allows selling opt outs. Pretty sure they would essentially have to sign him to a new extended contract. And even if allowed $10 million would not do it. He ll b opting out of 3 seasons of control that contract decreases each year. He’s looking at minimum $25-30 million more over those 3 seasons after he opts out.
A pulley rupture of his left (throwing) hand index finger is “potentially” devastating. It interferes with or prevents one from making a fist….bending that finger towards the palm. Putting pressure with that finger on a baseball for a pitcher is crucial.
I don’t expect this to be a short DL stint.
Don’t be surprised if this doesn’t end his season. His work so far “suggests” he’s done enough to opt out at the end of the season. Tigers won’t be able to trade him at the deadklne either.
He’ll probably miss 3-4 weeks.
I had no idea our fingers contained pulleys!
What will we learn next about the human body? That our hearts are powered by hampster wheel?!
Some lucky guy will be Buck Farmer 2.0 and get long shot, big jump chance to impress the bigs with a spot start.
Or… they could bring in Porcello. I heard he is staying ready.
So a pitcher is “lucky” if he strands base runners? That makes no sense, I’d say that he’s pitching well.
That is a big loss. Minnesota has a great opportunity to widen the gap. The 5 starters they listed on the IL are arguably their starting 5. Ouch.
**This is fine**
re: Eduardo Rodriguez
Same thing happened to Twins’ Dobnak, twice. Was out for about 1.5 years, besides rehab attempts.
Twin33 – Agreed. Eduardo could be out a very long time…. It will not be 3 to 4 weeks!
E-Rod goes on IL
Cashman licks his lips
I expect the Yankees to put in a call to Detroit real soon
If it is not a full pulley tear it can heal with rest, but for an ML pitcher I would guess weeks…nit days before he can get back out there.
If it needs surgery, he’s done until next year.
Watch. Just watch. He goes down for the season and opts out. It could only happen to the Tigers.
I wish he would opt out after the stunt he pulled last year (not even returning the team’s calls, texts, or emails).
E-Rod has the strangest things happen to him.
Riley Greene just got pulled from tonight’s game in the third inning, not sure what’s wrong with him. Let’s hope it’s not serious.
Left lower leg discomfort.
Ed Rod has a finger pulley boo boo!? What is he Butthead? Shouldn’t have taunted Beavis. “Hey Beavis. Pull my finger. Heh heh, heh heh”