The Tigers announced that they have selected the contact of right-hander Geoff Hartlieb. Fellow righty Carlos Hernández has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Members of the Detroit beat, including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, noticed earlier today that Hernández didn’t have a locker in the clubhouse.
Hernández, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Phillies just over a month ago. He got into 11 games for the Tigers but allowed 12 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings. There was surely some small sample weirdness in there. His .412 batting average on balls in play and 35% strand rate were both far to the unfortunate side. He didn’t help himself by walking 11.3% of batters faced but his 24.5% strikeout rate was solid.
Ultimately, it’s not a lot to go on, but the Tigers decided to make a change. Hernández pitched in each of the past two games and may not have been available tonight, so they’ve swapped him out for a fresh arm.
He’s likely to end up on waivers again in the next few days. He has shown promise at times in his career but has been inconsistent. He averages in the upper-90s with his fastball and sinker while also featuring a splitter, slider and knuckle curve. He posted a 25.7% strikeout rate with the Royals in 2023 but that dropped to 20.9% last year and is at 20.5% here in 2025. Though as mentioned, his strikeout rate spiked a bit with Detroit more recently.
Kansas City burned his final option year in 2024 and put him on waivers just ahead of Opening Day this year. The Phils grabbed him but he posted a 5.26 ERA before getting put back on waivers in June, which is when the Tigers grabbed him.
Though his 6.69 ERA on the year isn’t attractive, teams might be attracted by the stuff. He’s making a modest $1.16MM this year and can be retained via arbitration for another two seasons after this one. Perhaps a club selling bullpen pieces ahead of the deadline might grab him for the stretch run, though he’s out of options and can’t be easily sent to the minors.
Hartlieb, 31, just signed a minor league deal with the Tigers less than two weeks ago. He has made two appearances for the Yankees this year but allowed three earned runs in each of them. He currently has a 40.50 ERA in 1 1/3 innings. Around those appearances, he’s been pretty good in Triple-A this year. He has 37 1/3 innings pitched at that level with a 3.13 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 42.1% ground ball rate.
Like Hernández, Hartlieb is out of options and likely has a tenuous hold on a roster spot. But for now, he’ll give them a fresh arm for a key four-game series against the Blue Jays which kicks off tonight. Those two clubs and the Astros are leading the three American League divisions and are currently neck-and-neck for the league lead. The Jays and Astros are both 60-42 with the Tigers half a game back at 60-43.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Robert Suarez to the Tigers. What is the return?
Max Anderson
That would be a bold “Win Now” move for the Tigers.
Wonder if Max likes surfing…
Throw in Montilla and Randall and we are good.
Not surprised, especially after his last outing. Signing him was worth a shot as well as knowing when to cut bait.
Kind of like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic around given how the Tigers have played of late. Hernandez had 13 K’s in 10.2 IP but 6 walks and an ERA north of 10. Good arm but has issues finding the strike zone. Hartlieb isn’t likely going to be with the Tigers very long either. But a fresh arm I guess.
When he found the strike zone his pitches were not fooling anyone.
Worth the flier but not worth keeping.
Dodgers might grab him considering their roundabout ways of getting relievers.
Hard thrower; perfect downgrade for Pittsburgh after they trade their useful relievers.
Hartlieb… 7.92 ERA and 1.95 WHIP in 80.2 career MLB innings.
So youre saying he’s an improvement over Carlos Hernandez, at least in Detroit this year?
Come on Harris, make a deal for the best reliever available and get him in town! This funk has to stop, prove you’re a real baseball guru and make something happen! Another hitter wouldn’t hurt either
You realize you’re dreaming don’t you? I have little faith in the Tigers Ownership & FO to do any worthwhile move, let alone a blockbuster at the trade deadline. They’ll spin it as internal improvement with the likes of Cobb returning or Jung being promoted. The days of Dombrowski and Mr I are long gone and us long suffering Tigers fans are going to keep on getting our hopes/dreams crushed. Call me a skeptic but I call it being a realist
Exactly! They are waiting for Carpenter, Cobb, Urquidy and Lange to return then calling it good. Illitch Sr and spending days are over.
So, one guy they signed for nothing hoping he didn’t suck even though his stats showed he sucked and in fact, he sucked for another guy whose stats show he sucks…
But what the heck, they’ll throw anyone out there… seriously… why not call up Matt Manning? He couldn’t be any worse than any of these throw-away bums.
Unfortunately Manning has been HORRIBLE this yr. He has a 6.29 ERA for Toledo. His control has been off all yr. Looks like a change of scenery guy now unfortunately.
Great to see Hartlieb surface for another session against the Jays.
Im sure someone will step up for the pen (Melton, Brieske, Hartlieb?) before the deadline but….7 days to trade for a shutdown bullpen arm. Go get one Harris!
Bradley, Fairbanks and Diaz from Tampa?
Out with one temporary stepping stone, in with another.
Looks to me like they are turning over last stone before deciding who to trade and for what player(s). Fine with that as long as they make the decision and act accordingly.
Yep. They signed ’em. Might as well put em to work. I feel pretty certain Harris will at least bring in a reliever.
lol he’s not bringing in anything of value.
Yankees need to grab this Harlieb guy after the Tigers DFA him. He could really shore up the decimated bullpen in the Big Apple.
But but Fetter…
Wasn’t Hernandez a Top 100 prospect back in the day ?? Or maybe it was just Top 10 for KC back in the day.
Doesn’t matter, if you can’t score more than a run or two…..
Is Olson really only 160 lbs?
Ought to tell you something.
Skubal’s the Tigers’ only SP I trust 3rd time through the order.
The last game wasn’t entirely Olsen’s fault. The Tigers at bat just before the blow-up, was four pitches long. Then he was right back out. I can see, being aggressive, but, you’ve got to take a pitch or two, to give your pitcher a blow…..