The Tigers have designated right-hander Matt Manning for assignment, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. The former top prospect’s spot on the roster will go to newly acquired reliever Paul Sewald.
Manning, 27, was the ninth overall pick in the 2016 draft and for years ranked among the game’s top pitching prospects. At one point, he was part of an untouchable trio of pitching prospects in Detroit, alongside former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize and 2024 AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Things for Manning haven’t panned out. That’s in part due to injuries, but the right-hander has had several opportunities in the majors and has yet to deliver on his former prospect status.
Manning logged big league time each season from 2021-24, starting a total of 50 games for Detroit over those four years. He posted sub-4.00 ERAs in 2022-23 but did so with bottom-of-the-scale strikeout numbers and plenty of hard contact allowed. On the whole, Manning has a 4.43 ERA, 16.4% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 40.4% ground-ball rate in 254 MLB frames.
That collective output is decent, but Manning struggled to a 4.88 ERA in 27 2/3 big league innings last year and has been shelled in Triple-A thus far in 2025. He’s spent the entire year in Toledo but turned in a 6.04 ERA with a gruesome 15.9% walk rate in 50 2/3 innings. Detroit dropped him from the Mud Hens’ rotation back in April and has been using Manning in short relief since May 1, but the results have still been uninspiring: 5.12 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, 15.1% walk rate.
This is Manning’s final minor league option year. He can spend as much time in Triple-A for the remainder of the season as a new team would like, but he’ll have to stick on the major league roster with any club that claims/acquires him beginning next season. Manning has four seasons of club control remaining. He can be traded at any point up until this afternoon’s deadline, but after that he’ll need to be placed on waivers. Even with his struggles of late, it seems likely another club would at least take a no-risk flier on him just given his former pedigree — particularly a rebuilding or selling club that frees up several 40-man roster spots with trades of veteran players today.
Ah FR? I kept hoping he’d come through
I wonder why Fetter didn’t fix him. Manning must have had a bad attitude or something?
I would think Manning has a lot of upside for some team out there. Probably worth a call to the Tigers.
Eh 27 year olds who never showed an ability to consistently get guys out/throw strikes is hardly someone I’d consider having “a lot of upside”
*See Luke Weaver
After the cards dust settles, would like to see the cards put in a claim, if he reaches them. Cards will need starters for next year
Wow. There’s no such thing as a can’t miss prospect.
That’s why teams shouldn’t be afraid to trade them. It’s hard to succeed in MLB.
Except veterans traded at the deadline bust all the time. Plus minor leaguers are more affordable and controllable.
Braves time
He won’t make it that far on waivers. Would the Braves be willing to give up an A-ball player to skip the line?
They SHOULD be very interested. Their call-up of Carlos Carrasco today tells you everything you need to know about their pitching state of affairs.
I would not mind the Orioles taking a flier on him and seeing if we can get him right. We should have plenty of available innings in the next 2 months and nothing to really play for, so why not?
Exactly what I was thinking. Roll the dice. We have 40 man slots.
He can’t be any worse than Martin or Wolfram, right?
And even if he is, it’s not like it really matters anyway.
Or blewett or Bowman or Selby lol. We need warm bodies.
His numbers aren’t THAT bad. Somebody will give him another shot, or maybe he’s part of another move later today.
He has a 6 ERA and a 1.6 WHIP in AAA this year.
He pitched well enough in 2022-2023. He’s still only 27. Teams salivate at the opportunity to “fix” pitchers like him.
The Tigers have an excellent pitching coach in Chris Fetter, and he wasn’t able to fix Manning.
And sometimes an alternative voice or approach makes a difference. I’m not being a contrarian, and it’s no guarantee he ever lives up to his original hype, but he certainly still has value to other teams.
Agree. He could be a ‘change of scenery’ guy
I hope Milwaukee picks him up as a depth piece but guessing that Atlanta grabs him
Hoping the Rockies actually start playing the game and put a claim in here. Gotta get pitching somehow.
This feels like a smart move by the Tigers. DFA him with time to go before the deadline. He can still be optioned to the minors and I think that’ll have some value to contenders who need depth as well as non contenders who have sold starting pitching and have innings to fill an an opportunity for him. Detroit will get something for him today I would think.
White Sox should pick him up. Might be able to fix him and ship him off in a trade.
If he makes it to the waiver wire, I’m positive the White Sox would claim him. He can easily take useless Cam Booser’s 40-man spot, and some of the current starters are going to get shut down after they reach their innings limits. Plus, if Houser and (maybe) Civale get moved, those are immediate innings that would need to be filled.
Unfortunately, I think the Rockies would claim him as well, so I think the odds are fairly long.
Feels like a Turnbull bust. Oh well. GO TIGERS !
Turnbull was not a bust.
Turnbull from the neck up is/was absolutely a bust
Yes he was. And he was not a translated player before he was kicked to the curb IN Detroit.
Correct. In MLB, if you even make it to the big leagues, you are not a bust. There are way too many guys that are highly drafted that never get past AA to consider any big league player a bust. You can consider a big league player a disappointment, but definitely not a bust.
Good. I hope he does well elsewhere. I don’t dislike him, but he has used up his chances in Detroit.
Manning’s numbers look like the Angels typical pitcher of the last 20 years.
He should have been traded long ago…
My guess is the Tigers tried to trade him long ago and couldn’t find any takers.
He hasn’t been the same since his foot was broken off of that come backer.
This alone makes the sewald trade worth it.
It is painful to see given Manning’s prospect status and his solid numbers after being promoted. But at least in Detroit there was no progress for him. Since he runs out of options next year and offers no help for the Tigers this year, it simply had to happen.
Once there was this rotation that took AA by storm: Overall top pick Mize, highly praised prospect Manning, Faedo with brilliant control and Wentz, who was acquired by trade. Each of them was a first-rounder. The fifth starter wasn’t, but it didn’t keep him from winning the Triple Crown.
Gruß,
BSHH
Bye Matty.
The Tigers currently with 9 pitchers on the IL, and still with one open roster spot on the 40 man; you would have to think 1 or perhaps even 2 of those guys may be coming off the list sooner rather than later.
Manning appeared to show flashes of being special in 2022 & 2023 and at the bare minimum a good 4/5 starter. I would have liked to see him come up this year and see how he’d fare in a relief role or even start a game or two but, he’s been borderline terrible in AAA this year and likely wouldn’t have been better in the majors.
Oh, well. Wish him the best.
Maybe he’ll be part of a trade that brings in another player.