Tigers Place Casey Mize On Injured List

The Tigers placed Casey Mize back on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 28, with right adductor inflammation. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by reliever Beau Brieske, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. That requires the Tigers to open a spot on the 40-man roster, so they transferred southpaw Brant Hurter to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move.

Mize has been plagued by right groin discomfort in what has otherwise been a strong year. The former first overall pick was diagnosed with an adductor strain in late April and missed around three weeks. He returned on May 16 and looked sharp in his first couple starts. Mize was pitching well on Wednesday but forced to make an exit after four innings with what appeared to be a new groin injury.

That’s evidently the case, though it’s encouraging that this diagnosis was due to inflammation rather than another strain. It’s unlikely it’ll be an extended absence, yet it’s surely an annoyance for Mize and the team that he’ll need to miss another couple starts. He has arguably been the team’s most valuable pitcher this year thanks to the Tarik Skubal injury.

Mize carries a 2.27 earned run average with a career-best 26.5% strikeout rate across 47 2/3 frames. He’s certainly pitching well enough to earn a second straight All-Star appearance if he could stay healthy. Mize is also an impending free agent who’ll be one of the top non-Skubal options on the open market. Although a pair of minor groin issues probably aren’t going to be a huge blow to his value, they add to the various injuries Mize has faced throughout his career.

Detroit enters this weekend’s road series against the White Sox with a 22-35 record. They’re tied with the Angels for worst in the American League. Mize’s injury won’t change the rotation plans for this series. Troy Melton, Framber Valdez and Keider Montero were lined up for the three-game set. They’ll need a new starter for Monday’s series opener in Tampa Bay. There’s a decent chance that’ll be Ty Madden, who is eligible to return from a forearm contusion this weekend. Madden worked 4 1/3 innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Toledo on Monday and may only need the one minor league tuneup.

Brieske is back to give skipper A.J. Hinch a nine-man bullpen for the weekend. He has been out all season with a left adductor strain. The 28-year-old righty struggled last year while battling ankle and forearm issues. He was a capable middle innings arm from 2023-24.

Hurter is dealing with lumbar spine inflammation. He just went on the IL over the weekend, meaning this transfer rules him out until the second half of July. The 6’6″ southpaw has worked around middling strikeout and walk numbers to manage a 2.84 ERA across 25 1/3 frames.