Tigers Rumors

Tigers Agree To Minor League Deal With Devin Smeltzer, Release Manuel Margot

By Steve Adams | July 8, 2025 at 10:29am CDT

The Tigers have agreed to a minor league deal with southpaw Devin Smeltzer and released veteran outfielder Manuel Margot, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Smeltzer has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo.

Smeltzer, 29, has seen big league time in parts of five major league seasons — nearly all with the division-rival Twins. The Vayner client is a former Dodgers fifth-round pick who went from L.A. to Minnesota a deadline swap for Brian Dozier. Smeltzer has worked both as a starter and long reliever in the big leagues, compiling a total of 162 1/3 innings with a 4.32 ERA. He’s only fanned 16.5% of his opponents but boasts a sharp 6% walk rate.

Smeltzer posted a 3.99 ERA in 140 innings with Minnesota from 2019-22, but his inability to miss bats and his susceptibility to home runs led fielding-independent metrics to cast a far more bearish outlook on his performance (4.82 FIP, 4.78 SIERA). Smeltzer’s 2023 season with the Marlins indeed brought a good bit of regression; he pitched 22 1/3 innings but was rocked for a 6.45 ERA as he served up seven round-trippers in that limited role.

That 2023 season in Miami saw Smeltzer regularly designated for assignment, passed through waivers, and outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville. The Fish designated Smeltzer for assignment four different times, and he accepted an outright on each occasion. He also returned on a minor league deal in the 2023-24 offseason and pitched well (3.69 ERA) in 31 2/3 innings with Jacksonville in 2024 before being released.

Smeltzer has been pitching for los Dorados de Chihuahua in the Mexican League this year, logging a 5.17 ERA, 17.6% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate in an extremely hitter-friendly setting, where the league-average ERA is a staggering 6.01. He’d been working as a starter, averaging better than six innings per outing across 13 starts, so Smeltzer will provide Detroit some depth for the rotation or a swingman candidate.

The Tigers currently have Sawyer Gipson-Long, Alex Cobb, Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden and Jose Urquidy on the injured list. Jobe’s season is over due to Tommy John surgery. Cobb has yet to pitch for the major league club since signing a one-year deal over the winter. Madden, the No. 32 pick in 2021, has been out all season with a shoulder strain. Gipson-Long has been out since late June due to a neck injury. Urquidy signed a free agent deal over the winter while recovering from Tommy John surgery and will likely be an option in the second half.

As for the veteran Margot, he appeared in six games with the Tigers earlier this year and went 6-for-19 (all singles) in 20 plate appearances. He’s had a very rough showing in Toledo, slashing only .211/.299/.266 in 144 plate appearances for the Mud Hens.

Now 30 years old, Margot is a former top prospect who had a solid run from 2017-22 between the Padres and Rays, slashing .254/.309/.386 with plus baserunning, elite defense and quality production against left-handed pitching. He suffered a severe strain of the patellar tendon in his right knee back in 2022, however, and his sprint speed, baserunning and defensive grades have all plummeted since that injury. (He also missed time earlier this season with an injury in his other knee.) When Margot debuted late in the 2016 season, Statcast credited him with 99th percentile sprint speed — an average of 30 feet per second. In his brief look with the Tigers earlier this season, he was covering 25.3 feet per second, all the way down in the ninth percentile of MLB players.

Since returning from that career-altering knee injury in 2022, Margot has taken 862 plate appearances in the majors. His average hasn’t changed much, but he’s walked less often and seen the minimal power he previously possessed dry up. He’s a .250/.395/.348 hitter (82 wRC+) in that time, and this year’s bleak minor league showing doesn’t create a lot of reason for optimism. He’ll be an option for teams seeking some righty-swinging outfield depth, but it’s been years since Margot has performed at peak levels.

Cubs, Tigers Among Teams Interested In Ke’Bryan Hayes

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 10:08pm CDT

Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is drawing interest from multiple teams, with reporter Francys Romero listing last week that the Cubs, Tigers, and Yankees were all “potential suitors.” Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote a few days ago that Hayes was indeed “on the Yankees’ radar,” and Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Chicago and Detroit have also checked in with the Pirates about Hayes’ status.

Hayes remains one of the sport’s best defenders at any position, as he is again posting fantastic numbers (+13 Outs Above Average, +11 Defensive Runs Saved) over 710 1/3 innings at the hot corner. The 28-year-old has also played in 83 games this season and thus far stayed off the injured list, which is noteworthy given how recurring back problems have plagued Hayes for multiple years, and limited him to just 96 games in 2024.

On the down side, Hayes is still producing next to nothing at the plate. It seemed as though Hayes was turning a corner with his .762 OPS season in 2023, as even producing league-average offense along with his superb glove would’ve made Hayes a great all-around boost to Pittsburgh’s lineup. However, his bat has cratered over the last two years, as his .238/.288/.295 slash line over 721 plate appearances has resulted in a dismal 62 wRC+. Since Opening Day, Hayes has the lowest wRC+ of any player in baseball with at least 700 PA.

Another possible obstacle to a trade is the eight-year, $70MM extension Hayes signed with the Pirates in April 2022. He is still owed the remainder of his $7MM salary for 2025, $30MM over the 2026-29 seasons, and then a $6MM buyout of a $12MM club option for the 2030 campaign. As great as Hayes’ glovework is, a trade partner would be taking a risk in absorbing over $39MM for a player with a history of both back problems and lackluster offense.

Third base has been a problem area for the Cubs all season, as the team’s hope that top prospect Matt Shaw was ready for prime time hasn’t yet paid off. A month-long demotion to Triple-A resulted in a brief surge at the plate once Shaw was recalled to the majors in May, but his bat tapered off again, and Shaw is hitting only .207/.288/.293 over 222 PA. Backup options like Vidal Brujan or Jon Berti also haven’t contributed much, leaving the hot corner as a clear weak link in an otherwise very strong Chicago lineup.

Hayes’ lack of pop would be less of an issue amidst so many other strong hitters, yet Shaw is no slouch with the glove himself — he has +6 DRS, though the OAA metric has him only league-average over 487 2/3 innings at third base. Acquiring Hayes would also block Shaw at third base over an extended period of time, whereas just picking up a rental third baseman at the deadline would help the Cubs’ chances of winning in 2025 while still keeping Shaw in line as the third baseman of the future.

It can be argued that third base isn’t even a need position for the Tigers at all, as the position has become Zach McKinstry’s most common pathway into the lineup. McKinstry is hitting an impressive .285/.356/.456 over 307 PA, and he has gone from being a utility option to a near-everyday option for manager A.J. Hinch. The advanced metrics indicate that McKinstry is due for regression, however, and the fact that he hasn’t hit anywhere near this level in his previous five Major League seasons could leave Detroit looking for more stability at third base.

Javier Baez, Colt Keith, Jace Jung, and Andy Ibanez have all also seen time at third base for the Tigers this year, with the latter two currently in Triple-A. Baez looks to have re-established himself at shortstop and Detroit would love to see Keith find a regular spot for himself in the lineup, as his past positions of first and second base have been filled by Spencer Torkelson and Gleyber Torres. Relying on Keith for a pennant run is risky, however, so the Tigers may prefer exploring veteran third base options at the deadline.

From the Pirates’ perspective, it isn’t surprising that the club is already open to moving a player that so recently seemed like a building block. With the Buccos now approaching their seventh straight losing season, it isn’t clear if their rebuild is bearing much fruit, even with Paul Skenes’ rise to superstardom and so many other promising young arms on the way. The struggling Pirates are reportedly open to moving basically anyone besides Skenes and Andrew McCutchen, and dealing Hayes has the side benefit of moving a long-term financial commitment from the team’s books.

AL Central Notes: Thomas, Ragans, Lynch, Cobb

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 8:59pm CDT

Prior to today’s game, the Guardians placed outfielder Lane Thomas on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 5), as Thomas is again dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Infielder Will Wilson was called up from Triple-A to replace Thomas, who is headed to the IL for the third time this season. The first placement was due to a bone bruise in his right wrist, and the last two placements were prompted by Thomas’ recurring foot problems. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters that Thomas again started to feel discomfort in his foot during Friday’s game, so the team decided to see if the combination of an IL stint and the All-Star break can provide enough time for Thomas to finally heal up.

The injuries have contributed to a brutal .160/.246/.272 slash line over 142 plate appearances for Thomas, though he was starting to heat up a little with an .816 OPS and three homers in last 38 PA. Thomas’ struggles have been emblematic of an ugly offensive year for the Guardians as a whole, and today’s loss to the Tigers extended the Guards’ losing streak to 10 games. It increasingly seems like Cleveland will be sellers at the deadline, yet Thomas’ injuries and lack of production will probably mean the Guards won’t be able to move the impending free agent.

Tigers Select PJ Poulin

By Nick Deeds | July 6, 2025 at 11:03am CDT

The Tigers announced a pair of roster moves this morning. They’ve selected the contract of left-hander PJ Poulin to the 40-man roster and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. Left-hander Sean Guenther was recalled from Triple-A and placed on the 60-day injured list to make room for Poulin on the 40-man roster. According to Evan Woodbery of MLive, Poulin had an upward mobility clause in his contract and the Tigers opted to add him to their 40-man roster in order to keep him in their organization.

Poulin, 29 later this month, was an 11th-round pick by the Rockies back in 2018. A two-way player in college, Poulin committed to pitching upon his move to affiliated ball. He looked quite good in the lower minors as a reliever in his first two years as a professional, but the canceled minor league season in 2020 lost him a year of development and he generally struggled with his effectiveness in the upper minors during his time with the Rockies organization.

He was dealt to the Tigers prior to the 2024 season and has looked quite good since then, as he posted a 2.10 ERA in 60 innings between Double- and Triple-A last year before posting a 3.72 ERA in 36 1/3 frames at Triple-A this season. That solid but unspectacular ERA comes with a much more impressive 33.8% strikeout rate, and that kind of strikeout stuff from the left side makes it easy to see why the Tigers decided it was worth it to add the lefty to their 40-man roster rather than risk losing him to another organization.

Making room for Poulin on the 40-man roster is Guenther, who has a 2.30 ERA and 2.73 FIP across 31 1/3 innings of work with the Tigers over the past two seasons. Guenther was on the shelf in the minors after undergoing hip surgery last week, meaning that the move to place him on the 60-day IL is largely a procedural one. With that being said, it does come with the side effect of allowing him to collect a big league salary and earn MLB service time until he’s activated and optioned back to the minor leagues.

Matt Gage Elects Free Agency

By Steve Adams | July 1, 2025 at 11:31am CDT

Tigers left-hander Matt Gage went unclaimed on waivers following his recent DFA, per Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Rather than accept an assignment to Triple-A Toledo, Gage has opted to elect free agency, Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds, which is Gage’s right as a player who’s been outrighted previously in his career.

The 32-year-old Gage tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings with Detroit, though he did so while only fanning 12% of his opponents in that small sample. Still, he limited walks at an 8% clip and continued what’s generally been an effective run in limited MLB chances. Gage has now seen action in parts of three major league seasons and turned in a 1.42 ERA with a 22.5% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 45.3% ground-ball rate. He’s also done a nice job avoiding hard contact, yielding a tepid 86.8 mph average exit velocity and feeble 31.3% hard-hit rate across those three partial seasons.

Gage signed a minor league deal with the Tigers over the winter. They’re his third big league team in three seasons, having previously suited up for the Astros and Blue Jays. This year’s 91.9 mph average four-seamer is a career-low, but he’s posted quality numbers both in the big leagues and in Triple-A Toledo: 32 1/3 innings, 1.67 ERA, 22.8% strikeout rate, 3.3% walk rate.

Any team in need of some left-handed bullpen depth could take a look at Gage. The Mets have cycled through several left-handed relievers in recent weeks, and there are several clubs around the league operating with only one lefty in their relief corps at the moment — the Yankees, Nationals and Mariners among them.

Tigers To Place Kerry Carpenter On Injured List

By Steve Adams | July 1, 2025 at 11:08am CDT

The Tigers are placing designated hitter/outfielder Kerry Carpenter on the 10-day injured list due to a hamstring injury, manager A.J. Hinch told host Jim Duquette in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this morning. Infielder Trey Sweeney will be recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take Carpenter’s spot on the roster.

Carpenter is fifth on the Tigers in plate appearances but third with 16 home runs, trailing Riley Greene (19) and Spencer Torkelson (17) despite having 68 fewer plate appearances than Greene and 53 fewer than Torkelson. The 27-year-old slugger is hitting .257/.285/.494 overall but had just been heating up at the plate, breaking out of a lengthy slump with three homers in his past four games started. Carpenter, however, exited Sunday’s win over the Twins after grabbing at his hamstring while legging out a triple.

It’s the first IL stint of the season for Carpenter but his fourth in the past four seasons. He’s twice gone on the injured list lumbar injuries in his back, ultimately landing on the 60-day IL due to that issue in 2024. Carpenter also missed about six weeks of the 2023 season due to a sprain in his right shoulder.

When healthy, Carpenter has quietly been one of Detroit’s top sources of power. He’s played 314 games since debuting in 2022 and slugged 60 round-trippers in 1148 trips to the plate. He popped 18 homers in just 296 plate appearances last year and is close to matching that pace in 2025. Carpenter’s power prompted teammate Beau Brieske to give him the tongue-in-cheek nickname “Kerry Bonds” back during their minor league days, and it’s carried over into the big leagues despite Carpenter’s reluctance to accept the moniker in full.

With Carpenter on the shelf, Matt Vierling and Javier Baez will likely be in line for additional plate appearances in the short-term. It’s not immediately clear how long Carpenter will be sidelined, though Hinch suggested that the team is taking a conservative approach with this IL stint, which would imply that it’s not a major injury.

Tucker Barnhart To Retire

By Nick Deeds | June 30, 2025 at 8:00pm CDT

Former Gold Glove catcher Tucker Barnhart is set to retire, as agent Steve Rath of the Ballengee Group tells Robert Murray of FanSided. Barnhart played for the Reds, Tigers, Cubs, Diamondbacks, and Rangers across his 12 seasons in the majors.

Born and raised in Indiana, Barnhart was drafted by the Reds in the tenth round of the 2009 draft out of Brownsburg High School, just two hours from Cincinnati. As a high school catcher, his path to the big leagues was a long one. Barnhart didn’t make his debut until 2014, and only appeared in 21 games when he did finally make it to the show. The 2015 season saw him take on a much larger role, however, as Devin Mesoraco was sidelined by injury. That left the catcher position to Brayan Pena and Barnhart, the latter of whom proved to be a strong defender but hit a fairly lackluster .252/.324/.326 in 81 games.

Despite that unimpressive offense, Barnhart’s work behind the plate was impressive enough that he became Cincinnati’s primary catcher starting in 2016. His offense trended upwards enough from 2016 to 2018 that he was more or less on par with the average catcher in the league (87 wRC+), and he won the first Gold Glove award of his career in 2017 amid a 3.6 bWAR season. That 2017 campaign was enough to convince the Reds to sign Barnhart to a $16MM extension, locking him in with the club for at least the next four seasons. His offense took a step backwards starting in 2019, as he hit just .235/.318/.375 (79 wRC+) over his final three seasons with the Reds, but he remained a stalwart defender and won his second career Gold Glove during the shortened 2020 season.

After parts of eight seasons in Cincinnati, Barnhart was traded to Detroit ahead of the 2022 season, giving the Tigers the opportunity to exercise a $7.5MM team option on his services for that year. Barnhart struggled in his lone season with the club, however, hitting just .221/.287/.267 (67 wRC+) while his defense behind the plate slipped somewhat. Barnhart was still able to secure a two-year, $6.5MM guarantee from the Cubs that offseason, but he posted just a 55 wRC+ in 43 games before being designated for assignment by the club. Since then, Barnhart has caught for the Diamondbacks and Rangers in the majors after signing minor league deals with both organizations and also spent a brief stint in the Dodgers’ farm system. He’s appeared in 39 MLB games over the past two seasons with a .181/.294/.213 that’s offset somewhat by his continually solid defense.

Barnhart was let go by the Rangers earlier this month but re-signed with the club on a minor league deal shortly thereafter. Evidently, he’s decided he’d rather call it a career than play out the season in the minors. He’ll finish his career with 920 games played in the majors, two Gold Glove awards, 6.9 bWAR/5.8 fWAR, 662 hits, and 53 home runs. He hit .241/.318/.351 overall during his time in the majors. MLBTR congratulations Barnhart on a fine career in the majors and wishes him all the best in whatever comes next.

Kerry Carpenter To Undergo MRI For Sore Hamstring

By Mark Polishuk | June 29, 2025 at 10:54pm CDT

Speaking of MRIs, Kerry Carpenter will also receive a scan tomorrow after he had to make an early exit from the Tigers’ 3-0 win over the Twins tonight. Carpenter was removed from the game with right hamstring discomfort after hitting a triple in the fifth inning, though he told reporters (including MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery) that his hamstring started to act up earlier in the game when he was playing right field. Detroit doesn’t play Monday so Carpenter will have a built-in day off to heal up, though a trip to the injured list might be a wise idea since Carpenter has been dealing with hamstring soreness for much of the season. Carpenter has a 116 wRC+ and 16 home runs over 280 PA, but his .257/.285/.494 slash line reveals a severe dropoff in his on-base numbers, as Carpenter’s 2.5% walk rate is among the lowest in baseball.

Tigers Activate Matt Vierling From 10-Day IL, Option Trey Sweeney

By Mark Polishuk | June 28, 2025 at 2:21pm CDT

The Tigers announced that third baseman/outfielder Matt Vierling has been activated from the 10-day injured list. Shortstop Trey Sweeney was optioned to Triple-A Toledo in the corresponding move, which took place after Detroit’s 4-1 loss to Minnesota last night.

Vierling’s 2025 season has basically been a wash, as he has played in only four games in between two lengthy stints on the IL. He strained his right rotator cuff in February, which kept him on the shelf until May 23. That return to the Tigers’ lineup was short-lived, as just five days later, Vierling was placed back on the 10-day IL due to right shoulder inflammation. Fortunately, an MRI taken earlier this month didn’t reveal any structural damage in the shoulder, and Vierling was able to soon start a minor league rehab assignment that lasted seven games.

He is now in today’s lineup as the starting center fielder, and looking to start playing a larger role for a Tigers team that has the best record in the American League. Now in his third season in Motown, Vierling hit .259/.320/.406 with 26 homers over 1097 plate appearances in 2023-24, toggling between third base and all three outfield positions. Vierling’s right-handed bat is a nice complement to Detroit’s many lefty swingers, giving manager A.J. Hinch some extra flexibility in balancing out his lineup.

Sweeney’s move to Triple-A is notable, as his installation as the Tigers’ starting shortstop last August was one of the many factors that sparked Detroit’s stunning late-season surge into a playoff berth. Acquired from the Dodgers as part of the Jack Flaherty trade at last year’s deadline, Sweeney didn’t hit much in his first taste of big league action, but strong defense helped solidify the shortstop position since the Tigers had gotten so little from Javier Baez, Zach McKinstry, and Ryan Kreidler.

This season, however, Baez has enjoyed a career resurgence and McKinstry has broken out in a multi-positional role. Since Sweeney is still only hitting .221/.280/.314 over 225 PA and his glovework has fallen off, he’ll head to Toledo as the odd man out of the Tigers’ roster. Baez and McKinstry figure to fully assume shortstop duties going forward, perhaps in a loose righty-lefty platoon depending on whether or not McKinstry is being utilized elsewhere on the diamond.

Poll: AL Cy Young Race Check-In

By Nick Deeds | June 26, 2025 at 11:30am CDT

While days off and postponements leave clubs around the league without a uniform number of games played, one of the games in this week’s slate will represent the halfway point in the season for every team across MLB. Earlier this week, we checked in on the MVP race in both the American League and the National League as players around the game gear up for the second half. Those races are dominated by position players, so today we’ll turn our attention more firmly towards the league’s pitchers. Who are the frontrunners for the Cy Young Award in both leagues? We’ll be taking a look at some of the top candidates this week, starting with the American League today:

Tarik Skubal

The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner tops the list of contenders again this year. Somehow, Skubal has been even more dominant than he was last year. Through 16 starts and 102 innings, he has improved his ERA (2.29), FIP (2.11), strikeout rate (32.1%), walk rate (3.3%), SIERA (2.46), and xERA (2.61) relative to his full season numbers last year. He’s even pitching slightly deeper into games so far this year, averaging 6.37 innings per start as compared to last year’s 6.19.

For a hurler who won the pitching Triple Crown in the AL last year to improve upon that performance the very next year is remarkable, and Skubal figures to remain the favorite to win the award for a second consecutive season if he can maintain this level of production going forward. There’s plenty of competition in the AL, however, so even a minor slip up down the stretch could give the edge to another candidate.

Garrett Crochet

Crochet has been nearly as dominant as Skubal in many respects. After breaking out with the White Sox last year and getting traded to the Red Sox over the offseason, he’s turned in a 2.06 ERA and 2.53 FIP across 17 starts. Crochet leads the majors with 109 1/3 innings pitched, and while his 31.3% strikeout rate is just behind that of Skubal, he’s still struck out more batters (135) than any pitcher in baseball this year. While Crochet and Skubal appear to be more or less equals on paper, with Crochet having a lower ERA and an extra start under his belt while Skubal has stronger peripheral numbers, there are some other factors working against Boston’s ace.

Crochet is more or less untested in the second half after throwing just 40 2/3 innings after July 6 last year. After that date, the lefty never recorded an out in the fifth inning or later and topped out at just 77 pitches in an outing. Even with that less strenuous workload, his numbers suffered as he posted a 4.87 ERA down the stretch. Chicago’s decision to handle Crochet gently down the stretch last year was an understandable one given his injury history, but it creates some uncertainty about how he’ll handle the first true full-season starter’s workload of his career. Additionally, Crochet has a 7-4 record on a team that might wind up selling at the trade deadline this year. While the Cy Young is an individual award, some voters consider a pitcher’s record and their team’s success, which could benefit other candidates with more dominant records on clear playoff teams.

Max Fried

Signed to the largest deal for a left-handed pitcher in MLB history this past offseason, Fried has stepped up as the Yankees’ new ace while Gerrit Cole rehabs from Tommy John surgery. Fried has a sterling 1.92 ERA in 17 starts (108 innings), though he’s done so without the gaudy strikeout numbers of other top Cy Young contenders. His 24.5% strikeout rate is above-average but not otherworldly, but he makes up for that by walking just 4.9% of his opponents and generating grounders at a 53.1% rate.

Even with a career-high 6.5% barrel rate allowed this year, Fried remains one of the sport’s best hurlers when it comes to pitching to contact. His 2.74 FIP and 3.17 SIERA are both elite as well, and more traditional voters will love his 10-2 record, which is good for the most pitcher wins in baseball this year and the best winning percentage in the AL.

Hunter Brown

Brown is in the midst of an exciting breakout season with the Astros at just 26 years old. His 1.88 ERA is the lowest figure in all of baseball among qualified starters, and while he has just 91 innings of work under his belt so far, he’s still averaging more than six innings per start. Brown’s heroics have helped push the Astros back to the front of the pack in the AL West after a tough start to the year.

There are some reasons to doubt Brown’s ability to sustain quite this level of dominance. He’s benefited from a .244 BABIP and an 88.4% strand rate. That good fortune on batted balls and sequencing is very likely to regress toward the mean eventually, though his 2.84 FIP and 2.96 SIERA are still excellent thanks largely to a 31.6% strikeout rate, an 8.1% walk rate and a strong 46.8% ground-ball rate.

Kris Bubic

Bubic has picked up the slack for injured ace Cole Ragans in the Kansas City rotation and has put together an elite season that rivals any of his competition on this list. He’s posted an excellent 2.18 ERA, fanned 26% of his opponents and kept his walk rate down at a sharp 7.3%. Bubic has had some good fortune when it comes to home runs, however; only 4.8% of the fly-balls he’s allowed have cleared the fence, as compared to the 15.1% homer-to-fly-ball rate he carried into the season. It’s doubtful he can continue quite that level of home run suppression, but he has the makings of a front-line arm even if a few more of those flies start leaving the yard.

Bubic has tossed 91 innings in 15 starts, averaging just a hair over six frames per outing. It’s worth wondering how he’ll hold up as the season wears on. Bubic underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and pitched just 66 combined innings between the big leagues and minors. His 91 frames are already his most in a season since he pitched 142 2/3 innings in 2022.

Jacob deGrom

This is the healthiest deGrom has been in a half decade, but you wouldn’t notice virtually any layoff based on the results. The multi-time Cy Young winner has posted a 2.08 ERA and 3.02 FIP across 95 1/3 innings in his age-37 season. He’s set down 25.9% of his opponents on strikes and only walked 5.5% of the batters he’s faced. deGrom had some short starts early, but he’s averaging nearly 6 1/3 innings per outing with a 1.67 ERA dating back to April 18.

As with Bubic, there are workload questions. This is already the most innings deGrom has pitched in a season since 2019. He’s only 33 1/3 innings away from matching his combined total from 2022-24 (majors and minors included).

Other Options

The field of potential AL Cy Young candidates this year is a very deep one. Framber Valdez remains one of the sport’s top ground ball pitchers with a 59.5% grounder rate to go alongside his 2.88 ERA and 3.04 FIP in 16 starts. Joe Ryan has a 2.86 ERA, including a 2.38 mark over the past two months. Drew Rasmussen boasts a 2.45 ERA, but his 84 1/3 innings place him more than 30 frames behind the league leaders. They’re all pitching well enough that a big second half could get them in the conversation. Nathan Eovaldi has an absurd 1.56 ERA on the season, but he’s missed the past month with triceps inflammation. Relievers Andrés Muñoz (18 saves, 1.21 ERA), Aroldis Chapman (14 saves, 1.36 ERA) and Josh Hader (21 saves, 1.73 ERA) have all been brilliant, but it’s hard enough for relievers to get consideration in a normal season — let alone one where the top group of starters has performed this well.

Who do you think will ultimately come out on top in AL Cy Young voting? Will Skubal reign supreme once again, or could another challenger step up to claim the trophy? Have your say in the poll below:

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