- The Tigers have placed utilityman Niko Goodrum on the IL with a left groin strain, the team announced. Goodrum, one of the few reasonably effective hitters in the Tigers’ lineup, has put up a .248/.322/.421 line with 12 homers and a dozen stolen bases across 472 plate appearances. Not only that, but the versatile 27-year-old has totaled double-digit appearances at first, second, short and in the outfield.
Tigers Rumors
Tigers Shut Down Top Prospect Casey Mize
The Tigers are shutting down former first-overall selection and top pitching prospect Casey Mize, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. While he’s out of commission, he’ll remain with the Double-A Erie Seawolves before reporting to instructional league in mid-September.
As Beck notes, no one injury motivated the Tigers’ decision; rather the organization would prefer to take a cautious approach with its top minor-leaguer, who is playing in just his first professional season. While he did make a stint on the injured list with shoulder inflammation earlier this season, today’s decision is unrelated. Indeed, this looks to be in hopes of preventing injury, rather than reacting to one.
Mize finishes his first full professional season with 109 2/3 innings under his belt between High-A Lakeland and Double-A Erie. After breezing through the low minors and earning himself a promotion to Double-A—where he threw a no-hitter in his first game—Mize has encountered some difficulty of late, possibly as a consequence of a building workload. While the Tigers weren’t restricting their crown jewel to a definitive innings limit, Beck notes that Tigers officials felt that, in recent viewings, Mize wasn’t as sharp as he had been throughout the year, leading them to shut the righty down for the final two weeks of the minor-league season.
Last season, in his draft year, Mize accumulated nearly 130 innings pitched between his time at Auburn University and a partial season in the low minors.
In his first full season as a professional, Mize made 21 starts, going 8-3 with a 2.55 ERA across two levels of the minors. He struck out 106 batters compared to just 23 walks, good for for a 4.6 K:BB ratio.
The 2018 first overall pick is regarded by many to be the top pitching prospect in all of baseball, including MLB Pipeline, which regards Mize as the second-ranked overall prospect. Already a relatively polished product, it seems like a solid bet that Mize could be pitching in Comerica Park at this time next year.
Uncertainty Surrounding Beau Burrows, Franklin Perez
- Tigers right-hander Beau Burrows is recovering from a left oblique strain and has been shut down for the remainder of the season. As Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes, the injury concludes what has been a trying season for the pitching prospect, as Burrows also dealt with a shoulder issue at the start of the year and posted a 5.51 ERA over 65 1/3 innings at Triple-A. Like many minor league hurlers this season, Burrows has had trouble keeping the ball in the park, surrendering 12 homers over those 65 1/3 frames. Burrows, the 22nd overall pick of the 2015 draft, received some top-100 prospect attention from Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com prior to the 2018 season, but his stock dropped after only a decent year at Double-A. It all adds up to a tricky offseason decision for the Tigers, who now have to choose whether or not to add Burrows to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Detroit has multiple prospects that are Rule 5-eligible and only a certain amount of open space, leading McCosky to wonder if they would still protect Burrows if his future (as some in the organization believe) is ultimately as a relief arm.
- Burrows isn’t the only question mark within the Tigers’ crop of young hurlers, as Franklin Perez is still trying to get on track from the shoulder problems that have essentially cost him two seasons, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News writes. Once seen as the centerpiece of the trade package the Tigers received for Justin Verlander two years ago, Perez was a consensus top-100 prospect heading into the 2018 season, and MLB.com still had him 78th on its top 100 list prior to this season. Since the start of the 2018 campaign, however, Perez has tossed just 27 total innings amidst multiple trips to the injured list. Adding to the frustration, Henning writes, is the fact that doctors have been unable to find any underlying structural issue that would explain the pain Perez has felt in game action. Perez doesn’t turn 22 until December, though it remains to be seen when (or even if) he’ll be able to pitch on a consistent basis, let alone effectively enough to get him back on a path to the big leagues.
Blaine Hardy Done For Season
- Tigers lefty Blaine Hardy has undergone a season-ending platelet-rich plasma injection, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports. Hardy amassed 44 1/3 innings out of the Tigers’ bullpen this season and recorded a 4.47 ERA/5.72 FIP with 5.89 K/9, 2.64 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent groundball rate.
Tigers Re-Sign Sandy Baez
- The Tigers announced that they’ve re-signed righty Sandy Baez to a minor league contract. The club released the 25-year-old last Friday. He has recorded a 5.59 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 over 116 innings with the Tigers’ Double-A team.
Tigers Notes: Ross, Stewart
- There’s still no timetable for the return of Tigers right-hander Tyson Ross, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Ross hasn’t pitched since May 10 because of a nerve issue in his neck. He’s continuing to deal with “tightness” there, Tigers head athletic trainer Doug Teter said Sunday. In Teter’s estimation, there’s a connection between Ross’ neck problems and the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he underwent as a Padre in 2016. “According to the doctors, these aren’t Thoracic Outlet symptoms,” Teter said. “But that is a large surgery, a huge process, and it makes you wonder. I am going under the assumption that, yes, it does have something to do with it.” Ross’ TOS procedure helped knock what was an impressive career off the rails. The 32-year-old bounced back somewhat between San Diego and St. Louis in 2018, leading Detroit to hand him a $5.75MM guarantee in free agency last winter. Ross has given the Tigers just 35 1/3 innings of 6.11 ERA/5.99 FIP ball, though.
- The Tigers have halted concussed outfielder Christin Stewart’s rehab assignment as a result of “another setback,” according to manager Ron Gardenhire (via McCosky). Stewart, already down since July 29, will have to restart the concussion protocol. This adds to a tough rookie season for the 25-year-old Stewart, who has batted .239/.321/.393 with minus-0.6 fWAR in 327 trips to the plate.
JaCoby Jones Suffers Season-Threatening Wrist Fracture
Sunday: The Tigers have announced Jones’ IL placement and Rodriguez’s call-up.
Saturday: A CT scan has revealed a fracture in the left wrist of Tigers outfielder JaCoby Jones, per MLive’s Evan Woodberry (link). The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen adds that Manager Ron Gardenhire believes Jones will need about six weeks to recover, which makes a 2019 return doubtful (link). According to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, the outfielder has been officially placed on the 10-day injured list (link). The team will recall Ronny Rodriguez from Triple-A Toledo to supplant Jones’ on the active roster (link).
Jones left Thursday night’s contest with the Royals after being struck on his wrist by a 95-mph fastball from KC starter Jorge Lopez. Initially, it was believed that Jones had only suffered a bruise, but imaging has apparently revealed a much more significant injury.
After a 1.2 WAR showing in 129 games with Detroit last year, 2019 marked Jones’ second opportunity at consistent big league playing time. Results have been mixed for the LSU product. Though he has shown improvement at the plate (92 wRC+ in 2019 vs. 70 wRC+ in 2018), defensive metrics have been somewhat unpleasantly surprised by his play on 2019 grass (-12.9 UZR in 2019, per Fangraphs).
Rodriguez will rejoin the team for whom he has provided 382 at-bats over the last two seasons. The 27-year-old infielder has logged a .218/.251/.387 batting line since debuting with Detroit in 2018, with appearances at every infield position except catcher.
Trevor Rosenthal Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency
Reliever Trevor Rosenthal, designated for assignment Wednesday by the Tigers, has cleared waivers and elected free agency, the club reports.
Rosenthal began his disastrous 2019 campaign in Washington after signing a one-year deal that guaranteed him $7MM. The longtime St. Louis relief ace, who’d seen his command yo-yo between shaky and adequate in his six-year Cardinal tenure, suddenly couldn’t find the plate at all in his first appearances after a return from Tommy John. The 29-year-old walked a frightening 15 men in just 12 appearances (6 1/3 IP) for the club, many of which were cut short before even an out was recorded.
Another free-market go-round ended swiftly in late June when the righty agreed to a minor league pact with Detroit. Despite six hardly propitious outings at Triple-A Toledo, the Tigers added Rosenthal to their post all-star bullpen in hopes of a rebound. His first few outings were promising – Rosenthal walked just three and set down five in four one-inning appearances – but the wild hairs regrew as the weeks passed: the 2015 All-Star walked multiple batters in four different outings for the Tigers before his dismissal on Wednesday.
Rosenthal’s 98.0 MPH average fastball velocity is actually the second-highest of his career, though his bat-missing ways have mostly been teased out, at least compared to the sky-high rates of years bygone. There may still be a team or two out there who believes it can fix the righty this season, though perhaps it’s in the best interest of all involved to delay such a project ’til the outset of the 2020 campaign.
Tigers Release Josh Harrison, Sandy Baez
The Tigers have granted unconditional releases to infielder Josh Harrison and right-hander Sandy Baez, per a team announcement. The club also made the previously reported promotion of righty Edwin Jackson official.
This marks the end of a tough Tigers tenure for Harrison, a former Pirate who joined Detroit on a $2MM guarantee in free agency last winter. Harrison, who underwent surgery on a partially torn hamstring in June, hasn’t played since May 27. The 32-year-old was a capable hitter for most of his Pirates stint, but he only managed a .176/.219/.265 line with one home run in 146 plate appearances as a Tiger.
Baez, 25, was once a promising prospect. He topped out as Baseball America’s 13th-ranked Tigers farmhand after the 2016 season. He threw 15 1/3 innings with the Tigers from 2018-19, but only one of those frames came this year – a season in which he has dealt with injuries. Baez debuted at the Triple-A level this year and posted a 7.36 ERA with 7.36 K/9 and 5.73 BB/9 in 22 innings.
Tigers Select Edwin Jackson
10:10pm: The Tigers have promoted Jackson and optioned lefty Blaine Hardy, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic tweets. They’ll still need to make a corresponding 40-man move to create a spot for Jackson.
9:15pm: The Tigers will select right-hander Edwin Jackson’s contract from Triple-A Toledo on Friday, Mud Hens manager Doug Mientkiewicz told Brian Buckey of the Toledo Blade. Jackson’s likely to start the Tigers’ game against the Royals, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com suggests.
The nomadic Jackson’s in line for his second major league stint with the Tigers, who signed him to a minors deal on July 22. He previously pitched for the Tigers in 2009. They’re one of a record 14 MLB teams the soon-to-be 36-year-old Jackson has suited up for since his career began with the Dodgers in 2003.
The year Jackson had with the Tigers a decade ago ranks as one of his most effective, as he pitched to a 3.62 ERA over 214 innings. The up-and-down Jackson remained a solid starter as recently as last year in Oakland, which he unexpectedly help pitch to the postseason with a 3.33 ERA across 92 frames after inking a minors pact. Despite that showing, though, Jackson was again unable to score a guaranteed contract last offseason. He ultimately went without a deal until rejoining the Athletics on a minors accord in mid-April, though he never made it back to the majors with the club.
After a short run as a member of the Athletics’ Triple-A team to open the season, they traded Jackson to the Blue Jays for cash considerations in early May. Jackson returned to the majors in Toronto, but he ended up posting horrific numbers – an 11.12 ERA/8.97 FIP in 28 1/3 innings – before the Jays cut the cord on him three weeks ago. He’ll now get to slot back into the rotation of another rebuilding team, Detroit, whose starting staff hasn’t received much production from anyone but Matthew Boyd, Spencer Turnbull and Daniel Norris.
