Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tigers Rumors

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/12/19

By and | at

Keeping up with this weekend’s minor moves…

Latest transactions:

  • The Pirates outrighted left-hander Tyler Lyons to Triple-A Indianapolis, as per MLB.com’s official transactions page.  Lyons cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.  This is the second time in as many seasons that Lyons has been outrighted, as he was also removed from the Cardinals’ 40-man roster last August in the midst of an injury-plagued year that saw Lyons post an 8.64 ERA over 16 2/3 frames for St. Louis.  After signing a minors deal with Pittsburgh over the winter, Lyons didn’t turn things around in a brief stint for the Bucs, with an 11.25 ERA over four Major League innings.  The southpaw did perform better in Triple-A, however, and will head back to the farm to try and recapture the form that made him a solid-to-very good bullpen piece for the Cardinals from 2013-17.

Earlier today:

  • The Tigers outrighted right-hander Drew VerHagen to Triple-A Toledo on Saturday after he cleared waivers, per a team announcement. Because VerHagen has been outrighted in the past, he could have declined the assignment. He chose to accept it, however, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. Detroit kicked VerHagen off its 40-man roster again last weekend when it designated him for assignment after a calamitous performance versus Kansas City. The Royals pounded VerHagen for six earned runs on five hits and three walks in one inning, contributing to the 28-year-old’s hefty 15.00 ERA across six frames this season. VerHagen entered the year with a sub-5.00 ERA/FIP across 141 major league innings, though, and has been a useful arm at the Triple-A level.
  • The Diamondbacks have released infielder Kelby Tomlinson from his minor-league deal, reports MLBTR’s own Steve Adams. After signing with the D-Backs last offseason, Tomlinson has posted just a .596 OPS at the Triple-A level in 2019, failing to crack the big league roster, which would have earned him a $850K salary. In a Major League career spanning parts of four seasons, the 29-year-old owns a career .265/.331/.332 slash line to go with 19 stolen bases. Though the numbers are not especially impressive, Tomlinson is capable of handling three infield positions and played sparingly in left field with the Giants.

Tigers Select Nick Ramirez, Promote Gregory Soto

By | at

The Tigers have selected the contract of southpaw Nick Ramirez, per a club announcement. He’ll take the place of the optioned Zac Reininger. The club had an open 40-man slot to work with.

Ramirez will be joined imminently by fellow lefty Gregory Soto. As Tom Reisenweber of the Erie Times-News first reported on Twitter, the 24-year-old is slated for a call-up. He’s expected to start tomorrow.

It has been a long and winding road to this point for Ramirez, who reaches the majors for the first time just before his 30th birthday. A fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft, the Cal State Fullerton product had to switch from hitting to pitching in order to finally break through.

Though Ramirez’s move to the mound showed promise at times with the Brewers, his original organization, he didn’t show enough of a spark to force his way up. He ended up landing in the Detroit organization on a minors pact over the offseason.

Ramirez has had an intriguing start to the season. He’s working as a starter for the first time and showing newfound strikeout potential. Through 23 1/3 innings (covering two Triple-A and three Double-A starts), Ramirez carries a 2.31 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9.

As for Soto, he has thrown just three games above the High-A level, all coming this year at Double-A. He’s a power pitcher who needs to hone his command, which he has done in the early going this year. Soto is hardly the class of this farm system’s impressive crop of hurlers, but he did get top-30 organizational billing from MLB.com. Since he’s on the 40-man roster already, the Tigers will make use of him for a spot start, though it seems likely he’ll be sent back down thereafter.

James Shields Reportedly Drawing Interest

By | at

TODAY: Shields says he has also given a look to scouts for the Yankees and Orioles, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link). To this point, though, Shields says he has yet to receive a “formal offer.”

It’s hard to believe that no teams were willing to sign Shields to a minor-league deal; reading between the lines, it may simply be that they didn’t bother based upon the indications given by his reps at PSI Sports Management. There does seem to be reason to believe that Shields is looking for a 40-man roster spot upon signing. His salary demands are not fully known. “I definitely am not asking for an outrageous salary,” he says, “but I would want to be treated fairly for what I do and bring to a ball club.”

YESTERDAY: Free agent righty James Shields is drawing increased interest, according to a report from MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. He has thrown recently for teams including the Tigers, Indians and Rangers.

It’s not entirely clear whether those three organizations maintain ongoing interest after watching the veteran hurler. But it seems all but certain that some team will ultimately pick up the durable and experienced 37-year-old.

Shields is obviously not the excellent rotation piece he once was, but he’s the type of steadying presence that could make quite a bit of sense for the right team. Still, his market has been quiet to the point of nonexistence thus far, at least in terms of public reporting.

Last year, Shields worked to a 4.53 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. Those are middling numbers, but it must be noted that Shields compiled them over 204 2/3 frames — a rather hefty tally in this day and age.

It’s possible to imagine a variety of scenarios making sense for Shields. Non-competitive teams may like the idea of slotting him in to gobble up innings and set the tone for younger teammates. And some contenders may even contemplate Shields as a gap-filler or limited-inning starter. He was hit hardest the third (.248/.310/.461 in 252 plate appearances) and fourth (.444/.474/.944 in 19 plate appearances) times through the order last year. Limiting that exposure, perhaps by pairing Shields with a lefty long man, could enhance his usefulness.

Tigers Designate Drew VerHagen For Assignment

By | at

SUNDAY: Detroit has recalled righty Eduardo Jimenez from Toledo to replace VerHagen on its 25-man roster.

SATURDAY: The Tigers have designated right-hander Drew VerHagen for assignment, Jason Beck of MLB.com was among those to report. Detroit has since announced the move, adding that it will make a corresponding transaction Sunday.

The 28-year-old VerHagen has spent his entire pro career with the Tigers, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 draft. But VerHagen’s Tigers tenure may have ended Saturday in a 15-3 humiliation against Kansas City, which throttled him for six earned runs on five hits and three walks in just an inning of work. Even before that disastrous outing, VerHagen began the season in rough fashion. He has now allowed 10 ER on 10 hits and 10 walks, with seven strikeouts, in six frames.

Although VerHagen throws fairly hard and has induced groundballs at a 54.2 percent clip in 146 major league innings, he entered Saturday with an unimpressive 4.87 ERA/4.80 FIP and 6.9 K/9 against 3.64 BB/9 as a Tiger. While VerHagen has almost exclusively pitched as a reliever in Detroit, he has worked mostly as a starter with its Triple-A affiliate in Toledo. VerHagen has been solid in 64 appearances and 44 starts there, having pitched to a 3.89 ERA with familiar strikeout and walk rates (6.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9) across 268 2/3 frames.

AL Central Notes: Boyd, Indians, Mize, Sox, Cease

By | at

Matthew Boyd elevated his stock considerably with a strong start to the season and a heavier reliance on four-seamers and sliders, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently took a look at whether the Tigers might be open to trading the 28-year-old lefty. While the rebuilding Detroit club likely isn’t in a position to wholly refuse offers on virtually anyone on the roster, the Tigers do have a preference if they’re to move Boyd, Rosenthal reports. Given the glut of young pitching in the upper minors, the team’s ideal trade package for Boyd would center around a controllable young hitter with substantial upside. The Tigers needn’t feel compelled to move Boyd either this summer or even in the 2019-20 offseason, as he’s still controlled for another three seasons, but his improvements thus far appear more legitimate than many early-season, small-sample success stories. It’s easy to imagine that he’s already more appealing to other clubs than he was a month ago, and even if the Tigers ultimately hang onto him, Boyd will surely be one of the most sought-after arms in the game this summer if he maintains his early output.

Here’s more from the American League Central…

  • Right-hander Casey Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, tossed a no-hitter in his Double-A debut following a midweek promotion, but the Tigers aren’t planning to accelerate his timeline to the Major Leagues based on that dominant effort, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. “[General manager Al Avila] has told me, ’Don’t even look at them,'” manager Ron Gardenhire tells McCosky of Mize and fellow top pitching prospects Matt Manning and Alex Faedo. “So, I am happy they’re doing well, but they are not in my thoughts.” Both Avila and assistant GM David Chadd were present to watch Mize’s one-walk, no-hitter live and will watch Faedo an Manning this week as well. However, McCosky notes that the pair isn’t getting live looks at those young arms with an eye toward a near-term promotion. Faedo has just 89 innings above A-ball, while Manning has just 39 1/3.
  • The Indians left themselves little margin for error this past offseason and are now paying the price, writes Zack Meisel of The Athletic (subscription required). Cleveland pinned its hopes on a dominant rotation but is already down Mike Clevinger and Corey Kluber. While the former is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a teres major strain, he can’t be activated until June 7 given his placement on the 60-day injured list, and there’s no timeline yet for the latter. As far as in-house alternatives, Adam Plutko is still working his way back from a forearm issue, leaving Jefry Rodriguez as the de facto fourth starter and a collection of question marks behind him in the fifth slot. Chih-Wei Hu and non-roster journeyman Asher Wojciechowski are perhaps the likeliest fifth options for an Indians club that currently faces a three-game deficit in the division.
  • Although Tommy John surgery is “on the table” as an option for injured White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon, his health won’t impact top prospect Dylan Cease’s timeline to the big leagues, general manager Rick Hahn told reporters Thursday (link via LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune). “[N]o one is going to be promoted to Chicago simply because there’s a need in Chicago,” said Hahn, stressing that Cease or any other prospect will only be promoted when the player’s development dictates a promotion. “(Cease’s) timeline is not in any way affected by anything that happens with Carlos. It’s only going to be affected by what happens with (Cease).” The 23-year-old Cease, who entered the year as a consensus Top 50 prospect in the game, has done a good job making an early case for a big league debut. Through 24 1/3 innings at Triple-A, he’s pitched to a 3.33 ERA with a 30-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 55.1 percent ground-ball rate.

Tigers Place Josh Harrison On IL, Select Harold Castro

By | at

The Tigers announced Tuesday that they’ve placed second baseman Josh Harrison on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 27, due to a left shoulder contusion. In his place, the club has selected the contract of infielder Harold Castro. Lefty Matt Moore was moved from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding 40-man roster move.

Harrison, 31, inked a one-year deal worth $2MM with the Tigers this winter, reuniting him with Pittsburgh double-play partner Jordy Mercer in the Detroit infield. He’s off to an ugly start to the season, however, hitting .156/.212/.233 through his first 99 trips to the plate. Harrison’s strikeout rate hasn’t spiked to a worrisome degree, though, and over the course of a full season one would imagine that his .181 average on balls in play will bounce back even as his hard-hit and line-drive rates have fallen off from their 2018 levels.

Castro, 25, made his big league debut with the Tigers last season but tallied just 10 plate appearances (with three hits) in September before being outrighted off the 40-man roster following the season. He stuck around with the Tigers, though, and will now get another crack at the Majors on the heels of a strong start in Toledo. Through 76 PAs, Castro is hitting .353/.392/.544 with three homers and four doubles. It’s possible that his newfound spot on the 40-man roster will be in jeopardy once Harrison is ready to go, though Castro does still have three minor league option years remaining, so the organization could also keep him on the 40-man as a valuable depth option who can be shuttled between Toledo and Detroit over the course of the season.

Central Notes: Sano, Wood, Tigers

By | at

Twins third baseman Miguel Sano is launching an official rehab assignment, per a club announcement. He’ll open at the High-A level, with planned stops at the next two rungs on the ladder before MLB activation, MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park was among those to report. Sano has been working back from an injury to his Achilles that healed much more slowly than anticipated. The hope now is that the issue is behind him, but the Twins want to get Sano plenty of reps before bringing him back to the big-league roster. Sano, who’ll turn 26 on May 11th, is looking to bounce back after a highly disappointing 2018 campaign. No doubt the Minnesota organization would like to see him put in some of the work he was prevented from undertaking this spring.

More from the game’s central divisions …

  • The Reds received some unwelcome news on starter Alex Wood, as manager David Bell told reporters including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link) that the southpaw recently suffered a setback while trying to work through the back problems that have sidelined him to date. Wood has yet to appear with his new organization, which had hoped he’d be one of three new veteran starters to bolster the rotation. An examination has been scheduled for Wednesday, at which time more on Wood’s outlook may be known. The 28-year-old is earning $9.65MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility after defeating the Reds in an arb hearing.
  • Health issues are creating problems in the Tigers rotation, which means GM Al Avila is weighing the options for filling in. As Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes, the top Detroit baseball decisionmaker doesn’t see much of interest in free agency; he says the front office will “have to keep our eye on the waiver wire and on guys in the minor leagues who have opt-out clauses.” With nothing doing there at the moment, the Tigers are looking internally. Ryan Carpenter and Kyle Funkhouser both are under consideration, with the team also pondering the possibility of utilizing Blaine Hardy in a swingman role once he’s activated from the IL.
  • It’s awfully tempting to wonder whether one of the Tigers’ blue-chip pitching prospects could instead get the call, particularly after ace-in-the-making Casey Mize spun a rare complete-game no-hitter this evening. Whether that’ll be a possibility at some point remains to be seen, but it’s worth bearing in mind that there are some notable roster considerations that counsel against a quick promotion even beyond service-time considerations. As Avila tells McCosky, the organization anticipates a need to add something like ten prospects to the 40-man roster in advance of this winter’s Rule 5 draft. The club is obviously keeping a close eye on the downstream effects of its decisions.

Tigers Place Jordan Zimmermann On IL With UCL Sprain

By | at

5:27pm: It seems as if Zimmermann is expected to be able to rehab the injury without surgery, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports on Twitter. Team trainer Doug Teter says that the veteran will wait for five to seven days before he begins working back. It’s at least possible Zimmermann could return to the active roster within three or four weeks.

3:05pm: The Tigers announced today that righty Jordan Zimmermann has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow right-hander Zac Reininger.

That’s certainly ominous news for the veteran hurler, who left his start yesterday with elbow troubles. Zimmermann is already pitching on a replacement UCL after previously undergoing Tommy John surgery. It’s not known at this point whether a surgical outcome is on the table.

Injury Notes: Zimmermann, Smyly, Yankees

By | at

The Tigers are holding their breath after seeing starter Jordan Zimmermann depart with discomfort in his right elbow, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press was among those to report on Twitter. More on his outlook will be known after he’s evaluated tomorrow, but it seems there’s a bit of worry from within the organization. Zimmermann’s tenure in Detroit has been nothing short of disastrous; he entered the season with a cumulative 5.24 ERA and is sitting on a 5.93 mark through six starts this year. The club owes him $25MM this year and the same for 2020.

More on the health front:

  • Rangers lefty Drew Smyly says he thinks he’ll be capable of returning after skipping only a starter or two, as MLB.com’s TR Sullivan tweets. He explains that he is just dealing with arm fatigue in his first full season back following Tommy John surgery. That’s reasonably promising news, standing alone. Trouble is, the Texas organization really needs innings right away. Prospect Taylor Hearn was bombed tonight, leaving the bullpen to pick up the pieces. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes on Twitter, veteran righty Jeanmar Gomez took the brunt of the damage and may now be at risk of losing his spot on the roster as the club scrambles to cover innings in the coming days.
  • With loads of significant players on the injured list, there are always quite a few Yankees updates of note. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch rounds up the latest in one concise tweet. Aaron Hicks and Troy Tulowitzki both appear close to full (minor-league) game action, which suggests both may not be far off from a return to the MLB roster. Miguel Andujar is slated to appear at third base in extended spring action tomorrow. That represents the latest promising sign as he attempts to stave off surgery to address a shoulder injury that isn’t preventing him from hitting but has hampered his throwing. Just how that’ll all turn out remains to be seen, but it appears there is enough promise that he’s going to try to ramp back up at the hot corner.
  • As for star Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, the biceps issue that drove him to the injured list appears to be sorted. But he’s now dealing with a new shoulder malady. Per Andy Martino of SNY.tv, the hope is that this new problem will only extend his absence by a week or so. It’s all a bit foggy but seems less than concerning on the whole, at least in comparison to the club’s overall injury malaise. Having treaded water admirably thus far, the Yanks can go another week without Stanton. They are still in good position in the AL East — so long as their health fortunes finally turn, at least.

AL Central Notes: Mize, Carrasco, Soler

By and | at

The Tigers announced Thursday that top pitching prospect Casey Mize has been promoted to Double-A Erie. Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, tore through an early assignment to Class-A Advanced, posting a comical 0.35 ERA with a 25-to-1 K/BB ratio in 26 innings of work prior to the promotion. The former Auburn ace, clearly miles ahead of the competition he faced at that first stop, looks to be on a relatively fast track to the big leagues. The 21-year-old (22 on May 1) totaled 128 1/3 innings between college ball and the minor leagues last season, so he may not even be on all that aggressive of an innings cap (although surely the Tigers will exercise some degree of caution as pertains to his workload). Widely regarded as one of the game’s best overall prospects, Mize could put himself in the conversation for a big league promotion this summer or in early 2020, at the latest, assuming things go smoothly in Double-A and Triple-A.

More from the division…

  • An MRI revealed no damage in the ailing knee of Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Carrasco tweaked the knee in his most recent start against the Marlins while covering first base on a grounder, and while he finished that frame (the fourth), he didn’t return for the fifth. The righty told skipper Terry Francona that the knee had begun to tighten up, and the Cleveland manager understandably opted to go the cautious route. Carrasco is in line to make his next scheduled start on Sunday and seemingly won’t have any limitations placed on him.
  • The Royals are cognizant of the fact that Jorge Soler’s work in right field is a work in progress, at best, but the organization plans to continue giving him opportunities to improve, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. It seems the team believes there’s better glovework to be unlocked with more reps, with Soler possessing the physical tools needed to man the position. The coaching staff is stressing the need for him to take better routes to the ball — particularly when it’s hit over his head. There’s little doubt that Soler’s upside would be maximized by playing on the grass regularly, rather than serving solely as a DH, though he has already logged more than two thousand MLB innings in the outfield without mastering the gig. He’s also pacing the American League with 39 strikeouts and carrying a .288 on-base percentage, which arguably represent larger concerns. Soler is under contract through 2020 under the international free agent contract he originally signed out of Cuba. The out-of-options 27-year-old will be eligible for arbitration for one season thereafter.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top