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Daniel Norris Requires Groin Surgery, Will Miss Eight To Twelve Weeks

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The Tigers announced today that left-hander Daniel Norris has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a left groin strain. Manager Ron Gardenhire further explained to reporters that Norris will undergo surgery to alleviate pressure in the area, and Norris himself revealed that he’ll miss the next eight to 12 weeks as a result of the procedure (Twitter links via MLB.com’s Jason Beck). He’ll have the surgery Thursday, tweets Katie Strang of The Athletic. Left-hander Chad Bell was recalled from Triple-A to take Norris’ spot on the roster for now.

Norris, who turned 25 last week, was a feel-good story back in 2016 when he returned from thyroid cancer and tossed 69 1/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball in 13 starts with Detroit. The Tigers originally picked up Norris, Matthew Boyd and Jairo Labourt in the 2015 David Price blockbuster with the Blue Jays in hopes of landing multiple long-term rotation pieces. Norris at one point looked to be on his way to become that mid-rotation fixture they’d coveted, but he’s stalled out a bit over the past 13 months. Since Opening Day 2017, he’s posted an unsightly 5.38 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9 in 117 innings (20 starts, seven relief appearances). Norris also missed time last season with a strained left groin, so it stands to reason that the injury has been a significant part of his recent struggles.

[Related: Detroit Tigers depth chart]

While the injury could sideline Norris into July or even August, there’s till ample time for him to rebound back to health and prove he can be a viable piece of the pitching staff moving forward. The Tigers control Norris all the way through the 2021 season, although he will be out of minor league options next year, so he’ll need to stick in the Majors beginning next spring at the latest. Nonetheless, given the upside the former top prospect possesses and given the Tigers’ rebuilding status, there’s no reason to think he won’t be given every opportunity to solidify himself as a Major League contributor once he returns from injury.

With Norris now out of the picture for the foreseeable future, the Tigers will utilize Michael Fulmer, Francisco Liriano, Mike Fiers, Jordan Zimmermann and Boyd in the starting rotation.

Tigers Notes: Zimmermann, Draft

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  • Similarly, an injury to Tigers left Daniel Norris will likely dissuade the club from making any kind of drastic move of putting Jordan Zimmermann in the ’pen, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. However, Woodbery notes that Zimmermann’s tenure in Detroit is rapidly beginning to resemble the final few years of Anibal Sanchez’s ill-fated five-year deal. Zimmermann’s K/BB numbers early in the season are more encouraging than in 2016 or 2017, he points out, but the bottom-line results still aren’t there. Woodbery suggests that manager Ron Gardenhire is losing patience, as he’s openly questioning the quality of Zimmermann’s pitches — an uncharacteristic trend for manager that has historically shied away from being too critical of his veterans in a public setting.
  • Carlos Collazo and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America still project the Tigers to select Auburn right-hander Casey Mize with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. As they explain, while organizations like the Astros and Braves have saved money with top picks in recent drafts and reallocated the savings to first-round talents who are considered tough signs later in the draft, that strategy is riskier than it would be in most years this time around. Mize is “a cut above everyone else” in the draft, per the Baseball America duo, and the Tigers would be gambling by trying to get creative at the top of the draft when two clubs (Kansas City and Tampa Bay) will each have three selections between Detroit’s first and second picks. Collazo and Cooper have expanded their mock draft out to pick No. 15 in their latest version.

Tigers Outright Drew VerHagen

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  • The Tigers announced that righty Drew VerHagen cleared waivers and has been sent outright to Triple-A Toledo. The 27-year-old has struggled with the Tigers in each of the past few seasons, totaling 63 2/3 innings with a 6.25 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. But he also possesses a mid-90s heater that has added some velocity in 2018, and he’s made some meaningful gains in swinging-strike rate as well. Manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters this week that the organization maintains high hopes for VerHagen but simply didn’t feel it could continue to let him work on his control at the big league level given the overall state of the Tigers’ bullpen.

Wilson Discusses Early Struggles

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  • Tigers reliever Alex Wilson is going through the toughest stretch of his career, he told reporters after serving up a walk-off homer to Corey Dickerson today (links via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com and George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press). “The only other time I can think of searching a little bit was Double-A, my first go-round in Double-A,” said Wilson. “And that was just learning curve. It’s not so much that anymore. I feel good about what I’m doing. It’s just not being rewarded right now.” Woodery notes that the Tigers have been quick to take action with struggling players this season, optioning Mikie Mahtook and designating Drew VerHagen for assignment. However, Woodbery adds that the Tigers will likely try to get him straightened out in some low-leverage spots before considering a more drastic move. As he points out, Wilson does have a minor league option remaining.

Tigers Place VerHagen On Waivers

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  • The Tigers have already placed right-hander Drew VerHagen on outright waivers after designating him for assignment yesterday, manager Ron Gardenhire revealed today (link via MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery). Gardenhire explained that the decision to designate VerHagen simply boiled down to the fact that the team feels he needs to improve his control and is too thin in its bullpen ranks to allow the out-of-options righty to work on it in the Majors. “”Hopefully he’ll clear (waivers) and get back in our system,” said Gardenhire. “…he’s got the arm and the stuff. It’s just very inconsistent and we can’t afford it right now the way our bullpen’s set up.” As I noted when he was designated, VerHagen has struggled but also shown some positive indicators: namely an uptick in his velocity and a significant spike in his swinging-strike rate.

Tigers Designate Drew VerHagen For Assignment

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The Tigers announced that they’ve recalled outfielder Mike Gerber from Triple-A Toledo and designated right-hander Drew VerHagen for assignment in order to clear a spot on the active roster. Gerber served as the 26th man in yesterday’s doubleheader but will now formally join the active roster.

VerHagen, 27, has struggled with the Tigers in each of the past few seasons, totaling 63 2/3 innings with a 6.25 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. The righty has a mid-90s heater that is averaging 96.1 mph this season, and he’s shown a knack for inducing grounders in his big league career as well (57.8 percent). But VerHagen was extremely homer-prone in 2017, surrendering 10 long balls in just 34 1/3 innings, and he’s out of minor league options, so the Tigers weren’t able to simply send him to the minors.

If he clears waivers, VerHagen will remain with the organization via an outright assignment, though that’s not a given. In addition to his velocity and penchant for ground-balls, he’s also notched a significant jump in his swinging-strike rate in 2017, spiking from a pedestrian 9.5 percent in 2017 to a considerably more impressive 15.4 percent in 2018. It’s a sample of merely 10 innings, of course, but VerHagen has punched out 11 hitters. The jump in strikeout rate and velocity have been complemented by VerHagen throwing his slider roughly twice as often as he did in 2017. Certainly, there are some elements to like about the 6’6″ righty, so perhaps he’ll generate interest elsewhere despite lackluster run-prevention numbers.

The 25-year-old Gerber, meanwhile, spent most of the 2017 season in Double-A, where he turned in a strong .291/.363/.477 slash with 13 homers, 22 doubles, two triples and 10 steals (in 16 attempts) before briefly reaching the Triple-A level. Detroit protected him from the Rule 5 Draft by placing him on the 40-man roster this past offseason on the heels of that quality effort. He’ll join an outfield mix that currently has JaCoby Jones in left, Leonys Martin in center, Nicholas Castellanos in right and Rule 5 pick Victor Reyes as a reserve option on the bench.

Given the team’s desire to hang onto Reyes, it’s likely that Gerber’s recall will be short-term in nature for now. But the rebuilding Tigers could potentially part ways with Martin and/or Castellanos this summer, and Jones is hardly an established fixture in left (though he is off to a very nice start in 2018). Gerber could eventually find himself with a opportunity to take on a greater role at any of the three outfield slots, as he does come with plenty of experience in center field.

Daniel Norris To Stay In Tigers' Bullpen

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  • Tigers southpaw Daniel Norris has only made one start in three appearances this year. For now, the team will continue deploying Norris as a reliever in the majors, as opposed to having him start in the minors, manager Ron Gardenhire told Jason Beck of MLB.com and other reporters. The former high-end prospect’s lone start so far came Friday, when he only allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings against the Royals. However, Norris’ fastball velocity – which was in the low-90s in previous years – averaged just 88.6 mph, per Beck. The 24-year-old’s above-average spin rate helped make up for it, Beck notes, and Norris expects that to serve him well if his missing velocity returns. “I haven’t thrown this slow since I was a sophomore in high school, so I’m figuring something out and I’m learning how to pitch,” Norris said. “And when it does come back, I’m going to be a lot better for it.”

V-Mart Hints At Retirement After 2018

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Tigers DH Victor Martinez hasn’t made any formal decisions on his future, but the five-time All-Star at least hinted at retirement following the 2018 season during an interview with MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. The 39-year-old Martinez, who missed time last season due to an irregular heartbeat, talks with Castrovince about the frightening incident when he first felt symptoms  during a game — a sensation that was all the more troublesome given the history of heart issues that runs in his family. As Castrovince explains at greater length, Martinez lost his father to a heart attack at a young age, which only serves as further motivation for him to spend as much time with his own children as possible.

“Honestly? I’m ready,” the longtime Tigers slugger tells Castrovince. “…I know I left everything in this game. I think the biggest problem for athletes is they don’t know what to do after baseball. That won’t be my problem.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/17/18

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Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Tigers re-signed catcher Kade Scivicque to a minor league contract and assigned him to Double-A Erie yesterday, as Tom Reisenweber of the Erie Times-News first tweeted. The 25-year-old Scivicque was Detroit’s fourth-round pick back in 2015, but the Tigers shipped him to the Braves in the 2016 trade that netted them veteran infielder Erick Aybar. Scivicque hit .270/.326/.365 between the Braves’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates last season and threw out 27 percent of opposing base thieves while posting slightly below-average framing marks, per Baseball Prospectus. With Grayson Greiner and Jarrod Saltalamacchia occupying catching spots for the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate in Toledo, Scivicque will head to Double-A despite posting respectable numbers in Gwinnett last season.

Frankln Perez, Dixon Machado Switch Agencies

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