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Tigers Place Jose Cisnero On Waivers

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The Tigers have placed right-handed reliever José Cisnero on waivers, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). All 29 other clubs will have 48 hours to claim him and take on his remaining salary. If he goes unclaimed, he can reject an outright assignment to the minors in favor of free agency while retaining the remainder of his $2.3MM salary, as is his right as a player with more than five years of Major League service time. The Tigers, however, don’t have to assign him to a minor league affiliate if he goes unclaimed and can opt to keep him on the Major League roster.

Cisnero, 34, drew at least some level of deadline interest, but no deal was ever reached to send him to another club. He’s slated for free agency at season’s end and is thus a pure rental for any club that places a claim. Like the other slew of veteran players placed on outright waivers today, his waiver window will claim before the Aug. 31, 11:59pm ET deadline for postseason eligibility, making him a potentially “free” (beyond the financial cost) bullpen addition for a postseason contender.

In 48 2/3 innings this season, Cisnero is sitting on an ugly 5.36 ERA, though some of the under-the-hood numbers offer a bit more promise. He’s averaged 96 mph on his heater and fanned a quarter of his opponents against a respectable (albeit higher-than-average) 9% walk rate. Cisnero has been plagued by a lofty .343 average on balls in play despite yielding hard contact at a roughly league-average rate. Most of his struggles have been fairly recent, too. The righty touted a 2.18 ERA through the early portion of July but has been hammered for 21 earned runs in his past 15 1/3 frames.

Miserable as these past six or so weeks have been, Cisnero has a track record that a contending club might feel is worth taking a chance on. From Opening Day 2020 through early July of this year, he racked up 149 1/3 innings of 2.77 ERA ball with a 24.5% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate. He totaled 38 holds and five saves along the way, yielding just 0.60 homers per nine frames and keeping the ball on the ground at a 42.5% clip.

Waiver priority for Cisnero (and others on outright waivers) will be determined based on reverse standings. As MLBTR has reported at multiple points in the past, outright waiver priority is not league-specific (as was the case under the now-defunct revocable August trade waivers). If Cisnero is not claimed and ultimately does become a free agent, the Tigers will remain on the hook for the bulk of his salary, though he’d technically have a few hours to latch on with a new team on a free-agent deal between the point at which he clears and the end of the day Thursday. That would allow him to retain postseason eligibility for a new team.

Tigers Claim Bennett Sousa From Brewers

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The Tigers announced that they have claimed left-hander Bennett Sousa off waivers from the Brewers and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. They already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster after recently outrighting infielder Isan Díaz. The Brewers had not previously announced that Sousa was removed from their roster, so their 40-man count drops to 39.

Sousa, 28, was a 10th round pick of the White Sox in 2018 and was with that organization until the start of this year, but the past six months have been fairly tumultuous for him. He was designated for assignment in February, went to the Reds on a waiver claim, then to the Brewers in a cash deal in April. He served as an up-and-down pitcher for Milwaukee before landing on the injured list in June due to left shoulder nerve irritation, only getting reinstated a few weeks back.

Amid all of that, he’s only made two major league appearances this year. He also made 25 for the White Sox last year but has a career earned run average of 9.00 in his 23 innings between those two campaigns. But in his larger sample of minor league work, he’s shown a capability to get both strikeouts and ground balls, though also with a fair share of walks. In 17 innings for Triple-A Nashville this year, he had a 4.76 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 58.5% ground ball rate. In 27 1/3 innings for Triple-A Charlotte last year, he posted a 3.95 ERA, 30.2% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 51.5% grounder rate.

Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris recently hinted that the club’s open roster spot would be used for an external addition rather than for calling up a prospect from within the system. It seems that Sousa is that move, though he’s been optioned to Toledo for now, providing the club with some left-handed relief depth. With rosters expanding from 26 to 28 when the calendar flips to September, the club will still have to decide who gets those active roster spots. Sousa can still be optioned for the rest of this year and one additional season.

Isan Diaz Elects Free Agency

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August 28: The Tigers announced today that Diaz has elected free agency.

August 27: The Tigers announced this afternoon that infielder Isan Diaz has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Toledo. As there had been no prior public indication that Diaz had been designated for assignment and a corresponding addition to the club’s roster was not announced, Detroit’s 40-man roster now stands at 39.

Diaz, 27, made his big league debut with the Marlins back in 2019. A former second-round pick, Diaz has played solid defense at both second and third base but has never managed to hit much in the majors, slashing just .177/.267/.274 in 527 career trips to the plate. He’s been an up-and-down bench player throughout most of his career, with his most expansive role coming with Miami during the 2021 season. That year, Diaz appeared in 89 games and slashed .193/.293/.282 with a wRC+ of 55.

Diaz was outrighted off the Marlins’ roster just before the start of the 2022 campaign before being promptly traded to the Giants for cash. Though he didn’t make a big league appearance in 2022, the Giants returned him to the 40-man roster and deployed him in six games this season, though Diaz batted a woeful .053/.143/.053 in that brief stint with San Francisco. The Giants designated Diaz for assignment earlier this month, at which point he was claimed off waivers by the Tigers. Diaz then appeared in two games with Detroit, though he failed to reach base in his five trips to the plate.

As Diaz has been outrighted previously in his career, he’ll have the opportunity to reject today’s outright assignment and test free agency, should he wish. He’s posted a solid .242/.333/.492 slash line in the minors this year, indicating that it’s possible the 27-year-old infielder has something left in the tank that could be attractive on a minor league deal to clubs in need of infield depth. Should Diaz elect free agency, he would need to sign with a club before September 1 in order to be eligible for the postseason. As for the Tigers, they’ll remain well-stocked with infield options at the Triple-A level in the event Diaz departs, with Tyler Nevin, Eddys Leonard, Nick Maton, and Ryan Kreidler all on the 40-man roster.

Matt Manning Dealing With Lower Back Tightness

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  • Tigers right-hander Matt Manning is preparing to make his next start on Wednesday after exiting his last start with lower back tightness. With that being said, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press indicated yesterday that Manning actually making his start on Wednesday is not a guarantee. Per Petzold, manager AJ Hinch told reporters that the club will “see how the next couple of days are” regarding Manning’s health before determining whether or not he’ll make his start. Petzold suggests right-hander Spencer Turnbull and left-hander Joey Wentz could be options to take the ball on Wednesday should Manning, who sports a 3.93 ERA in 13 starts with the Tigers this season, require a trip to the shelf.

Have The Tigers Found A Hidden Gem Of A Slugger?

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The 2022 Tigers were baseball’s worst offensive team, as the lineup’s near-total lack of production was the chief cause (even beyond a staggering number of pitcher injuries) for a hugely disappointing 66-96 record in what was supposed to be a return to contention.  “Best batter on the 2022 Tigers” is pretty faint praise, and Kerry Carpenter’s 113 plate appearances last season didn’t even make him a qualified hitter, yet Carpenter still took the dubious honor by posting a team-leading 124 wRC+ over his 31 games of work in his rookie season.

While Carpenter hadn’t really been on Detroit’s radar last year amidst the bigger-name veterans or more highly-touted prospects on the roster, a club so suddenly desperate for hitting could hardly afford to look past a promising bat.  This earned him a larger share of playing time heading into 2023, though Carpenter had a modest .217/.280/.464 slash line over his first 75 PA this season.  He was then dealt another setback when he sprained his right shoulder at the end of April, resulting in about six weeks on the injured list.

Upon returning from the IL, however, Carpenter has not just been the Tigers’ best batter, but also quietly one of the most productive bats in baseball.  Since Carpenter was activated on June 9, only nine qualified hitters have topped his 159 wRC+, as he has slashed .317/.380/.575 over 245 PA.  He joined the 20-homer club this past Wednesday, with a grand slam that represented all of Detroit’s offense in a 6-4 loss to the Cubs.

These types of numbers are impressive for anyone, but especially for a 19th-round draft pick from the 2019 draft.  Carpenter hit well in his first pro season, but likely due to the canceled 2020 minor league campaign, he took a bit of a step back in 2021 with a .752 OPS over 461 PA for Double-A Erie.  Carpenter returned to Erie to begin the 2022 season, but he started to tear up pitching at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels, finishing 2022 with a .313/.380/.645 line and 30 homers over an even 400 PA for the two affiliates.

In this sense, Carpenter didn’t exactly come out of nowhere, though few would’ve predicted that he would’ve kept swinging a hot bat in the majors.  And, it is worth noting that Carpenter has still totaled only 433 PA in the big leagues — too small a sample size to clearly state that he is truly for real.  Carpenter’s walk and strikeout rates are also a bit below the league average, and he has some significant splits, as his left-handed swing is lot more productive against right-handed pitching (.938 OPS) than against southpaws (.724 OPS).  Carpenter has also benefited from a .328 BABIP this season, and his .382 wOBA is well above his .362 xwOBA.

That said, a .362 xwOBA ranks in the 87th percentile of all batters, so Carpenter’s production would be very notable if he was “only” delivering at that expected level.  His contact and barrel rates are both well north of average, so it isn’t like he is getting lucky on soft contact.  And, while we’re still operating within a small overall sample size of career at-bats, Carpenter is doing much better against left-handed pitching in 2023 than he did in 2022.

On the defensive side, Carpenter has made some positive strides as a corner outfielder, spending most of his time in right field this year.  A Gold Glove isn’t necessarily in Carpenter’s future, but public metrics have rated his right field work as just a touch below average.  The UZR/150 and Defensive Runs Saved metrics have been more impressed by his 72 1/3 innings in left field, though Carpenter’s solid throwing arm probably makes him a better fit in right field.  While more DH at-bats will be available in Detroit once Miguel Cabrera retires, Carpenter certainly looks like at least a passable corner outfielder, which gives the Tigers more flexibility in how they’ll manage their roster going forward.

Detroit’s 2023 offense is still near the bottom of the league, but there have at least been some signs of life with Carpenter’s production, and solid showings from former top draft picks Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson.  Blue-chip star prospects like Greene and Torkelson have been the faces of the Tigers’ lineup of the future, but striking paydirt on a less-regarded player or two has always been a key element of any successful rebuild.  It looks like the Tigers might have found at least an MLB regular with their 19th-round selection, and Carpenter’s elite production over the last few months might also hint at a higher ceiling.

Tigers Reinstate, Option Spencer Turnbull

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The Tigers reinstated right-hander Spencer Turnbull from the 60-day injured list Wednesday but optioned him to Triple-A Toledo rather than add him to the active roster. He’d been out since early May with a neck injury.

Turnbull, 31 next month, tossed a no-hitter for the Tigers back in 2021 and looked to be in the midst of a breakout season before a torn ulnar collateral ligament necessitated Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2022 season while recovering and made just seven starts earlier this season before incurring the neck issue that’s sidelined him for more than three months. He wasn’t effective when on the mound earlier this year, pitching to a 7.26 ERA with diminished sinker velocity — 93.9 mph on average, compared to 95.1 mph pre-surgery —  in just 33 1/3 innings of work. Turnbull’s 16.6% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 48.5% grounder rate were all considerably worse than the marks he posted in nine starts prior to 2021’s elbow injury.

Things haven’t gone particularly well for the right-hander on his minor league rehab assignment in recent weeks. Since returning to a mound in late July, he’s logged a 6.75 ERA in 21 1/3 innings — albeit with more encouraging strikeout and walk rates of 24.1% and 7.3%, respectively. Still, Turnbull gave up at least two runs in five of his six minor league outings despite averaging less than 3 2/3 innings per appearance. He’ll try to get back on track in Toledo between now and season’s end.

The timing of the optional assignment is critical, as well. Turnbull is six days away from reaching five years of Major League service time — the point at which a player gains the right to refuse an optional assignment to the minor leagues. The Tigers could have conceivably given Turnbull one big league start to see how he fared before making a decision on whether to option him, but even making two starts in the Majors would’ve resulted in him gaining the ability to decline when the team tried to option him. That service time is also worth keeping an eye on for club control purposes; if Turnbull gains even six more days of MLB service this year, he’ll be eligible for free agency following the 2024 season. If he remains in Triple-A, he’d be controllable through the 2025 campaign.

Of course, that assumes Turnbull remains in the team’s plans. He’ll be owed a small raise on this year’s $1.8MM salary in arbitration over the winter, and given the manner in which the season has played out, it can’t be considered a lock that he’ll be tendered a contract. He’d be a low-cost risk for a team in need of pitching depth, so it’d be sensible enough to just commit the $2MM or so to see if he can return to form, but Turnbull was drafted and developed by the preceding front office regime. Time will tell how the new group feels it’s best to proceed.

From 2019-21, Turnbull made 50 starts for Detroit, pitching to a 4.13 ERA with a 21.9% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate, 50.3% ground-ball rate and 0.64 HR/9 in 255 frames. He looked to be taking his game to new heights in 2021, pitching 50 innings with a 2.88 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 57.2% grounder rate prior to his injury. With Turnbull in Toledo for the time being, the Tigers will rely on Eduardo Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Reese Olson and Alex Faedo in the starting rotation.

Tigers To Play Riley Greene More Frequently In Corner Outfield

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On Monday evening, Riley Greene played a defensive position other than center field for the first time in his big league career. When the Tigers took the field against the Cubs in the top of the first inning, Greene was in right field, while the newly recalled Parker Meadows was manning center in his MLB debut.

Meadows has been a center fielder since he was taken out of high school in the second round of the 2018 draft. Baseball America praised his fielding this offseason, naming him the best defensive outfielder in the Tigers’ system and giving his glove a 60 (plus) on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. Meanwhile, Greene has posted middling to below-average marks in center field.

In 79 games this season, he has committed five errors and recorded only one outfield assist. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged Greene as eight runs below average in 675 innings. Only Esteury Ruiz and Víctor Robles have a lower DRS at the position. Statcast hasn’t been quite so bearish, pegging Greene as exactly a league average defender.

Regardless, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and president of baseball operations Scott Harris suggested that Meadows would take over the primary center field duties (links via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press and Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic). While Hinch stressed that the move “doesn’t mean (Greene’s) days in center are over,” it seems Meadows will get the bulk of the playing time there down the stretch.

The mixed at best defensive reviews aren’t completely unexpected. Most prospect evaluators suggested Greene was likely to wind up in a corner spot even as he was coming through the minor league ranks. While Greene has decent speed, the spacious Comerica Park outfield leaves a lot of ground to cover.

As Harris pointed out, Greene has also dealt with a pair of significant lower body injuries. He broke his right foot during last year’s Spring Training — an injury that quite likely delayed his MLB debut by a few months — and suffered a stress fracture in his left leg this May. It’s possible that slightly lightening his defensive responsibilities could help him avoid future injury.

Greene also simply hits well enough that he doesn’t need to stick in center field to be a valuable player. His .838 OPS and 133 wRC+ would rank third among AL outfielders if he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. The former fifth overall pick has always been regarded as an offense-first player. That’s not the case for Meadows, whose profile comes with some swing-and-miss concerns.

Meadows has hit .256/.337/.474 through 517 Triple-A plate appearances on the season. That’s roughly average offense in a very hitter-friendly setting at the top minor league level. Meadows has power potential and draws a decent number of walks but has run slightly elevated whiff numbers throughout his career. That includes a higher than average 23.8% strikeout percentage this season. There’d be more leeway for Meadows to be an everyday player if he’s playing in the middle of the diamond than in a corner, where the offensive expectations are a bit higher.

Guardians Claim Eric Haase, Designate Zack Collins

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The Tigers announced Monday that catcher Eric Haase, whom they designated for assignment over the weekend, has been claimed off waivers by the Guardians. Cleveland designated fellow catcher Zack Collins for assignment in a corresponding move.

Haase, 30, goes from his hometown team back to the team that originally drafted him and gave him his Major League debut back in 2018. Cleveland selected Haase in the seventh round of the 2011 draft but traded him to Detroit for cash in Jan. 2020. He appeared in just seven games during the shortened 2020 season but broke out in 2021 and has seen semi-regular playing time over the past three seasons.

In 2021-22, Haase turned in a .242/.295/.451 batting line, swatting 36 home runs, 29 doubles and a pair of triples in 732 plate appearances. That offense clocked in about six percent better than league average, by measure of wRC+, and Haase showed some defensive versatility along the way. In addition to his work behind the plate, the Tigers frequently used him in left field (in addition to a pair of one-off appearances in right field and at first base).

The 2023 season has been a rough one for Haase, however. In 286 trips to the plate, he’s slashing .201/.246/.284. Haase has seen his ground-ball rate increase, while his exit velocity and hard-hit rate have both trended in the wrong direction. He’s also popping the ball up to the infield at a career-high rate.

Guardians catchers rank dead-last in offense this season, batting a combined .184/.258/.312. Even a small step toward Haase’s 2021-22 production would clear that remarkably low bar. For now, Haase will split time behind the plate with top prospect Bo Naylor. If he shows well down the stretch, Haase can be retained for another three years via arbitration, so there’s potential for him to stick around for awhile in his original organization. He’s out of minor league options, however, meaning he can’t be sent down without first clearing waivers.

Collins, 28, was the No. 10 overall draft pick by the White Sox out of Miami back in 2016 but has yet to establish himself at the MLB level. He’s spent parts of five seasons in the Majors and tallied 465 plate appearances during that time. His .188/.300/.329 slash is illustrative of his struggles to make contact, though. Collins has a huge 13.1% walk rate in his career, but he’s also fanned in 33.5% of his plate appearances. He’s a .252/.371/.468 hitter in 1040 Triple-A plate appearances.

Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, the only action the Guardians can take with Collins is to attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. He’ll be placed on either outright waivers or release waivers within the next few days.

Tigers To Promote Parker Meadows

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The Tigers announced this evening that they are planning to recall outfielder Parker Meadows from Triple-A tomorrow. The 23-year-old outfielder’s first appearance will be his major league debut. Since Meadows in on the 40-man roster already, a corresponding move will only be necessary to make room for him on the active roster.

Meadows, the brother of fellow Tiger Austin Meadows, was selected by Detroit out of high school in the second round of the 2018 draft. Meadows had something of a breakout season last year that saw him promoted from High-A to Double-A after just 14 games. From there, Meadows would go on to slash an impressive .275/.354/.466 in 113 games with a solid 10.6% walk rate and a strikeout rate of just 18.4%. That strong season left Meadows as one of the club’s better prospects entering the 2023 season, with Fangraphs considering him Detroit’s sixth-best prospect while MLB.com’s midseason ranking places him tenth in the Tigers’ system.

That discrepancy, of course, can partially be explained by the additions of Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle, both of whom were drafted by the Tigers last month. In addition to that, however, Meadows simply hasn’t replicated his impressive season last year at the Triple-A level in 2023, posting a more pedestrian slash line of .256/.337/.474 in 517 trips to the plate this year. While Meadows’ walk rate has actually ticked up to 11% and he’s hitting for more power with a .218 ISO in 2023, his reduced strikeout rate from last year has ticked back up to 23.8%, not far off from his 24.7% career average. The additional punchouts leave Meadows with a wRC+ of 97 that’s a bit below league average.

Despite something of a step back with the bat this year, there’s still reason for optimism regarding his impact on the Tigers. If Meadows can provide the late-season spark that youngster Kerry Carpenter provided in 2022 (126 wRC+ in 113 at-bats last year), the club would have a solid trio of young outfielders headed into the 2024 campaign next season between Meadows, Carpenter, and Riley Greene. Even if Meadows doesn’t reach those same heights, he seems certain to provide quality defense and baserunning as a speedy center fielder who has swiped 19 bags at Triple-A this year in 21 attempts.

Going forward, Meadows seems likely to cut into the playing time of Akil Baddoo in the outfield as the 24-year-old has struggled to a .221/.311/.370 slash line this season with a wRC+ of just 89. Matt Vierling, Zach McKinstry, and Nick Maton have gotten reps in the outfield as well, though each of that trio has primarily played the infield for the Tigers this season.

Tigers Sign Carson Kelly, Designate Eric Haase

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5:10PM: Kelly’s club option is worth $3.5MM plus incentives, as per Evan Petzold.  This is less than the $4.275MM Kelly made in 2023, and less than the minimal raise Kelly would’ve received in arbitration, though it can assumed that Kelly can probably make up that salary if he hits his incentive bonuses.

4:11PM: The Tigers’ deal with Kelly contains a club option for the 2024 season, according to The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen (via X).  The option essentially formalizes the arbitration control Detroit already held over Kelly’s services, and forces the Tigers to make a quicker decision on Kelly’s offseason fate.

3:26PM: The Tigers have officially announced Kelly’s signing and Haase’s DFA, with the added detail that Kelly has signed a Major League contract.

3:04PM: Carson Kelly looks to have signed with the Tigers, as Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (X link) was the first of several Tigers beat writers to note that Kelly was on field with the team prior to today’s game.  Petzold later reported that the Tigers have created roster space for Kelly by designating catcher/outfielder Eric Haase for assignment.

The Diamondbacks DFA’ed and then released Kelly last week after the catcher cleared waivers, making the 29-year-old a free agent for the first time in his pro career.  Formerly a top-100 prospect during his time in the Cardinals’ farm system, Kelly was one of the centerpieces of the trade that sent Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis, as the D’Backs were hoping Kelly could be their catcher of the future.  A strong 2019 season implied that Kelly was breaking out, yet the backstop’s numbers have eroded since he suffered a fractured wrist in June 2021.

Over 618 plate appearances since that wrist fracture, Kelly has hit only .216/.286/.337, translating to a 72 wRC+.  It had already appeared as if the D’Backs had moved on at the catching position when they acquired Gabriel Moreno last winter, but Kelly’s playing time was further erased when his right forearm was fractured after being hit by a pitch in Spring Training.  As a result, Kelly didn’t make his 2023 debut until June 12, and had only a .580 OPS this season before Arizona cut ties.

The Tigers could view Kelly as a change-of-scenery candidate, and is controlled through the 2024 season via his final year of arbitration eligibility if Detroit opts to tender him a contract.  For now, Kelly is ticketed for backup duty since Jake Rogers is having a solid enough year to establish himself as Detroit’s regular starter behind the plate.  For much of the season, the Tigers have given Rogers roughly twice as many starts as Haase, with the versatile Haase also getting some work as a left fielder.

A Detroit native, Haase hit .242/.291/.451 with 36 homers over 732 PA in 2021-22, with his power helping generate a 106 wRC+ despite the lackluster average and OBP.  Haase was one of the few Tigers players who delivered above-average offense during their disastrous 2022 season, but his own bat went cold this year, as Haase hit only .201/.246/.284 with four home runs over 282 PA.  A big dropoff in hard contact led to Haase’s extended slump, and it now might cost him his spot in the organization.

Haase turns 31 in December, though he still has all of his arbitration years, making him controllable through the 2026 season.  That control, his past power numbers, and Haase’s ability to play in left field (though the defensive metrics don’t like his glovework on the grass in 2023) could get him a look from another team on a waiver claim, especially with catching depth being even trickier to find post-trade deadline.

Haase is out of minor league options, so the Tigers had to go the DFA route in order to move him off the active roster.  Because he was outrighted in the past, Haase has the right to elect free agency and decline an outright assignment to the Tigers’ farm system if he clears waivers.

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