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Tigers Place Austin Meadows, Victor Reyes On 10-Day IL

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May 16: The Tigers have formally placed Meadows (vertigo) and Reyes (right quad strain) on the 10-day injured list. Righty Alex Faedo and outfielder Daz Cameron have been recalled from Toledo in their place.

May 15: Austin Meadows and Victor Reyes both made early exits from the Tigers’ 5-1 win over the Orioles today, and postgame, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that the two outfielders would be placed on the 10-day injured list.

Meadows missed three games last week due to a sinus infection, and he hadn’t played in Detroit’s previous two games due to what he described as dizziness or vertigo-like symptoms.  Attempting to play today, Meadows managed only one inning before having to depart, with Hinch saying that Meadows felt nauseous and lightheaded in addition to continued dizziness.  The skipper said that Meadows will meet with a doctor Monday in Florida when the Tigers travel to visit the Rays.

Reyes was only just activated from the IL earlier today after missing three weeks with a left quad strain.  Unfortunately for Reyes, he suffered a strain of his right quad while running the bases after a double in his first at-bat.  Reyes had to be immediately replaced by a pinch-runner.

The Tigers were going to call up Alex Faedo to start Monday’s game against Tampa Bay, so Faedo will take the roster place of one of the injured outfielders.  It would seem like a position player would be the other callup in order to help bolster the bench, and this could provide an opening for the recently-demoted Akil Baddoo to return to the majors.  However, Baddoo hasn’t hit much during his week in Triple-A, so the Tigers might want to give him more time to really get on track before calling him back up the Show.

Derek Hill and Willi Castro can fill in for Meadows and Reyes in the outfield, but losing more position players won’t help a Detroit team that has been collectively ice-cold the plate.  Meadows is one of the only Tigers with above-average production to date, with a .270/.365/.350 slash line over his first 115 plate appearances.

Michael Pineda Won’t Require Surgery For Fractured Finger

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May 15: The Tigers announced that they have placed Pineda on the IL, as expected, with Victor Reyes heading in the other direction as a corresponding move.

May 14: Tigers right-hander Michael Pineda had to leave today’s game in the second inning after being hit in his throwing hand by a Ramon Urias line drive.  Following the game, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that Pineda had suffered a fractured right middle finger.  A trip to the injured list is inevitable, and Hinch said that Pineda will visit specialists to determine the next course of action in recovery.

It’s a tough outcome for both Pineda and the Tigers, who are already missing multiple members of their ideal starting rotation.  Matt Manning (shoulder discomfort) may be within a week or two of returning to action, but Casey Mize (elbow sprain) didn’t last long in his first rehab start, and his rehab assignment has now been paused.  Tyler Alexander also made some spot starts earlier this season, before a left elbow sprain put the southpaw on the shelf.

Pineda missed some time himself at the start of the year, as visa issues delayed his arrival to Spring Training and thus his preseason prep was delayed.  Though five starts and 22 1/3 innings, Pineda has a 3.22 ERA, though with only a 13.63% strikeout rate.  While that K% is a particular low, Pineda’s story for the last four seasons has been delivering some solid bottom-line numbers (3.77 ERA over 303 innings) despite generally unimpressive peripherals.  Pineda signed a one-year, $5.5MM deal that contains up to $2.5MM in bonus money based on innings totals, but he’ll have trouble hitting any of those innings thresholds if he misses substantial time on the IL.

The Tigers signed Pineda to add some veteran experience to their young staff, and just five weeks into the season, that pitching depth has already been sorely tested.  Tarik Skubal has been excellent and Eduardo Rodriguez has started to turn things around after a rough start, but Detroit has turned to Beau Brieske, Alex Faedo, and Joey Wentz to all make their first Major League starts.

Faedo was already expected to be recalled from Triple-A to start Monday’s game, and Brieske will likely stick in the rotation after having posted some decent results to date.  Wentz could also get another look for a start or two until the Tigers feel Manning is ready to be activated from the injured list.

Latest On Austin Meadows

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  • Austin Meadows has missed the Tigers’ last two games due to what the outfielder described as vertigo-like symptoms and a sensation of spinning.  “I don’t know if it’s an infection or just inner ear dizziness,” Meadows told The Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold and other reporters.  Referring to missing three of four games during a recent series against the Astros, Meadows said “I was pretty sick in Houston.  I had a sinus infection, so I don’t know if it’s a residual effect from that, or whatever is it.”  On the plus side, Meadows did a normal set of baseball drills prior to today’s game, so he might not be far away from a return.  Meadows has hit .270/.365/.350 over 115 PA, good for a 120 wRC+ that is easily the best of any regular in the offensively-challenged Detroit lineup.

Drew Hutchison Elects Free Agency

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The Tigers announced that right-handed pitcher Drew Hutchison has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. The 31-year-old veteran signed with the team in March but was designated for assignment earlier this week to clear a space on the 40-man roster for young starter Joey Wentz.

Through 10 Detroit appearances this year Hutchison has soaked up 15 plus innings and posted a 4.60 ERA, albeit with a bloated 16.7% walk rate. After a two-year run in the Tigers system it seems the organization, owner of a dismal 9-23 record to start the Major League season, prefers to shake up the roster by infusing some younger players over rostering a frequently shuttled veteran type. The former fifteenth-rounder is just a season removed from 21 plus innings of 2.11 ERA ball though, and has put up solid results in the upper minors for most of his career.

Hutchison will now head to a largely picked-clean market of free agents in hopes of latching on with another team. That the righty cleared waivers hints that his next deal will likely be of the minor league variety; given the conservative handling of many pitchers this year, however, the odds are good that Hutchison will draw interest as a depth piece in the near future. In the event of a promotion and late career breakout, a signing team can keep Hutchison under team control via arbitration through the 2023 season.

Tigers Claim Sam Howard From Pirates

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The Tigers announced they’ve claimed reliever Sam Howard off waivers from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. He’d been designated for assignment last week. Detroit had two vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary.

Howard, 29, has pitched in the big leagues with the Rockies and Bucs in each of the past five seasons. The Georgia Southern product has shown the ability to generate plenty of whiffs, but he’s also battled notable control woes. He’s tallied 91 MLB innings across 103 appearances, pitching to a 5.34 ERA with a solid 27.2% strikeout rate but a 14.1% walk percentage. He had an even more extreme version of that batted ball-averse style last season, when he fanned 30.2% but walked 16.1% of opponents in a personal-high 45 innings.

Those strike-throwing concerns became problematic enough for the Bucs to move on, but the Tigers will roll the dice on Howard’s swing-and-miss capabilities. He generated whiffs on 15.8% of his offerings last season, the 16th-highest rate among relievers with 40+ innings pitched. His four-seam fastball, in particular, was excellent at missing bats.

Howard still has a couple minor league option years remaining, so the Tigers can keep him at Toledo as a depth option for a while if he holds onto a 40-man roster spot. He’ll be the third left-handed reliever on the depth chart behind offseason signee Andrew Chafin and primary closer Gregory Soto.

AL Notes: Bubic, Greene, Brnovich

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The Royals announced yesterday that they optioned left-hander Kris Bubic to Triple-A Omaha, with righty Jonathan Heasley taking his spot on the active roster.

Over the past couple of years, Bubic seemed to be establishing himself as a solid, if unspectacular, part of the club’s rotation. Over 2020 and 2021, he made 30 starts and nine appearances out of the bullpen, throwing 180 innings with a 4.40 ERA. His 21% strikeout rate, 10.4% walk rate and 46.8% ground ball rate were all within a few points of league average. However, just about everything has gone in the wrong direction this year, as his ERA is currently at 12.83, with his strikeout rate dropping to 14.7%, his walk rate jumping to 16.2% and his grounder rate sinking to 38.3%. He’ll now head to Omaha and try to get the train back on the tracks. Despite having over two years of MLB service time now, he’s still just 24 years old and has plenty of time to recover.

The team is off to a disappointing 10-19 start. Although Bubic and Carlos Hernandez have struggled in the rotation, the club’s biggest weakness so far has been the bats. The team-wide slash line of .216/.282/.308 amounts to a wRC+ of 76, dead last in the majors.

Some other notes from the American League…

  • During Spring Training, it seemed like the Tigers were poised to have their top two prospects crack the Opening Day roster. In the end, first baseman Spencer Torkelson followed through, but outfielder Riley Greene couldn’t make it after fracturing his foot just a few days before the opener. It seems he could be nearing a return to the field, with Jason Beck of MLB.com relaying word from manager A.J. Hinch that Greene is about to resume baseball activities. The club is out to a miserable 9-23 start, a worse record than every team except for the Cincinnati Reds. The primary culprit has been the offense, with Austin Meadows the only Tiger having a wRC+ higher than 101 in more than 50 plate appearances. There’s no guarantee a young player will hit the ground running in his first taste of MLB action, as evidenced by Torkelson’s .146/.276/.258 line, but it’s possible that Greene could provide a boost based on his .308/.400/.553 line in Triple-A last year. Since the demotion of Akil Baddoo, the outfield mix consists of Meadows, Willi Castro, Derek Hill and Robbie Grossman. With Grossman approaching free agency at season’s end, he’s a likely trade candidate, unless the Tigers can vault themselves back into contention over the next few months.
  • The Orioles announced that pitching prospect Kyle Brnovich underwent Tommy John surgery this week, as relayed by Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Brnovich was drafted by the Angels and traded to the Orioles as part of the Dylan Bundy deal before pitching for his original organization. Last year, he logged 95 innings across High-A and Double-A with a 3.32 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate. Based on that strong season, he’s now considered the #30 prospect in the organization by Baseball America and #17 by FanGraphs. He started the year in Triple-A but was only able to throw eight innings before being shut down. He’ll now miss the remainder of this season, but could be pushing for a rotation spot in the second half of next year, given the usual 12-18 month recovery time from the procedure. Even with this setback, the club’s future rotation picture is starting to look better. Bruce Zimmermann, Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish are showing signs of promise in the early going, to varying degrees, with prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall pitching well in Triple-A and surely nearing their MLB debuts.

Tigers To Designate Drew Hutchison For Assignment

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The Tigers will designate righty Drew Hutchison for assignment prior to tonight’s game against the A’s, the team announced yesterday.  The move will create a spot on the active 26-man roster for rookie Joey Wentz, whose call-up was covered here yesterday.  Wentz will make his MLB debut tonight, and then the Tigers will decide whether he or fellow rookie Alex Faedo will get a start next week.

The Hutchison DFA will drop the Tigers’ 40-man roster down to 39.  Hutchison, 31, is no stranger to being bounced off a 40-man roster.  The Blue Jays’ 2015 Opening Day starter, Hutchison was outrighted by the Pirates in 2017, the Pirates and Rangers in 2018, and his current team, the Tigers, last year.  So far, Hutchison has added another 15 2/3 innings to his resume in 2022, working as a low-leverage reliever for Detroit.

The Tigers’ rotation is the more pressing concern, with an ERA that ranks 22nd in baseball and has averaged 4.71 innings per start.  Tarik Skubal has been a revelation, and free agent signings Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Pineda have done acceptable work.  Matt Manning is working his way back from a shoulder injury, while Casey Mize is set for his first rehab start tomorrow after an elbow sprain.  Though Wentz, Faedo, and Beau Brieske are not considered top prospects, the rookies will continue to deserve as the Tigers’ primary depth options once everyone is healthy.

Tigers To Promote Joey Wentz

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Left-hander Joey Wentz is being called up to start the Tigers’ game against the A’s on Wednesday, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press).  It will be the first career Major League appearance for Wentz, the 40th overall pick of the 2016 draft.

The Braves selected Wentz in that draft, but dealt the southpaw to Detroit as part of the Shane Greene trade in July 2019.  Wentz had run into some struggles at Double-A that season, but the deal was still seen as a nice score for the then-rebuilding Tigers, as Wentz was a well-regarded young starter.  Baseball Prospectus even ranked Wentz as the 45th-best prospect in all of baseball prior to the 2018 campaign.

However, injuries took a toll, as Wentz underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020.  Returning to action in May 2021, Wentz logged a 4.50 ERA over 72 combined innings with the Tigers’ A-ball and Double-A affiliates.  Making his Triple-A debut this season, Wentz has a 4.12 ERA and a 33.8% strikeout rate in 19 2/3 innings for the Toledo Mud Hens, though his 13% walk rate and 25% homer rate are cause for concern.

Baseball America rates the 24-year-old Wentz as the ninth-best prospect in Detroit’s farm system, while MLB Pipeline has the left-hander 12th on its list.  Wentz’s changeup is considered to be his best pitch, with BA’s scouting report citing Wentz’s changeup a nice complement with a fastball that clocks in the low 90’s.  Control has been Wentz’s biggest issue throughout his minor league career, and BA feels his ceiling in the majors is as “a back-end starter who caps at five innings or a long reliever.”

Wentz hasn’t thrown more than 4 2/3 innings or 84 pitches in any of his five outings at Triple-A, so the Tigers figures to keep him on somewhat of a short leash on Wednesday.  That said, Detroit will obviously take anything they can get, as the club continues to try and fill innings within a rotation shorthanded from injuries.  A scheduling crunch is also in play — the Tigers have a doubleheader with the Athletics today, and are in the midst of a stretch of 17 games in 15 days.

As a result, Hinch said that Wentz or Alex Faedo (who starts the second game of today’s doubleheader) will remain in the rotation until some of the regular starters are available.  “Some of it depends on performance.  Some of it depends on matchup,” Hinch said of the criteria the team will use to evaluate between Faedo and Wentz.

Matt Manning, Casey Mize, and Tyler Alexander are all on the 10-day injured list, with Manning being the closest to a return.  Manning already has one Triple-A rehab start under his belt, and he’ll toss a bullpen session today at Comerica Park before making at least one more rehab outing.  Mize is also slated to start a rehab assignment this week.

While the Tigers aren’t going to do anything to rush their prized young hurlers, reinforcements are needed quick.  The pitching injuries and an almost team-wide lack of hitting has resulted in an ugly 8-20 record for Detroit thus far, and the team has lost its last six games.

Tigers Option Akil Baddoo To Triple-A, Recall Rony Garcia

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The Tigers optioned struggling outfielder Akil Baddoo to Triple-A today, the team announced. In a corresponding move, they recalled RHP Rony Garcia to take his spot on the roster.

While the demotion hardly writes the 23-year-old Baddoo out of GM Al Avila’s long-term plans, it does speak to the marked contrast between the outfielder’s start to the 2022 season, in which he’s slashed a meager .140/.218/.220, and the hot start to his 2021 rookie campaign, during which he logged a .271/.352/.462 triple-slash before fading down the stretch. Advanced statistics do suggest there’s at least some bad luck involved in his slow start, though that likely isn’t the whole picture. Baddoo has seen only a minor increase in his strikeout rate (from 26.5% in 2021 to 27.3 % in 2022) and a minor dip in his walk rate (from 9.8% to 9.1%), but his BABIP has fallen from .335 (against an MLB average of .290) to a mere .176. While some of this variance can likely be explained by his hard-hit rate (the percentage of balls in play with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher) falling from 32.3% to 22.9%, he’s also probably fallen victim to some poor batted-ball luck this year — and was perhaps the beneficiary of some good luck last year.

2014 first-rounder Derek Hill, who’s slashed .250/.273/.281 this year in limited action, is the likeliest candidate to take Baddoo’s spot in center, at least in the short term. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic notes that utility-man Willi Castro is also likely to see time there, though he’s only logged a handful of big-league innings as an outfielder — and all of them in left.

Though Baddoo is hardly the only culprit, he and second baseman Jonathan Schoop have been particularly unproductive for a Detroit squad that’s clearly underperforming expectations. After doling out $238MM in guaranteed money in free agency (to shortstop Javier Baez, starters Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Pineda, and reliever Andrew Chafin) and acquiring catcher Tucker Barnhart and outfielder Austin Meadows via trade (from the Reds and Rays, respectively), the Tigers have limped along to a collective 80 wRC+ (ahead of only the Royals, Red Sox, A’s, and Reds) that’s seen them fall nine games off the pace in AL Central.

Given the lack of outfield depth in Detroit — and particularly the shortage of options in center — it’s unlikely Baddoo will remain in the minors for long if he can regain his stroke in Toledo. Should he fail to find his form, however, he does run the risk of being overtaken by consensus top-ten prospect Riley Greene, who’s been sidelined by a fractured right foot but is expected to return to action around the end of May — and could well prove himself ready for the majors not long thereafter.

In what will be his second stint with the club this season, Garcia, owner of a career 6.39 ERA (6.42 FIP) across 31 big-league innings, will slot in at the back end of the Detroit bullpen. The righty was effective in limited action before he was optioned to Triple-A ahead of the late-April return of Chafin from injury, notching 6 1/3 innings of 2.84 ERA ball.

Offseason in Review: Detroit Tigers

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The Tigers were aggressive this winter in making calculated veteran additions to augment their rising core. It may not be enough to compete for a playoff spot this season, but it signaled the organization was putting the rebuild in the rearview mirror.

Major League Signings

2022 spending: $48MM
Total spending: $238MM

Options Exercised

  • None

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

The Tigers had only one losing season from 2006 to 2014, capping off that highly-successful era with a four-year run atop the AL Central. But when the wheels fell off, they fell all the way off. As the wins dried up, so did their spending. Luxury tax payrolls that had drifted over the $200MM mark near the end of that competitive era began decreasing year-by-year to a low of ~$103MM last season.

For a while there, they’d stopped spending almost entirely, going five years from 2016 to 2021 without signing a free agent to a multi-year deal. That stretch ended last winter with Robbie Grossman’s two-year contractl. As they entered this past winter, the Tigers had no plans to sit out the proceedings. In fact, they came into the winter with their roster needs clearly in mind, and they set about immediately to fill them.

The Tigers broke the seal on the offseason with a trade to bring in a veteran defensive catcher in Barnhart who could help usher their young cavalcade of starters into the next era of Tigers’ baseball. Barnhart doesn’t do much with the bat (82 RC+ over 2,584 career plate appearances), but he’s a respected gloveman. He’s also only under contract for one season, so while the Tigers have expressed interest in working out a long-term deal, they can move along at year’s end if the price doesn’t meet their expectations.

Tigers’ GM Al Avila made clear from the beginning of the offseason that bringing in a veteran starter was going to be one of their priorities. They checked that box by inking Eduardo Rodriguez to a five-year, $77MM deal that allows him to opt-out after the second season. Rodriguez brings veteran savvy and World Series experience to an otherwise youthful rotation. Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Casey Mize, and company ought to learn much from seeing the example E-Rod sets at the top of the rotation.

From a more practical standpoint, Rodriguez should provide the bulk and stability that a rotation needs at the top. As they manage the workloads of their younger arms, Rodriguez will be asked to be a run-stopper and innings-eater. It might be that one day soon, Skubal, Manning, or Mize might take over in that role, but for the first couple years of the deal, Rodriguez will set the tone.

Javier Baez will serve a similar role on the offense. Though Baez’s bat will have its ups-and-downs, he fits Detroit’s model because of his defensive upside. Like Barnhart and Rodriguez, Baez is meant to supplement and aid the development of their young core. That means supporting them with his glove. His bat will absolutely help, but there is offensive help on the way in Detroit. Namely, in the form of Riley Greene, who began this year on the injured list, and Spencer Torkelson, the former first overall pick who started this season in Detroit.

Of course, El Mago signed for six years (although, like Rodriguez, he can opt-out after 2023), so his bat isn’t inconsequential. It’s a risk spending so much money on a volatile talent like Baez for his age-29 through age-35 seasons. But even if his career arc eventually takes his production back to the 96 wRC+ bat he was from 2015 to 2017, that’s still an above-average talent if the defense holds. Shortstop has been a black hole for the Tigers in recent seasons, and it was clear they were prepared to spend to address it. The Tigers reportedly offered Carlos Correa ten years and $275MM (presumably before settling on Baez as their long-term shortstop), but Correa was still seeking to handily top $300MM at the time.

The Tigers do have some infielders coming up through the system – Ryan Kreidler, Izaac Pacheco, Manuel Sequera, Javier Osorio – but with the exception of Kreidler, who just broke his hand, most of those prospects are many years away from the Majors. El Mago will excite the fanbase, provide defensive support for the young pitching staff, and by all accounts, he’s a positive clubhouse presence. Baez’s plate discipline can be worrisome, but he checks a lot of the supplemental boxes.

Just as the Tigers more-or-less opened the offseason with their trade for Barnhart, they also ended it with another trade. The day before Opening Day, the Tigers jumped to nab Austin Meadows from the Rays. Meadows is a player with warts, but he’s also an obvious upgrade for the Tigers, especially so long as Greene remains sidelined. Meadows turns 27 this year, he’s only making $4MM, and with two more seasons of arbitration beyond this one, the Tigers aren’t on the hook for a long-term commitment. Landing Meadows required parting with young infielder Isaac Paredes, a promising young minor league hitter but a player who has yet to find big league success.

Meadows is an upgrade for the offense this year, pairing with Robbie Grossman to form a reliable veteran corner outfielder tandem. Grossman is a free agent after this season, so the Meadows acquisition protects them somewhat from a potential Grossman departure. Akil Baddoo, if he continues to produce, can earn his reps his center, and if he doesn’t, he can transition to a fourth outfield role when Greene proves ready.

On the pitching side, E-Rod filled the greatest void on the roster, and he was, by far, the biggest addition on that side of the ball. But given the youth of their staff, and the inevitability of injuries these days, the Tigers dipped their toes into the bargain end of the veteran free agent market as well. They signed former Mariners, Yankees, and Twins right-hander Michael Pineda on March 19th to a one-year deal. Pineda has dealt with injuries throughout his career, but he was pretty solid during the three years he spent in Minnesota.

Just a few days prior to inking Pineda, they also brought back Wily Peralta on a one-year, $2.5MM deal that was contingent upon his making the big-league club – which he did. Peralta was a surprising success as a starter for the Tigers last year, posting a 3.07 ERA/4.94 FIP over 93 2/3 innings while making 18 starts. He’s more likely to serve as a bullpen arm this year, but they have him as an option for starter minutes as well.

The bullpen was kept largely intact, but they did add Andrew Chafin on a two-year deal. “The Sheriff” has been an undervalued arm for many years now. With a 3.31 ERA/3.17 FIP over 414 career appearances, he’s been about as reliable as can be expected of any bullpen arm. He’ll slot in with Gregory Soto and Michael Fulmer to take on high-leverage opportunities.

The Tigers weren’t the most active team this past winter, but they set out to fill a couple of holes, they targeted the players they wanted to fill those spots, and they got their targets. The primary growth of their organization will still have to come from the internal development of their core young players, but Baez, Meadows, Barnhart, Pineda, Chafin, and Rodriguez bring a decent jolt of talent and experience to their young core. Miguel Cabrera may have enough veteran experience and clubhouse presence to feed the whole organization, but he’s not the on-field contributor that he used to be. These additions should help in ways that Cabrera, the legend, no longer can.

Is it enough to turn these Tigers into a surprising upstart? Vegas says no, putting them third in the AL Central with 28-1 odds of winning the division. None of ESPN’s staff picked them for the playoffs. Five Thirty Eight pegged their most likely record to land at 71-91.

The Tigers knew they had weaknesses going into the offseason. They surely know they have weaknesses now. But there’s no doubt they have fewer holes on the roster now than they did at the end of last season. For a team looking to emerge from a rebuild, their approach was a reasonable one. They made additions, but they were relatively judicious at the same time. They didn’t blast their window of contention open, but if it’s open a crack, they nudged it open a little further.

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