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Tigers Place Andrew Chafin On Restricted List

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The Tigers announced Thursday that they’ve placed left-hander Andrew Chafin on the restricted list in advance of the team’s upcoming road series in Toronto. Right-hander Bryan Garcia has has his contract selected from Triple-A Toledo and been designated as a Covid-related replacement player for Chafin (meaning he can be removed from the 40-man roster and sent back to Toledo without needing to first pass through waivers).

Chafin, 32, has been one of the best relievers in a quietly solid Tigers bullpen this season, pitching to a 2.53 ERA with a 29.3% strikeout rate, a 7.5% walk rate and a 49.4% ground-ball rate. He’s playing the current season on a $5.5MM salary and has a $6.5MM player option for the 2023 season that, barring an injury or unexpected collapse, he seems likely to reject in favor of a return to free agency (and another, potentially more lucrative multi-year deal).

The majority of Major League teams have had to place at least one player on the restricted list in advance of series in Toronto this season, as unvaccinated professional athletes are prohibited from entering Canada to participate in their teams’ games. (The U.S., it should be pointed out, has a similar policy.) Other teams may well consider Chafin’s status when weighing potential trades over the next few days, though as we saw with the Yankees’ acquisition of Andrew Benintendi last night, it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker — even for teams in the American League East.

Taking Chafin’s place on the Tigers’ roster for the next few days, at least, will be the 27-year-old Garcia, who has pitched to a 2.90 ERA through 40 1/3 innings in Toledo so far. Garcia logged time with the Tigers in each of the past three seasons but has limped to a 6.12 ERA through 67 2/3 big league frames, due largely to a pedestrian strikeout rate (16%), lofty walk rate (12.6%) and penchant for serving up home runs (1.46 HR/9).

Depending on how Garcia fares, this could be viewed as yet another audition for him. Chafin, Michael Fulmer, Joe Jimenez and Alex Lange are among the Tigers relievers who’ve commanded trade interest with the Aug. 2 trade deadline approaching. At the very least, it seems fair to expect Fulmer and Chafin to be on the move in the coming days, as both can be free agents at season’s end. Jimenez, controlled through the 2023 season via arbitration, has a decent chance as well. Lange (five seasons of remaining club control) and closer Gregory Soto (three seasons) would surely require larger returns.

Spencer Turnbull Not Expected To Return In 2022

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Tigers righty Spencer Turnbull, who has spent the entire season on the injured list while rehabbing from last summer’s Tommy John surgery, is unlikely to make it back to a big league mound this season, manager AJ Hinch told reporters yesterday (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Turnbull hasn’t experienced any setbacks, but the team would need an “aggressive” timeline to get him back on the mound for a couple late-September starts. Given the Tigers’ place in the standings, it’s not much of a surprise that they’ll opt for a more deliberate and cautious approach to getting Turnbull back up to full strength.

Turnbull, 30 in September, has started 53 games for Detroit dating back to the 2018 season and has seen his results improve each year of his career. The 2021 campaign looked to be a legitimate breakout for the late-blooming, former No. 63 overall pick, as he tossed 50 frames of 2.88 ERA ball with a 21.9% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and hefty 57.2% ground-ball rate. Turnbull, always stingy in terms of allowing home runs, faced 201 hitters and yielded just two long balls in 2021.

The peak for Turnbull undoubtedly came on May 18, when he punched out nine Mariners and allowed just two walks en route to the eighth no-hitter in franchise history — the Tigers’ first no-no since Justin Verlander’s one decade prior (nearly to the day). That historic effort required a career-high 117 pitches, but the righty showed little in the way of immediate fatigue or decline. He received an extra day’s rest, completed six quality innings in his next appearance, and bounced back from that with another sharp 100-pitch performance. Turnbull’s next start lasted just four innings before he departed with forearm discomfort, however, and while the Tigers were initially optimistic that a worst-case scenario had been avoided, he ultimately required Tommy John surgery in late July.

Though the Tigers knew Turnbull was something of a long shot to log meaningful innings this season, they still signed him to a modest two-year deal just prior to Opening Day. He’d been arbitration-eligible, and rather than head to a hearing over his 2021 salary, the team put forth a two-year, $3.65MM offer that’ll now pay Turnbull $1.5MM to rehab this season and a $2.15MM salary in 2023, when he’ll hopefully return at full strength. He’s still under club control through the 2024 season, so assuming all goes well with his rehab, Turnbull can give the Tigers two seasons  of starts.

Bullpen Rumors: Robertson, Cubs, Rays, Tigers, Dodgers

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Cubs closer David Robertson is among the most popular names on the trade market for relievers, and both New York clubs have interest in bringing him aboard. The Yankees, who’ve enjoyed two separate stints from Robertson in the past, are interested in another reunion with the 37-year-old righty, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Davidoff’s colleague Mike Puma, meanwhile, writes that the Mets are intrigued by Robertson in part because of how effective he’s been against left-handers this season. The Mets don’t have a reliable southpaw option at the moment and there that many quality lefty relievers available, so Robertson’s lack of a platoon split is an understandably appealing trait. FanSided’s Robert Murray writes that the Mets “love” Robertson. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday that the Rays were among the teams evaluating the Cubs’ relievers.

Through 39 1/3 innings this season, Robertson has pitched to a 1.83 ERA with 14 saves and a big 31.4% strikeout rate — albeit with a bloated 11.9% walk rate. He’s earning just a $3.5MM base salary, though performance bonuses figure to take that number as high as $5.1MM. The majority of contending clubs figure to check in not only on Robertson but on Cubs righties Mychal Givens and Chris Martin, both of whom are free agents at season’s end. Murray notes that Givens has also been drawing strong interest around the league.

A few more notes on the market for relievers…

  • The Tigers are receiving trade interest on lefty Andrew Chafin and righties Michael Fulmer, Joe Jimenez and Alex Lange, writes Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. McCosky spoke with both Fulmer and Jimenez about the complex emotions of potentially being traded away from the organization they’ve both called home for nearly their entire careers (or, in Jimenez’s case, for his entire pro career). It’s been apparent for some time now that Detroit’s slate of solid bullpen arms would hold major appeal to contending clubs at the deadline, and Fulmer and Chafin seem especially likely to go, given that they’ll both be eligible for free agency at season’s end. (Chafin has a $6.5MM player option.) Jimenez, controlled through 2023, stands a decent chance of being moved as well, but it’d be hard to part with Lange, whom the Tigers can control all the way through 2027. That said, Detroit is reportedly willing to listen on just about anyone, including lefty Tarik Skubal.
  • Dodgers righty Blake Treinen is taking longer to return than originally anticipated, though manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Treinen has not experienced a setback (Twitter link via Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Treinen pitched a bullpen session yesterday but won’t face live hitters for a couple weeks still, which makes a late-August or early-September return likely. Robert said back in May that the organization hoped Treinen, who hasn’t pitched since April due to a shoulder injury, was targeting a return not long after the All-Star break. Treinen is joined on the injured list by Daniel Hudson, Tommy Kahnle, Brusdar Graterol and Victor Gonzalez, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Los Angeles pursue some bullpen upgrades before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

Tigers Open To Trade Offers On Tarik Skubal

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The Tigers have informed rival teams they’re willing to consider trade offers on breakout starter Tarik Skubal, report Ken Rosenthal and Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic. The 25-year-old southpaw marks a fascinating new entrant into the summer trade market with the deadline exactly one week away.

Detroit being willing to listen to offers on Skubal certainly doesn’t mean he’s destined to change teams. Rather, it seems the Tigers are generally taking a wide-open approach to the deadline as they weather another non-competitive season. One rival executive tells the Athletic the Detroit front office has signaled “that just about everyone is available.” It seems likely general manager Al Avila and his front office are fielding offers on virtually the entire roster more as a matter of due diligence than in an effort to earnestly ship out possible long-term core pieces like Skubal.

Even if a trade coming together over the next week remains a longshot, it’s noteworthy the Detroit front office seemingly won’t dismiss offers on Skubal out of hand. There’s certainly no urgency for the Tigers to deal him. Skubal remains controllable through the end of the 2026 season, and he won’t even qualify for arbitration until the end of next year. Avila and his staff would have to be overwhelmed with an offer to pull the trigger. Even with all hopes of competing this season dashed, the Tigers anticipate getting back into the playoff mix during Skubal’s window of club control — perhaps as soon as next year.

The Tigers have been rebuilding for essentially the entirety of Avila’s tenure atop the front office. Their last playoff berth came in 2014, and they’re on their way to a sixth straight losing record. They expected to be more competitive this season, but they’ve been hit with a laundry list of absences on the pitching side and a virtually unanimous underperformance from the lineup.

Skubal has been one of the lone bright spots, as he’s looked like a possible top-of-the-rotation starter at his best. The Seattle University product has posted a 3.88 ERA across 106 2/3 innings. He’s punched out an above-average 25.5% of opponents, limited walks to a stingy 6.2% clip and induced grounders on a solid 47.8% of batted balls. Skubal has averaged north of 94 MPH on his fastball and induced swinging strikes on 12% of his offerings, the 14th-best rate among 52 starters with 100+ innings. Those numbers alone are strong, but the 6’3″ hurler looked like a bona fide ace through the season’s first two months. He carried a 2.44 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout percentage through the end of May before scuffling in June.

Even if Skubal is more of a mid-rotation type than the #1-caliber arm he resembled earlier in the year, he’s still a plenty valuable player. The Tigers have envisioned coming out of their rebuild with a star-studded rotation anchored around Skubal, former top ten picks Casey Mize and Matt Manning, free agent signee Eduardo Rodríguez,and Spencer Turnbull. Each of Mize and Manning has had their 2022 season more or less wiped out by injury to this point, and the former underwent Tommy John surgery and is likely to miss most of next year as a result. Rodríguez has been out for a while attending to a personal matter. Turnbull was always expected to be out for the bulk of the year after undergoing his own TJS last summer. That’s left Skubal as the sole healthy, reliable member of the rotation for much of the year, and the Tigers could build around him for 2023 and beyond.

At the same time, there’s little harm for the front office in at least evaluating all options. Skubal’s control window and affordability means virtually every team could eye him as a possible trade target. Clubs don’t have to be in the mix for the playoffs this year to look into his availability, since he’d still be controllable for an additional four seasons.

Teams like the Orioles and Rangers, for instance, are unlikely to reach the postseason this year (although Baltimore has hung around the Wild Card race), but have been mentioned as teams that could simultaneously look to move players on shorter-term deals while trying to acquire pitchers controllable beyond this season. In a separate piece, Rosenthal wrote this morning that Texas is continuing to seek a controllable starter before the deadline. Skubal fits the bill, and while there’s been no indication Texas has yet contacted the Detroit front office about the young hurler, it wouldn’t be a surprise if that were the case.

While the Tigers may be open to offers on Skubal and other players with extended control windows, Avila and his staff figure to be much more motivated to part with some shorter-term veterans. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored this month, relievers like Andrew Chafin, Joe Jiménez, Michael Fulmer and Gregory Soto should draw plenty of calls from contenders. Robbie Grossman and Tucker Barnhart are impending free agents and would surely be available, although neither veteran is having a good season. That’s also true of third baseman Jeimer Candelario, who is controllable through next year via arbitration.

Tigers Sign Daniel Norris, Jacob Barnes To Minor League Deals

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The Tigers announced agreement with relievers Daniel Norris and Jacob Barnes on minor league contracts. Detroit also confirmed the signing of righty Chi Chi González to a non-roster deal, which was first reported over the weekend. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported (Twitter links) both of today’s signings before the club announcement.

Norris and Barnes have each previously been members of the organization. The former spent six seasons in Detroit. Acquired from the Blue Jays as the centerpiece of the David Price deadline deal in 2015, Norris spent his first few years in the rotation. His tenure was up-and-down, and the Tigers kicked him to the bullpen starting with the shortened 2020 campaign. The left-hander posted a 3.25 ERA through 27 2/3 frames as a multi-inning type that year. Norris struggled to keep runs off the board in the first half of the following season, but he had impressive enough strikeout and ground-ball numbers the Brewers acquired him for pitching prospect Reese Olson last summer.

That deal didn’t pan out for Milwaukee, as Norris’ ERA never bounced back. He qualified for free agency and signed a $1.75MM guarantee with the Cubs this spring. The 29-year-old tossed 30 innings for the North Siders but allowed nearly seven earned runs per nine. He struck out an excellent 32.1% of opponents, but a lofty 15.7% walk percentage and marked home run issues led Chicago to release him last week. The Tigers would only owe Norris the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum salary if he makes it back to the majors.

Barnes was a Tiger as recently as last month. The right-hander broke camp with Detroit and made 22 appearances, managing only a 6.10 ERA across 20 2/3 frames. Typically a high-strikeout arm, Barnes generated swinging strikes on a meager 7.7% of his offerings this season. The Tigers cut him loose last month. The 32-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Mariners, briefly reached the majors but didn’t make an appearance, and was then outrighted off Seattle’s roster. He elected free agency and now returns to his first organization of the season in hopes of getting back to the big leagues.

González has already suited up for two MLB teams this year. He began the season on a non-roster pact with the division-rival Twins, making a pair of starts. The Brewers claimed him off waivers and deployed him four times before outrighting him off the roster. The 30-year-old has a 6.87 ERA in 18 1/3 big league innings this season, although he posted a much more palatable 3.44 mark in Triple-A. Unlike Morris and Barnes, González can serve as rotation depth.

The additions to the pitching depth come at a time when the Tigers are widely expected to move multiple hurlers off the big league staff. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently explored, veteran relievers Andrew Chafin, Michael Fulmer and Joe Jiménez are among the league’s more obvious candidates to change teams before next Tuesday’s trade deadline.

Tigers To Sign First-Rounder Jace Jung

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The Tigers are in agreement with No. 12 overall draft pick Jace Jung, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com. The now-former Texas Tech standout will receive his full slot value of $4,590,300. The team has yet to formally announce the deal, though that’s presumably coming in the near future.

Jung, the younger brother of top Rangers third base prospect Josh Jung, looked like a slam-dunk first-rounder throughout a strong season at the plate. The left-handed-hitting 21-year-old turned in an outstanding .335/.481/.612 batting line with 14 home runs, 18 doubles, a triple, five steals (in five tries) and more walks (59) than strikeouts (42) through 295 plate appearances during his junior season with the Red Raiders.

The younger Jung brother spent the vast majority of his college career at second base, and that’s where he’s expected to play as a professional. There’s little doubt among scouts that Jung has the tools to be a well above-average hitter at the position, as scouting reports agree that he has above-average to plus raw power with above-average pitch selection and a potentially plus hit tool — all of which are complemented by his all-fields approach. There’s less optimism about Jung’s defensive future, given questions about his range and arm strength. Jung profiles as a bat-first second baseman whose advanced offensive profile could allow him to move quickly through the minor leagues.

Heading into the draft, Jung ranked as No. 8 prospect on the board, per The Athletic’s Keith Law, also landing ninth at MLB.com, ninth at Baseball America, 13th at ESPN and 20th over at FanGraphs.

Injury Notes: Alvarez, Reynolds, Garcia, Witt

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Yordan Alvarez wasn’t in today’s Astros lineup, as the slugger is still dealing with soreness in his right hand.  The same injury already sent Alvarez to the 10-day injured list for a minimum stay prior to the All-Star break, and medical tests during that IL stint didn’t reveal any structural damage.  Still, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle) that the Astros will be giving Alvarez some occasional time off due to this seemingly lingering injury.  “We knew we were going to have to give him a blow every now and then, but he was sore and we don’t want it to get more sore,” Baker said.

With two homers in 13 plate appearances in his four games since returning from the IL, Alvarez didn’t seem too hampered by this recurring hand problem, though some additional rest could certainly prevent a more severe injury.  The last thing Alvarez and the Astros would want is a lengthier IL trip interrupting both Alvarez’s spectacular season and his potential availability for the playoffs.  Alvarez is hitting a whopping .307/.407/.668 over 329 PA in 2022, leading the majors in both slugging percentage and OPS.

More injury updates from around baseball….

  • Bryan Reynolds told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is aiming to return from the 10-day injured list during the Pirates’ upcoming two-games series with the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday.  A left oblique strain sent Reynolds to the 10-day injured list on July 11, though it seems as though he has avoided the lengthy absence that can often come from oblique problems.  In fact, the IL stint may have prevented a longer-term issue, as Reynolds said the injury “had been bothering me for a few series before.  It got to the point where I needed to say something.  I didn’t want to make it worse.”  While his return prior to the trade deadline will inevitable spur on more rumors, there isn’t much expectation that the Pirates will actually deal Reynolds, unless another club meets Pittsburgh’s huge demands.
  • It looks as though Rony Garcia is heading back to the injured list, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that Garcia felt bicep discomfort during today’s start.  Garcia was only just activated from a three-week IL stint (due to shoulder soreness) to pitch today, but the biceps issue forced Garcia from the game after only 2 2/3 innings.  Hinch said Garcia will be shut down for the time being, creating yet another vacancy in Detroit’s injury-riddled rotation.  Five other starters are already on the IL with temporary or season-ending injuries, plus Eduardo Rodriguez is still on the restricted list.  Today’s abbreviated outing pushed Garcia’s ERA to 4.59 over 51 innings for the Tigers this season.
  • Bobby Witt Jr. is day-to-day with right hamstring tightness, as the Royals made what the club described as a “precautionary” removal of the star rookie after the first inning of today’s game.  Tests didn’t reveal any significant damage, Witt told the Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and other reporters, but it would seem likely that the Royals will give Witt a game or two off to heal up.  Heralded as one of baseball’s top prospects, Witt has hit .258/.301/.459 over his first 379 PA in the big leagues.

Tigers Place Michael Pineda On 15-Day Injured List

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The Tigers announced a number of roster moves this morning. Namely, last night’s starter, Michael Pineda, who left the game after just three innings, has been placed on the 15-day injured list with tricep tightness, per the team. Righty Angel De Jesus has been recalled from Triple-A to claim Pineda’s roster spot. Right-hander Rony Garcia was also reinstated from the injured list, while infielder Zack Short was optioned to Triple-A.

Pineda’s injury is another in a long line of ailments that have beset the Tigers’ pitching staff this season. Pineda himself has made just 10 starts, posting a 5.27 ERA/5.81 FIP in 42 2/3 innings of work.

Garcia can step right into Pineda’s rotation spot in the short term. The 24-year-old has made seven starts this season with eight relief outings summing to 48 1/3 innings with a 4.28 ERA/4.42 FIP. Garcia was a starter for the Tigers throughout June, and it’s likely that he steps back into that role. Tyler Alexander will also step back into the rotation in the short term, per Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group (via Twitter).

De Jesus will move into the bullpen, from which he has made two appearances for Detroit this season. The 25-year-old has a 5.40 ERA across 27 outings in Triple-A totaling 28 1/3 innings of work. He takes Short’s roster spot. Short has been called up to the active roster a few times this season, though he has yet to carve out a significant role.

Tigers’ Alex Faedo, Kyle Funkhouser Won’t Pitch Again In 2022

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The Tigers have been plagued by pitching injuries, and manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that the 2022 season is over for two of the club’s hurlers.  Right-handers Alex Faedo and Kyle Funkhouser are both considering surgery — Faedo for a nagging hip problem, and Funkhouser for the shoulder strain that has kept him from pitching all season.

Faedo was one of several younger pitchers called up to help the rotation weather the injury storm, and he delivered a 5.53 ERA over his first 53 2/3 innings of Major League action.  With a 2.92 ERA over the first 37 of those frames, it looked like Faedo was making a rookie breakout before the league started to get a book on him, and also before his hip injury began to impact his performance.  The bad hip forced Faedo out of a July 4 start after only 3 2/3 innings, and he has been tagged for seven runs over his last two starts and 5 1/3 innings of action.

The 18th overall pick of the 2017 draft, Faedo was himself making a comeback from injury, as a forearm strain in 2020 resulted in Tommy John surgery at the end of that year that sidelined him for all of 2021.  Unfortunately, he’ll now face another significant absence even if he ultimately decides against hip surgery, and if he does opt to go under the knife, the rehab process could impact Faedo’s readiness for Spring Training or Opening Day 2023.

Funkhouser is also facing an uncertain timeline, as a shoulder surgery could potentially threaten his entire 2023 campaign, depending on the severity of his injury and the specific nature of the procedure.  He was initially set back by lat soreness during Spring Training, and will now miss a chance to follow up on a promising 2021 season.

Making his big league debut in 2020, Funkhouser posted a 7.27 ERA over his first 17 1/3 frames in the Show, but he had decidedly better results last year.  Despite a mediocre 12.8% walk rate and a below-average 21.1% strikeout rate, Funkhouser rode a 53.2% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact to a 3.42 ERA over 68 1/3 innings.  The Tigers frequently used Funkhouser for more than one inning, and he also made two “starts” (in opener fashion) in bullpen games.

Faedo and Funkhouser join Casey Mize (Tommy John surgery) as the Detroit pitchers whose injuries were season-ending, but the large majority of the pitching staff has spent time on the injured list with some type of issue.  Just in today’s game, Michael Pineda had to leave early due to right tricep tightness, creating another possible hole in the rotation.  Righty Rony Garcia was expected to be activated from the 15-day IL in time to start tomorrow’s game.

Eduardo Rodriguez Begins Throwing Program, Targeted To Return In Late August

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Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez has been in contract with Tigers GM Al Avila, manager A.J. Hinch, and pitching coach Chris Fetter in recent days, and Avila and Hinch told reporters (including MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery) that plans are in motion for Rodriguez’s return.  The hurler has already started a throwing program and is then slated to work out at the Tigers’ spring facility in Lakeland before embarking on some minor league rehab starts.

As Hinch put it, Rodriguez “has to go through another Spring Training” given all of his missed time, and thus the organization will take a “methodical” approach.  For now, Rodriguez is being targeted for a late-August return to Detroit, Avila said.  Rodriguez last pitched for the Tigers on May 18, as he spent close to a month on the injured list due to a ribcage strain before he was placed on the restricted list on June 13 due to unspecified personal matters.

The situation took a somewhat mysterious turn earlier this month when Avila and Hinch said they hadn’t heard from Rodriguez, and that the left-hander hadn’t been responding to the team’s overtures.  However, Avila said today that “he expressed to me that he’s working hard, his personal situations are being taken care of and at some point he’ll be over that.  He’s looking forward to re-joining the team and helping us win.”

The Tigers signed Rodriguez to a five-year, $77MM free agent in November, one of several major transactions made by a Detroit club that felt it was ready to end its rebuild.  Unfortunately, the Tigers have stumbled to a 38-56 record, due to both a near-total lack of hitting and several injuries to the rotation.  Rodriguez also got off to a slow start (4.38 ERA in 39 innings) before hitting the injured list, and his status on the restricted list has added an unusual twist on a lost season in the Motor City.

Rodriguez’s absence has come at a significant financial price, as he hasn’t been paid during his time on the restricted list.  Assuming he does get activated in late August as planned, the southpaw will have lost roughly $5.5MM of his $14MM salary for the 2022 season.

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