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Tigers Sign José Urquidy

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The Tigers have signed free agent right-hander José Urquidy to a one-year, $1MM contract for 2025, the team announced. The deal comes with a $4MM team option for 2026. That team option also includes escalators that could increase Urquidy’s salary by up to $3MM. He will earn an additional $150K for reaching each of four and seven starts; $300K for reaching each of 10, 13, 16, and 19 starts; and $500K for reaching each of 22, 25, and 28 starts.

To free up space for Urquidy on the 40-man roster, the Tigers placed fellow right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long on the 60-day injured list while he continues to recover from left hip labral repair and Tommy John surgery. The team has also placed Urquidy on the 60-day IL; he is recovering from Tommy John surgery of his own.

Urquidy spent the first six years of his MLB career with the Astros. While he looked like a solid mid-rotation starter in 2021 and ’22 (3.81 ERA, 4.22 SIERA in 49 games), the righty had a rough year in 2023. He struggled out of the gate in April before landing on the IL with shoulder troubles. His struggles continued upon his return in August, and he soon lost his spot in the starting rotation.

Unfortunately, Urquidy’s troubles only got worse in 2024. He opened the season on the injured list and eventually required UCL surgery in June. After clearing waivers in November, he elected free agency.

Urquidy will not be ready to return to action until midseason at the earliest, so he will not factor into the ongoing rotation battle in Tigers camp. Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, and Reese Olson are locks for the Opening Day rotation, and top prospect Jackson Jobe has the inside track on the number four spot, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. However, with Alex Cobb expected to miss the beginning of the season, one spot at the back end is still up for grabs. Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda, and Keider Montero are the primary candidates to win that job.

Meanwhile, Urquidy will continue his rehab in the Tigers organization. Once he is ready to get back on the field, he can provide depth as a back-end starter or long reliever. In a best-case scenario, Urquidy returns and looks like his old self, which would make his club option for 2026 a bargain. Meanwhile, the worst possible outcome for the Tigers is that they pay him $1MM to rehab in 2025 and cut their losses at the end of the year if he struggles or fails to get back on the mound.

Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 was the first to report the agreement between Urquidy and the Tigers. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News confirmed that it was a major league deal.

Dodgers To “Slow-Play” Shohei Ohtani’s Pitching Rehab

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Since his debut in 2018, Shohei Ohtani has gone 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts. In that time, only five starters (min. 400 IP) have a lower ERA, and only six have a higher strikeout rate. There is no denying that Ohtani has been a terrific pitcher when he has been healthy enough to take the mound. Alas, injuries have limited the two-way superstar to just 86 starts in seven MLB seasons. He has not pitched in a big league game since August 2023. Of course, that hasn’t stopped him from being one of the best players in the world – he won his third MVP in 2024 without pitching a single inning – but it would be an understatement to say that fans are excited to see him back on the mound in 2025.

Unfortunately, the wait might be longer than initially expected. Not only is Ohtani working his way back from UCL surgery in September 2023, but he is also recovering from surgery on his non-throwing shoulder this past November. In February, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested Ohtani could start facing live batters ahead of the Tokyo Series and return to the team’s rotation at some point in May – perhaps even earlier. As recently as two weeks ago, that still seemed to be the case. This past Thursday, however, the skipper was singing a slightly different tune.

Ohtani has not thrown off of a mound since a bullpen session on February 25. Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) that the team is being extra cautious with the two-way player as he gets back into games as DH. His last bullpen session came three days before his first Cactus League appearance as a hitter. “We just felt that to intensify the bullpens, alongside of the intensity of the games, wasn’t smart,” Roberts explained. “So we just wanted to kind of slow-play it.”

Asked if Ohtani could still return to the rotation in May, Roberts was noncommittal: “We just don’t know.”

Pitching coach Mark Prior said the Dodgers are “trying to control overall workload management” for Ohtani’s left shoulder. He told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, “There’s a little bit of a shift towards making sure he’s dialed in, ready to go, from a DH standpoint.” Thankfully, Prior does not believe Ohtani’s new timeline is any cause for concern. This isn’t a sign of a major setback; the Dodgers simply seem to be exercising the utmost caution with their most important player. Still, it’s worth noting that Ohtani’s timeline to return looks longer than it did a few weeks ago. As Sonja Chen of MLB.com points out, Ohtani is now unlikely to face live opponents until the team gets back from Tokyo.

As thrilling as it will be to finally see Ohtani back on a big league mound, one absolutely cannot fault the Dodgers for playing things safe. With Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, and Dustin May in the fold, L.A. isn’t exactly short on rotation depth to begin the season. Moreover, the worst-case scenario is that Ohtani suffers an injury that prevents him from pitching or hitting for any period of time. Needless to say, the Dodgers understand that better than anyone, and they’re taking precautions to avoid such a disaster.

Gerrit Cole Going For Imaging On Elbow

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March 8: According to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, the results of Cole’s initial diagnostic tests have been distributed, and the right-hander is now in the process of seeking a second opinion. While Cole told reporters (including Hoch) that he is “concerned” about his elbow, the 2023 AL Cy Young winner also expressed a bit of optimism. “I’ve still got some hope,” he said. Per Hoch, Cole and the Yankees expect to know more about the status of his elbow in the next few days.

March 7: Gerrit Cole is heading for “diagnostic tests” on his throwing elbow, reports Jon Morosi of the MLB Network. It’s not currently clear whether the Yankees fear a significant injury, or if the testing is more precautionary in nature. In either case, it’s certainly not encouraging news after Cole missed the first couple months of 2024 with elbow inflammation.

It was almost exactly one year ago today that Yankees skipper Aaron Boone revealed that Cole was headed for an MRI. The 2023 Cy Young winner was having difficulty recovering between throwing sessions. Testing didn’t reveal any structural damage, but an inflammation diagnosis necessitated a month-long shutdown. Cole began the season on the 60-day injured list; he didn’t make his season debut until June 19.

Cole stayed healthy for the remainder of the season, aside from one skipped start due to what the team termed general body soreness. He turned in a 3.41 earned run average across 17 starts. While he struggled over his first few outings, Cole was dominant from the beginning of August through the end of the regular season. He turned in a 2.25 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate while holding opponents to a .182/.255/.248 slash line over his final 10 appearances.

The 34-year-old righty took the ball another five times in the postseason. He worked to a 2.17 ERA across 29 playoff innings, but his strikeout rate in October plummeted to a meager 17.7% clip. After the season, he and the Yankees were faced with a decision on his contract. Cole decided to opt out of the remaining four years and $144MM on his nine-year deal. He hoped the Yanks would override that by preemptively triggering a $36MM club option for 2029. The team declined to do so but allowed him to rescind the opt-out and remain with the team on his original contract.

Cole has taken the ball twice during Spring Training. He looked sharp in his first appearance, working 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts on February 28. The Twins torched him for six runs on five hits (including a pair of homers) over 2 2/3 frames yesterday. That alone isn’t cause for concern — Spring Training results are largely immaterial — but Cole evidently hasn’t felt completely healthy. His fastball has averaged 95.5 MPH during his spring work, according to Brooks Baseball. That’s around where it sat last March, a bit below the 97 MPH velocity he’d shown in previous Spring Trainings.

The Yankees won’t have much to report until they receive the imaging results. Even if there’s no structural damage, it seems likely Cole will begin the season on the injured list. The Yanks already lost 2024 Rookie of the Year Luis Gil to a severe lat strain. GM Brian Cashman said on Thursday that the Yankees anticipate an absence of at least three months for the young right-hander (relayed by Greg Joyce of The New York Post). Depth starter JT Brubaker broke three ribs trying to dodge a comebacker early in camp.

New York signed Max Fried to an eight-year, $218MM free agent deal. He’ll probably get the ball on Opening Day. Clarke Schmidt and Carlos Rodón will follow in the rotation. Marcus Stroman, who entered camp sixth on the depth chart, now projects as the fourth starter. A season-opening IL stint could draw Will Warren or out-of-options righty Yoendrys Gómez into the rotation. New York has Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans in camp as non-roster invitees.

If Cole winds up missing a decent chunk of time, the Yanks could look to a late free agent acquisition. Veteran innings eater Kyle Gibson remains unsigned; he’s throwing side sessions to stay loose in advance of his age-37 season. Swingman Spencer Turnbull has a spotty injury history but pitched well in 54 1/3 innings for the Phillies last year. Patrick Corbin and former Yankee Lance Lynn are also still free agents.

In a smaller injury development, the Yanks announced this morning that reliever Tyler Matzek sustained a mild right oblique strain (link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). The veteran southpaw could resume throwing early next week, but the injury takes him out of consideration for the Opening Day roster. Matzek is in camp as a non-roster invitee. He has tossed one scoreless inning.

Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Dodgers

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The Dodgers followed up their World Series win with another aggressive offseason, making many headline-grabbing additions as well as some less splashy moves. Despite years of playoff disappointments, they now go into 2025 viewed as a juggernaut that is despised by all other fan bases around the league.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $185.5MM
Total spending: $398.5MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

Things change fast in baseball. The Dodgers finished 2023 on a down note, having been swept out of the NLDS by the Diamondbacks. Though that was their 11th consecutive postseason appearance, many of them had ended in heartbreaking fashion. Fans of the club were in MLBTR's mentions, calling for manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to be fired. Fans of other clubs were taunting them for their failed attempts to "buy" a World Series. But they then signed Shohei Ohtani to a heavily-deferred deal, as well as grabbing Yoshinobu Yamamoto and many others, eventually winning it all in 2024.

The club therefore went into the 2024-25 offseason with the wind in their sails and they didn't slow down. Within a few months of their parade, they had signed one of the top free agent starters, a few of the top relievers, some solid outfielders and the most notable international amateur since Ohtani.

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A’s Announce Las Vegas Jersey Patch Sponsorship

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The A’s announced on Friday evening that they’ve reached a three-year advertising partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). As part of the agreement, they’ll have “Las Vegas” jersey patches on their uniform sleeves during their three seasons in Sacramento. The A’s will wear a Sacramento patch on the opposite arm for at least the 2025 season.

“For the Athletics, this partnership is more than just a jersey patch—it’s the beginning of the transition to our new home,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a press release. “This is a chance to wear our hearts on our sleeves for the next three years before bringing the vibrant spirit of our new home front and center across our uniform.”

Steve Hill, the head of the LVCVA, tells Evan Drellich of The Athletic that the deal will pay the A’s $8.25MM over the next three seasons: $2.5MM this season, $2.75MM next year, and $3MM in 2028. Hill acknowledged that it’s rare for a team to don an advertisement for a city in which they’re not currently playing.

“Frankly, one of the reasons that something like this hasn’t been done, at least for a team that’s moving, is that they’re still in the city they’re moving from,” Hill told Drellich. “We couldn’t have done this with the Raiders (who moved directly from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020), for example, because it would have just been rude. They’re in the city they’re moving from, and that’s kind of in your face, just not appropriate. But because (the A’s are) moving to Sacramento for three years before coming here, it opened up that possibility of doing that.”

The A’s plan to break ground on their 33,000-seat stadium in Las Vegas within the next few months. The team released their latest set of renderings for that facility on Thursday (link via Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). Newly-hired club president Marc Badain told Drellich on Thursday that he has “no doubts on that at all” when asked if the ballpark will be ready in time for the 2028 season.

Astros Notes: Altuve, Smith, Walker, McCullers

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Earlier this week, Astros manager Joe Espada told the Houston beat that Jose Altuve would play the “majority” of his games in left field. The second-year skipper walked that back a bit on Friday, indicating that the team’s position player mix remains unsettled.

“I’m not committed to Altuve being the everyday left fielder nor any X player being the everyday second baseman,” Espada said (relayed by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). “We are exploring all our options here and we’ll make those decisions when we get towards the end of camp.”

Altuve has gotten the bulk of his Spring Training work in left field. That’s likely to continue as the Astros try to build his outfield reps. While Espada’s most recent comments leave the door open for the nine-time All-Star to return to second base, it still seems likely that Altuve will remain the team’s primary left fielder. That’d leave the keystone to Mauricio Dubón. Houston added former Rockies’ Gold Glove winner Brendan Rodgers on a minor league deal. He could also play second base if the Astros want to bounce Dubón around the diamond.

There’s an outside possibility of top prospect Cam Smith factoring into the infield mix before long. Selected 14th overall by the Cubs last summer, Smith went to Houston alongside Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski in the Kyle Tucker blockbuster. Smith has all of 32 professional games under his belt, only five of which have come above High-A. Though he’s likely to begin the season in the minor leagues, the 22-year-old has turned some heads in his first Spring Training. Smith is 7-11 with a pair of homers in exhibition play. He has drawn four walks while striking out just once.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic examined the possibility of Smith breaking camp with the MLB team. Rome notes that the Astros promoted 2023 third-round pick Jake Bloss last June, less than one calendar year from his draft date. (Bloss was traded to Toronto in the Yusei Kikuchi deal a month later.) Bloss, a right-handed pitcher, had started eight games in Double-A and jumped from there to the big leagues. Carrying Smith on the Opening Day roster would be a bolder move, as he has almost no experience facing upper minors pitching.

Smith is a natural third baseman. That’s the position he played at Florida State and where he saw all of his defensive innings in the Chicago system. Rome writes that the Astros would like to get him some work in right field (in addition to third base) in the minor leagues. Houston’s outfield is arguably its biggest weakness. Altuve will probably have some growing pains defensively if the Astros use him as their primary left fielder. Center fielder Jake Meyers is unlikely to provide much offensively. Chas McCormick is looking to rebound from the worst season of his career in right field. If McCormick struggles for a second consecutive year, right field would be a target for midseason upgrade. The Astros would presumably want Smith to have some minor league experience there before considering him a candidate for outfield work at Daikin Park.

At the same time, they’re also facing a potential injury absence on the infield dirt. Christian Walker went for imaging after reporting soreness in his left oblique. Espada provided an encouraging update on Friday, saying that the MRI didn’t reveal any kind of strain (link via McTaggart). The Astros intend to gradually ease him back into game action.

Smith’s path to breaking camp may be conditional on Walker opening the season on the injured list. That’d leave first base to a combination of Jon Singleton and Zach Dezenzo unless the Astros wanted to slide Paredes across the diamond and install Smith at the hot corner. Espada didn’t commit to Walker being ready for Opening Day, but the lack of a strain seems to leave that as a possibility.

Espada provided one other injury update of note. Lance McCullers Jr. got through a live batting practice session this afternoon without issue (via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). The righty is expected to get into game action in the near future. That’ll be a big step for McCullers, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since the 2022 World Series. The Astros have already announced that he’ll begin the season on the injured list as he returns from June ’23 flexor surgery. If McCullers gets into Spring Training action, he could be ready to return from the IL within the first few weeks of the regular season.

Poll: Where Will J.D. Martinez Sign?

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Last week, a poll of MLBTR readers revealed an overwhelming consensus about who of the remaining hitters left on the market is the best. More than 59% of respondents selected veteran slugger J.D. Martinez as the best hitter still available in free agency, and it’s not difficult to see why. The 37-year-old is a six-time All-Star who’s been an above average hitter in ten consecutive 162-game seasons, and there aren’t many players in baseball who can offer a resume that includes 331 homers and more than 1,700 hits.

Even so, he’s lingered on the free agent market into March for the second consecutive offseason. Much of that could simply be about his position—or, rather, lack thereof. While it’s certainly not unheard of for clubs to employ a full-time DH, the overwhelming majority of clubs prefer to either rotate regulars through the DH slot in the lineup as a form of rest or utilize a player with some ability to play elsewhere on the diamond there. Martinez does not offer that luxury, having last started more than one game in the outfield back in 2021 and last getting into even 50 games as an outfielder back in 2018.

That inherently restricts his market by blocking him from joining clubs who have regulars at DH already, and it also makes it more difficult for Martinez to fit a club in a bench role. While Justin Turner has similarly acted primarily as a DH in recent years, his ability to play first base or even a little third base in a pinch made him a viable addition to the Cubs’ bench to complement Michael Busch at first and act as a secondary DH option on days where Seiya Suzuki is in the outfield. Martinez lacks that sort of flexibility, and it’s all but impossible for a club to justify carrying a pure DH without a clear pathway to at least semi-regular at-bats.

Another concern is Martinez’s weak platform season. 2024 was Martinez’s worst campaign in years, as he hit just .235/.320/.406 (108 wRC+) with a 28.5% strikeout rate and just 16 homers in 495 trips to the plate for the Mets. Martinez’s expected numbers suggest that poor fortune may have played a role in his down season, particularly in a second half where he hit just .199/.282/.340 (79 wRC+) despite similar strikeout and walk numbers to his first half (130 wRC+) and a strong 13% barrel rate. While the underlying numbers suggest a bounceback season is likely for Martinez in 2025, players in their late 30s often face additional scrutiny in free agency and clubs may have reservations about Martinez’s ability to rebound completely at his age.

That’s not to say there should be no market for Martinez’s services, of course. As previously mentioned, the veteran’s underlying numbers suggest he’s still got the tools necessary to be a well-above average regular. What’s more, even simply repeating last year’s lackluster season would be an upgrade for a number of clubs. 15 teams garnered a wRC+ lower than Martinez’s 106 from their DH mix last year, and a handful of clubs still have questions in that corner of the roster. The Yankees have reportedly been in contact with the slugger with incumbent DH Giancarlo Stanton ticketed for a potentially lengthy absence due to elbow soreness. However, Jon Heyman of The New York Post wrote last night that the Yanks seem to have limited desire to spend at this point of the offseason.

They’re the only club to be publicly connected to Martinez amid a quiet offseason for the veteran, but it’s easy to see a fit for the slugger on clubs like the Giants or Padres that lack a regular option at DH. Meanwhile, the Tigers are reportedly pondering playing Kerry Carpenter in the outfield this year and have a need for additional right-handed thump in their lineup, the Reds got the weakest production in all of baseball out of their DH mix last season, and it’s even possible to imagine teams like the Cardinals and Guardians who have young, left-handed bats locked in at DH having interest in Martinez as a right-handed complement to those players.

Where do MLBTR readers think Martinez will ultimately land? Have your say in the poll below:

Latest On Alex Verdugo

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With fewer than three weeks until Opening Day, Alex Verdugo remains unsigned. The former Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees outfielder stands as one of the higher-profile names who’s yet to come to terms on a deal with a team for the upcoming season. He’s been tied to each of the Astros, Pirates and Angels over the course of the offseason, although the former two clubs have since signed different corner outfielders. Pittsburgh inked Tommy Pham on a one-year, $4.25MM deal. Houston brought Ben Gamel back on a one-year, $1.2MM deal (though reportedly, only Gamel’s $200K signing bonus is guaranteed on that deal).

It’s not fully clear what type of situation Verdugo has been seeking. The 29-year-old is presumably looking for a big league deal, even on the heels of a down year and in the waning stages of the offseason, but preferences regarding asking price, location, etc. remain unclear. Jon Heyman of the New York Post offers some context, however, reporting that prior to signing Pham, the Pirates “floated” the idea of signing Verdugo for  “around $8MM.”

It bears emphasizing that there’s no indication an $8MM offer was ever formally presented to Verdugo. Heyman’s report also doesn’t specify the timing of that “floated” proposal. If it was early enough in the offseason, perhaps Verdugo felt he had sufficient interest to eclipse that mark or at least other clubs showing interest at a similar rate.

It seems clear now that the opportunity in Pittsburgh has passed, with Pham in the fold there. The Bucs have Pham, Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds lined up for outfield work. Pham could always be pushed to a bench role, but he suggested early in camp that one of the reasons he chose to sign with the Pirates over other suitors was a greater opportunity for at-bats. It seems as though the Pirates communicated to Pham that he’d have the chance for plenty of playing time. Plus, with Pittsburgh’s payroll at $88MM — a bottom-of-the-barrel mark relative to the rest of the league but right in line with last year’s level for the Buccos — ownership may not be comfortable putting any more dollars into the team.

At this point in the offseason, it’s difficult to imagine Verdugo securing $8MM. There aren’t many teams with a clear need for a corner outfielder, and many of the potential suitors have minimal budget space. One of the reasons the Astros signed Gamel is that owner Jim Crane is loath to exceed the luxury tax for a second straight season. Gamel came at a bargain rate. Houston is less than $5MM from the CBT threshold, per RosterResource. The Royals have been seeking outfield additional bats, but their projected $132MM Opening Day payroll is the second-highest in franchise history and is already nearly $20MM north of last year’s mark.

At this point, it might take a spring injury to an established big league outfielder to spur a team to make a compelling offer to Verdugo. The Guardians (top prospect Chase DeLauter) and Tigers (Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling) both have injuries in their outfield mix, but there’s no indication either would consider a run at Verdugo. The Yankees increasingly seem unlikely to have Giancarlo Stanton for the early portion of the season, but they still have a full outfield (Jasson Dominguez, Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham) and seem to be near owner Hal Steinbrenner’s spending limit. The Rangers have had some injuries (Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia), but they’re short-term in nature and Texas is in a similar position to Houston with regard to the luxury tax.

Verdugo took to Instagram earlier this week to post a highlight reel with the caption “in due time” — a fitting descriptor of where things seem to stand. An opportunity will present itself eventually, but for now, it seems the 28-year-old (29 in May) will have to wait things out.

Astros, Jalen Beeks Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Astros are in agreement with lefty reliever Jalen Beeks, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s a minor league contract, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

Beeks divided the ’24 season between the Rockies and Pirates. He tossed 71 innings of 4.50 ERA ball between the two clubs. Beeks carried a 4.74 mark over 49 1/3 frames for Colorado. The Rox flipped him to Pittsburgh at the deadline for minor league reliever Luis Peralta. The 31-year-old southpaw managed decent production for the Bucs. He turned in a 3.92 ERA with three holds and a save across 20 2/3 innings.

However, Beeks’ strikeout rate trended down for the fourth consecutive season. He punched out 32.1% of opponents as a member of the Rays in the shortened 2020 season. Beeks missed all of ’21 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but he returned to post a 28% strikeout rate over 61 innings in 2022. That fell to 24.5% the next season and dropped to a well below-average 17.6% mark last year. The trade didn’t help in that regard. Beeks had run an 18% strikeout rate with Colorado and fanned 16.8% of opposing hitters in Pittsburgh.

Beeks still throws reasonably hard. His fastball averaged 94.5 MPH last season. That’s in line with where it has landed since his surgery. He leaned more heavily on the pitch at the expense of his changeup and cutter last year. Beeks did a decent job limiting hard contact on all three pitches, but he only missed bats effectively with the changeup.

Houston spent a few years operating without many left-handers in their bullpen. Josh Hader will close, leaving the lefty middle relief group rather thin. The Astros let deadline pickup Caleb Ferguson depart in free agency to the Pirates. That leaves Bryan King and Bennett Sousa as the only other lefty relievers on the 40-man roster. Beeks joins Steven Okert and Blake Weiman as non-roster southpaws in camp.

Ty Madden Diagnosed With Rotator Cuff Strain

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The Tigers released medical updates on various players in camp, with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press among those to pass them along. One of the more notable items on the list is that right-hander Ty Madden has a rotator cuff strain in his throwing shoulder. It’s unclear how long the Tigers expect him to be out but it seems fair to expect him to miss at least a few weeks.

Madden, now 25, made his major league debut last year. He tossed 23 innings over six appearances. Only one of those was technically a start, with manager A.J. Hinch deploying his “pitching chaos” strategy, but each was a bulky outing between 2 1/3 and 5 innings. Madden allowed 4.30 earned runs per nine in that time.

He also had a 6.98 ERA over 22 minor league starts, though that’s likely a misleading number. His 28.3% strikeout rate was solid and his 9.8% walk rate only a tad higher than average. He allowed 18 home runs but also had a .371 batting average on balls in play and 58.9% strand rate. His 4.79 FIP was more than two runs lower than his ERA.

Going into 2025, Madden wasn’t likely to break camp in the rotation. Even with Alex Cobb likely to start the season on the injured list due to hip inflammation, the Tigers project to have Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson in three spots. Candidates for the final two spots include Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda, Jackson Jobe, Brant Hurter, Keider Montero, Matt Manning and Madden. The Tigers should be fine in terms of cobbling a rotation together while Madden is out, but they will have one fewer depth option for the time being.

Another item of note in the injury report is that catcher Brian Serven has been diagnosed with a left oblique strain. Again, no specific timetable was provided for his injury but it seems fair to expect him to miss some time. Serven is in camp on a minor league deal and isn’t the most essential part of the organization. However, the Tigers only have two catchers on their 40-man roster in Jake Rogers and Dillon Dingler. Assuming Serven could still be recovering in a few weeks, they could start the season with less non-roster depth. Tomás Nido is also in camp but perhaps the Tigers will bring in another veteran on a minor league deal, either now or when guys get squeezed out by camp cuts in the coming weeks.

The injury report also notes that Wenceel Pérez has been dealing with some low back tightness. That doesn’t seem to be an especially worrisome issue, but it’s something to keep an eye on, given the other hits to the outfield depth in Detroit. Matt Vierling has a rotator cuff strain and will start the season on IL while Parker Meadows has been battling a nerve issue in his right arm with an uncertain timeline.

Pérez is a logical guy to fill in while Vierling and perhaps Meadows miss some time, though that obviously wouldn’t happen if Pérez is himself injured. Per the injury report, both Meadows and Vierling have begun some light baseball activities, so perhaps the outfield concern won’t last too long into the season.

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