Beau Brieske

Tigers Select Matt Gage

By Darragh McDonald | June 12, 2025 at 2:55pm CDT

The Tigers announced that they have selected left-hander Matt Gage to their roster. In a corresponding active roster move, right-hander Beau Brieske has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. To open a 40-man spot, righty Jackson Jobe has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. It was reported yesterday that Jobe will require Tommy John surgery.

Gage, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason. He has been pitching for Toledo so far this year with good results. He has logged 32 1/3 innings over 23 appearances, having allowed 1.67 earned runs per nine. His 22.8% strikeout rate and 42.9% ground ball rate are both around average while his 3.3% walk rate is excellent.

That performance will get him back up to the big leagues for the first time in a couple of years. He logged 19 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays and Astros in 2022 and 2023, posting a 1.83 ERA. But his 2024 saw him in plenty of transactions without getting into a big league game. The Astros put him on waivers in January. The Yankees claimed him but then flipped him to the Dodgers in February. The Dodgers released him but then re-signed him to a minor league deal. He triggered an opt-out clause and was added back to the 40-man roster but then flipped to the Mets. The Mets briefly recalled him to the majors but didn’t put him into a game.

Around all those transactions, he tossed 41 2/3 innings in the minors with a 4.10 ERA. The Mets outrighted him off their roster in November, which allowed him to elect free agency and sign with the Tigers. His major league track record is fairly limited but he has usually been good in the minors. From 2021 to the present, he has a 3.43 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate in 199 1/3 innings on the farm.

The Tigers will give him a shot at facing big league hitters again but he is out of options, so his hold on a roster spot may be tenuous. For now, he’ll give the Tigers a third lefty in the bullpen alongside Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Tigers Notes: Brieske, Foley, Meadows, Vierling

By Mark Polishuk | April 19, 2025 at 8:59am CDT

The Tigers placed right-hander Beau Brieske on the 15-day injured list yesterday, and righty Brenan Hanifee was called up in the corresponding move. Brieske has been sidelined by inflammation in his right ankle, and manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News) that the pitcher had been trying to play through ankle soreness for the last couple of weeks.

The injury went from sore to more severe after Brieske rolled his ankle while fielding a grounder during a relief appearance in Detroit’s 7-6 win over the Twins on April 11. Brieske wasn’t used again until Thursday when he threw 30 pitches over one-plus innings of relief, “and was pretty beat up” physically, Hinch said. The decision was then made for a proper IL stint in order to help the righty fully recover.

Playing hurt might explain Brieske’s shaky numbers over the season’s first three weeks. The reliever has an 8.59 ERA and only an 11.1% strikeout rate in his first seven games and 7 1/3 innings of the 2025 campaign, though Brieske has had some bad luck in the form of an unfathomably low 39.2% strand rate. However, he has already allowed two homers this season, after giving up five long balls over 67 2/3 frames in 2024.

Brieske was far more effective in 2023-24, posting a 3.59 ERA over 102 2/3 innings while working in a variety of different roles out of the Tigers’ bullpen. Technically, some of those bullpen outings were starts since Hinch frequently used Brieske as an opener, but the right-hander also got long relief work and some more standard one-inning outings. Brieske’s flexible usage contributed to the “pitching chaos” strategy that helped Detroit make its big late-season surge and playoff run in 2024, though obviously he simply hasn’t been nearly as effective in the early going this year.

Jason Foley is another reliever whose fortunes have taken a turn for the worse in 2025, as the Tigers’ more frequent closer from last season began this year in the minor leagues after a rough Spring Training. He looked sharp in throwing five scoreless innings with Triple-A Toledo, but any plans for a call-up were put on hold when Toledo placed Foley on the seven-day IL on Thursday due to a right shoulder strain.

Foley hasn’t pitched in a week, and Hinch told MLB.com’s Jason Beck that “We’re getting him evaluated. I feel for him, because it comes at a time where he was starting to throw the ball pretty well and [was] starting to look like the player that we expected him to be this spring.”

A proper recovery timeline will likely be known once more tests are complete, and it may be something of a good sign that Foley wasn’t immediately placed on the IL in the wake of his initial shoulder discomfort. Still, the Tigers will naturally be cautious with any shoulder-related injury, and Foley seems likely to miss well beyond the seven-day minimum. Foley missed the entire 2018 season recovering from a Tommy John surgery but has since been injury-free, and he was a workhorse in tossing 189 1/3 innings over 199 appearances for Detroit during the 2022-24 seasons.

In better injury news for the Tigers, Parker Meadows has been cleared to start a throwing program. A musculocutaneous nerve problem in Meadows’ upper right arm arose during Spring Training, preventing Meadows from throwing and necessitating a season-opening stint on Detroit’s 60-day IL. The fact that he has restarted his throwing progression in even a limited fashion is a big plus for Meadows, even if Hinch cautioned that the team will still be carefully monitoring Meadows’ ramp-up before making any further steps in his rehab.

Since Meadows can’t be activated until the last week of May at the earliest, he has plenty of time to gradually rebuild his throwing strength. He has been able to take part in other baseball-related activities during his IL stint, so the throwing is the only obstacle remaining between Meadows and what will likely be a pretty lengthy minor league rehab assignment, given how much time Meadows has already missed.

Meadows is one of several Tigers outfielders sidelined by injury early in the 2025 season, and utilityman Matt Vierling has also yet to play after straining his right rotator cuff back in February. Vierling has now also been cleared to throw, allowing him to fully partake in baseball-related activities. The Tigers are hopeful that Vierling can begin a minor league rehab assignment before April is over.

Tigers Notes: Flaherty, Brieske, Baez

By Nick Deeds | June 29, 2024 at 10:33pm CDT

The Tigers’ signing of right-hander Jack Flaherty has proved to be one of the best moves of the 2023-24 offseason through the first half of play this year. The 28-year-old has looked nothing short of fantastic since signing with Detroit on a one-year deal over the offseason. In 89 innings of work across 15 starts, Flaherty has posted a solid 3.24 ERA (129 ERA+) with a 3.04 FIP.

That’s a quality performance that virtually any club would like to have at the front to middle of their rotation, but his underlying metrics have been even more elite. Flaherty has struck out an eye-popping 33% of batters faced while walking just 4% this year, giving him the league’s second-highest K-BB% behind only White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet. While home runs- which have been an issue that has plagued Flaherty throughout his career- have remained an issue as 18.3% of his fly balls have left the yard this year, the right-hander has also generated grounders at a full-season career best clip of 44.2%. All of that has combined to give Flaherty an MLB-best xFIP of 2.29 and a SIERA of 2.45 that trails only Crochet.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, they aren’t particularly well-positioned to make the most out of Flaherty’s time in the organization. While fans in Detroit are surely dreaming on the right-hander pairing with Tarik Skubal at the front of a playoff rotation, the Tigers are sitting at a record of just 37-45 headed into the second half. The AL Central division already appears more or less out of reach for the club as they’ve fallen 15.5 games behind the Guardians, and even an AL Wild Card berth would take a herculean climb up the standings as the club currently sits 7.5 games behind the Royals for the third Wild Card spot.

Between that reality and the fact that Flaherty would surely be the most attractive rental pitcher moved at the deadline if the Tigers were to deal him, it may seem like a forgone conclusion that the right-hander will be changing teams next month. That might not be the case, however, as Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reported earlier this week that president of baseball operations Scott Harris and his front office are preparing not just for a potential sell-off, but also for a hypothetical scenario where the Tigers look to add at the deadline.

While the club’s weak position in the standings makes that possibility appear extremely unlikely at first blush, McCosky notes that the club figures to have plenty of control over its own destiny between now and the trade deadline on July 30. Prior to that date, Detroit will square off against the Guardians ten times and the Twins six times. That could give Detroit plenty of opportunities to not only cut into their massive deficit in the AL Central, but also make up ground in the AL Wild Card race; Minnesota holds the second of three spots and currently sits eight games ahead of the Tigers in the standings.

Even as the Tigers have an interesting opportunity to play their way into contention over the final month before the deadline, however, it still appears more likely than not that Flaherty is pitching in another uniform when the calendar flips to August. If that comes to pass, the Tigers will need another arm to step into the rotation alongside Skubal, Reese Olson, Casey Mize, and Kenta Maeda. According to McCosky, that next man up was once thought to be right-hander Matt Manning, but the club’s first-round pick from the 2016 draft has struggled to a 6.00 ERA at the Triple-A level since last being optioned to the minors and has pitched to below-average numbers across five spot starts in the big leagues this year.

That, per McCosky, could lead the club to consider right-hander Beau Brieske for a rotation spot at some point. While the Tigers haven’t formally broached the possibility of swinging between the bullpen and the rotation with Brieske, the right-hander would reportedly be the top option for the role should the club decide to utilize a pitcher in that role. Looking at the righty’s work during his time with the club, it’s easy to see why that would be the case.

Brieske, 26, was a 27th-round pick by the Tigers in the 2019 draft but made it to the big leagues fairly quickly, starting 15 games in the majors during the 2022 season to roughly league average results. He’s been used almost exclusively out of the bullpen since then and has taken to the role particularly well this year as he’s posted a 2.35 ERA (180 ERA+) and a 2.24 FIP with a 24.4% strikeout rate in 13 multi-inning relief appearances totaling 23 innings of work. Those strong multi-inning performances have seen Brieske throw as many as 53 pitches in relief over three innings of work, making him a prime candidate to move into the rotation from a workload perspective.

In other Tigers news, Hinch told reporters (including McCosky) this evening that veteran shortstop Javier Baez, who has been shelved since early this month due to lumbar spine inflammation, is not only improving but has reached point of feeling “the best he’s felt with his back in some time.” Hinch noted that the Tigers are hoping to get the 31-year-old out on a rehab assignment next week with an eye toward a return prior to the All Star break, which begins on July 15. The veteran has struggled to a .183/.209/.247 slash line in 53 games with the Tigers this year, but despite that meager offensive contribution the Tigers still figure to look forward to his return because even that offense is still an improvement over the bat of Ryan Kreidler, who has replaced Baez in the lineup and is currently slashing just .148/.258/.148 in 13 games with the club while filling in for the veteran.

Tigers Activate Riley Greene, Beau Brieske

By Mark Polishuk | July 8, 2023 at 9:21am CDT

The Tigers announced a quartet of roster moves in advance of this afternoon’s game with the Blue Jays. Outfielder Riley Greene was activated from the 15-day injured list and right-hander Beau Brieske was activated from the 60-day IL, while Jonathan Schoop was designated for assignment (as reported yesterday) and Alex Faedo was optioned to Triple-A.

Greene suffered a stress reaction in his left fibula in late May, interrupting what had been a breakout season for the 22-year-old. Greene was hitting .296/.362/.443 with five home runs and six stolen bases (in six chances) over his first 224 plate appearances. While his 28.6% strikeout rate is still high, Greene’s 9.4% walk rate is above the league average, and he is making a lot of hard contact. A huge .410 BABIP does hint that some regression is inevitable, yet Greene’s combination of solid contact and excellent speed makes him a candidate for better batted-ball results anyway.

Selected fifth overall in the 2019 draft, Greene is a key figure of the Tigers’ rebuild, especially given how the team is hurting so badly for any offensive production. If Greene can pick up where he left off, Detroit might be able to get a bit closer to contention before the trade deadline, and the Tigers might be able to avoid another deadline selloff. Despite the club’s 38-49 record, the relative weakness of the AL Central has kept Detroit on the fringes of the playoff race, as the Tigers are only six games back of the first-place Twins.

Brieske’s return will also help a pitching staff that has been hit hard by injuries for the second consecutive season. Due to a right ulnar nerve entrapment that arose during Spring Training, Brieske has yet to pitch in 2023. The righty posted a respectable 4.19 ERA over 81 2/3 innings in his 2022 rookie season, though he didn’t pitch after July 12 due to a forearm strain. Brieske worked as a starter last year, but he has been used only as a reliever in the minors this season, perhaps as a way to slowly rebuild his arm strength after the long layoff.

Detroit might prefer Brieske as a multi-inning relief weapon if enough healthy options can be otherwise found for the starting five, but otherwise, it seems likely that Brieske will get some starts at some point. An opening in the rotation might already be available with Faedo optioned, and Detroit’s staff could look quite different if the team does trade away some notable veterans (i.e. Eduardo Rodriguez or Michael Lorenzen) at the deadline.

Tigers Claim Seth Elledge From Mets

By Darragh McDonald | May 16, 2023 at 1:40pm CDT

The Tigers announced that they have claimed right-hander Seth Elledge off waivers from the Mets and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. The Mets had designated him for assignment on the weekend. In order to open a spot for Elledge on their 40-man roster, the Tigers transferred right-hander Beau Brieske to the 60-day injured list.

Elledge, who turns 27 on Saturday, has changed uniforms a few times in recent years. He got to the majors with the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021 but was outrighted at the end of that latter season and signed a minor league deal with Atlanta. He spent 2022 with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers and impressed enough to get added to Atlanta’s 40-man roster at season’s end. He was optioned to the minors again to start this year but was designated for assignment in early April, getting claimed by the Mets, who also put him on waivers about a month later.

Amid all of those roster moves, he’s made 10 Triple-A appearances on the year with a 6.75 ERA in 14 2/3 innings, striking out 21.1% of batters faced against a 14.1% walk rate. He was much better last year, posting a 3.88 ERA in a larger sample of 46 1/3 innings. He struck out 33.7% of opponents on the season while walking just 8.6%. Though he’s out to a slow start this year, it’s understandable why clubs keep finding roster room for him based on last year’s results and the fact that he still has a couple of options remaining. He also has that small bit of major league experience, tossing 23 1/3 innings for the Cards with a 4.63 ERA. The Tigers have a couple of relievers on the injured list in Freddy Pacheco and Trey Wingenter, so Elledge can head to Toledo to give them a bit of extra depth.

As for Brieske, he’s been on the injured list all year due to a right ulnar nerve entrapment and hasn’t even begun a rehab assignment. This move will make him ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which was March 27, meaning he could technically come back next week if he were healthy. But there’s nothing to indicate a return that soon is on the table, making this move a fairly inevitable formality.

Pitching Notes: Red Sox, Kahnle, Lorenzen

By Simon Hampton | April 8, 2023 at 10:44pm CDT

The Red Sox are on the verge of a boost to their rotation, with starters Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock set to return. Whitlock will be the first, with Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe reporting that Whitlock will pitch Tuesday against the Rays.

Whitlock has been taking a little extra time to prepare for the season following hip surgery in September. While he’s excelled mostly as a reliever for Boston, the team came into the year planning to use him as a starter and it appears they’re not deviating from that. Whitlock owns a 2.24 ERA in 112 2/3 relief innings, and a 4.15 ERA in nine starts and 39 innings over his two big league seasons.

It’s unclear yet who will drop out of the rotation, although Kutter Crawford’s spot would appear most at risk. Boston doesn’t get a day off until April 27, so the boost to their struggling rotation is timely. Whitlock’s return could be closely followed by that of Bello. The youngster is scheduled to make another rehab start on Tuesday, with the hope being he’ll go for six innings. As Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe notes, manager Alex Cora wouldn’t commit to him coming of the IL after that, but if he goes that sort of length without any issues then a return can’t be far away.

Bello, 23, worked to a 4.71 ERA over 57 1/3 innings last year. It was a promising rookie season for Bello, and underlying numbers such as FIP (2.94) looked a lot more favorably on his work. Bello had been dealing with forearm tightness during spring training, forcing his delayed start to the season. Like Whitlock, he figures to be a key part of any success Boston’s rotation might have this year.

Here’s some more from around the game:

Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle was transferred to the 60-day IL today, meaning the earliest he’ll return will be the end of May. That’s a significant blow for a banged up Yankees bullpen that also lost Jonathan Loaisiga to the IL today. Per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, manager Aaron Boone did not consider Kahnle to have suffered a setback as a reason for the move to the 60-day, but instead that they just anticipated he’d have a longer buildup. Boone added that he could see Kahnle appearing in minor league rehab games in early May. Kahnle re-joined the Yankees this winter on a two-year, $11.5MM deal.
The Tiger announced (Twitter) a series of medical updates, including that right-hander Michael Lorenzen is scheduled to make a rehab start Triple-A today. Lorenzen did indeed make that start, going 2 1/3 innings (56 pitches) and giving up four earned runs. Lorenzen is returning from a left groin strain. The team also announced that right-hander Beau Brieske continues to receive further medical evaluation on his right upper arm discomfort. Meanwhile, starter Casey Mize is playing catch three times a week and Tarik Skubal is playing catch six times weekly.

Tigers Designate Edwin Uceta For Assignment

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2023 at 10:21am CDT

The Tigers announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Edwin Uceta for assignment. That move, coupled with yesterday’s outright of Rony Garcia, will open the two roster spots necessary to select the contracts of lefty Chasen Shreve and righty Trey Wingenter. Both relievers are now formally on Detroit’s Opening Day roster.

Additionally, the Tigers optioned lefty Tyler Holton to Triple-A Toledo and placed three players on the injured list. Infielder Tyler Nevin is headed to the 10-day IL with an oblique strain, while righties Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort) and Michael Lorenzen (left groin strain) have been placed on the 15-day IL.

The 25-year-old Uceta was a waiver claim out of the Diamondbacks organization back in January. He’s seen big league work in each of the past two seasons, first throwing 20 1/3 frames with the Dodgers in 20221 before logging 17 frames with the D-backs in 2022. Uceta’s results have been poor, as he’s served up a 6.27 ERA with a 23% strikeout rate and an elevated 11.5% walk rate. He’s struggled to limit the damage with men on base, but Uceta has solid spin and velocity on his four-seamer and a 30% strikeout rate in Triple-A.

Uceta appeared in eight spring games with the Tigers. He yielded six earned runs on 13 hits and four walks through 11 frames (4.91 ERA) but also fanned 14 of his 48 opponents (29.2%). The Tigers will have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. Uceta does have a minor league option remaining, which could add to his appeal.

Injury Notes: Anderson, Patiño, Brieske

By Maury Ahram | September 18, 2022 at 8:07am CDT

Tampa Bay Ray veteran reliever Nick Anderson’s 2022 season is officially over, as per Marc Topkin of Tampa Bay Times. One of the leaders of Tampa Bay’s famed relief corps will call 2022 a lost season, having dealt with a torn elbow ligament in March 2021 and, more recently, plantar fasciitis on his right foot. Anderson did make it back to Triple-A, but posted a 6.19 ERA in 16 innings and gave up 5 home runs in the small sample. This poor showing led the Rays to opt to keep him in Durham, despite their constant bullpen shuffling.

In the three prior seasons, including the 6 innings pitched in 2021, the righty has put up a dominant 2.89 ERA in 87 1/3 innings, with a high 39.6 K% and a low 6.7 BB%. The Rays still have control over Anderson for the next three years, but with his recent injury troubles, it will be interesting to see if they tender him a contract for the 2023 season.

Other injury updates from around the league…

Rays’ former top prospect Luis Patiño was scratched from his Triple-A start due to “right shoulder discomfort,” as reported by Topkin. Patiño has had a rough 2022 season, with the starter posting a 8.10 ERA in 20 innings, giving up 6 home runs and walking 13 batters. In Triple-A Patiño has fared better, pitching to a 4.38 ERA in 37 innings, which is more in line with the 4.31 ERA in 77 1/3 innings that he posted last season in the majors. Regardless, Patiño’s injury comes at a crucial time with the Rays looking to hold onto a wildcard spot, and any further impediments may bring his season to an early close.
Detroit Tigers’ rookie Beau Brieske, who has been on the injured list since August 10^th with right forearm soreness, will look to the 2023 season. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has announced that the starter will not pitch again this year, reported by Evan Woodbery of Michigan Live, with the club not wanting to “ramp him back up for just one start” after his first major league season. Brieske’s rookie season was largely productive, with the newcomer starting 15 games, tied for second-most among Tigers pitchers, and pitching to a 4.19 ERA in 81 2/3 innings.

Tigers To Select Kerry Carpenter

By Anthony Franco | August 10, 2022 at 4:20pm CDT

Aug. 10: The Tigers have announced Carpenter’s selection to reporters, including Woodbery, with righty Beau Brieske being transferred to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move. He will be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which was due to forearm soreness on July 21. He could technically return in late September, though with the Tigers well out of contention, it seems possible that his season may be finished.

Aug. 9: The Tigers are bringing up corner outfield prospect Kerry Carpenter to make his major league debut, the team informed reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Daz Cameron is being optioned to Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move. The club will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster before tomorrow’s game to formally select Carpenter’s contract.

Carpenter, 25 next month, entered pro ball as a 19th-round draft choice back in 2019. The Virginia Tech product wasn’t regarded as a draft prospect of much note and lost his first full professional season to the pandemic cancelation of the minor leagues. He spent last year with Double-A Erie, hitting at a roughly league average level. Few would’ve anticipated he was on the verge of a breakout, but Carpenter has torn the cover off the ball in 2022.

The left-handed hitter started this season back in Erie. He played there through late June, blasting 22 home runs in 63 games. Carpenter’s strikeout and walk rates weren’t great, but his power output was so overwhelming the Tigers bumped him up to Toledo. He’s played 33 games with the Mud Hens and hit even better there than he had in Erie. Carpenter is hitting .342/.433/.667 through 134 Triple-A plate appearances, connecting on eight homers and 11 doubles with matching strikeout and walk rates (12.7% apiece).

Carpenter doesn’t offer much defensive value, so he’ll have to hit at an above-average level to be productive. Baseball America credited him with plus power in ranking him the #12 prospect in the Detroit system midseason, writing that he made some swing changes last offseason that appear to have paid off. He’d have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft if not added to the 40-man roster at the start of the offseason. As they turn their attention to 2023, the Tigers will get their first look at a player they hope can carve out a regular corner outfield role in the coming years.

AL Central Notes: Guardians, Hosmer, Kepler, Brieske

By Mark Polishuk | August 6, 2022 at 5:30pm CDT

It was a quiet trade deadline for the Guardians, as Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the club “at times…felt they were close” to landing Sean Murphy from the Athletics, yet no deal was completed. Murphy was known to be a trade target for the Guards, though another somewhat surprising name was at least briefly on their radar, as Hoynes reports that Cleveland and San Diego had some talks about first baseman Eric Hosmer. However, those discussions didn’t get far, as the Guardians are one of the 10 teams on Hosmer’s no-trade list. Hosmer also used his no-trade protection to scuttle his involvement in the Padres’ blockbuster deal with the Nationals for Juan Soto, so the Padres instead moved Hosmer to the Red Sox.

San Diego dealt Hosmer and two prospects to Boston for lefty pitching prospect Jay Groome, and the Padres also covering basically all of the $44MM remaining on Hosmer’s deal (which runs through the 2025 season). It’s fair to guess that the Guardians might have had interest in something similar, with Hosmer joining Josh Naylor and Owen Miller as part of the first base/DH mix. Hosmer might have been viewed by the Guards as just a one-season fill-in now that the team is seemingly willing to part ways with Franmil Reyes, but with the Padres footing the bill, Cleveland could have kept Hosmer around as a veteran complement to their younger players.

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