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Tigers Select Drew Hutchison’s Contract

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The Tigers have selected the contract of right-hander Drew Hutchison from Triple-A Toledo, and also called up right-hander Bryan Garcia.  The two hurlers will take the places of righties Joe Jimenez (placed on the COVID-related injury list) and Drew Carlton (optioned to Triple-A yesterday).

This will be Hutchison’s second appearance on Detroit’s big league roster this season, as the 31-year-old was previous designated for assignment and then outrighted to Toledo last month.  Hutchison’s previous stint saw him make two starts, the first a rough outing against the Indians on August 15 that saw Hutchison allow six runs (but only two earned) in 1 2/3 innings.  The righty fared much better in his second start, as he allowed one unearned run on four hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays on August 22.

The result was a 3.00 ERA over six total innings, which served as Hutchison’s first MLB action since the 2018 campaign.  At the Triple-A level this season, Hutchison has a 3.77 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, and a 10.8% walk rate over 88 1/3 innings for Toledo, starting all 19 of his appearances.

Since the Tigers are already working with a six-man rotation, Hutchison might be deployed out of the bullpen for now.  However, as Detroit’s younger starters approach innings limits, Hutchison could be called upon for spot-start duty, or perhaps piggyback outings.

Tigers Place Spencer Turnbull On 10-Day IL Due To Forearm Strain

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JUNE 6: Follow-up testing on Turnbull confirmed the issue is indeed muscular, not structural, in nature. Turnbull has a bit of forearm inflammation, Hinch said (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com), but the team is “very happy with the initial diagnosis.”

JUNE 5: The Tigers announced that right-hander Spencer Turnbull has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right forearm strain.  Righty Bryan Garcia has been called up from Triple-A Toledo to take Turnbull’s spot on the active roster.

The move isn’t a surprise, after Turnbull left last night’s start after four innings.  Though he was still pitching well (one ER on two hits and no walks, with four strikeouts), Turnbull was experiencing forearm tightness and the Tigers opted to pull him from the game.

More will be known about Turnbull’s injury in due time, but manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that “the initial diagnosis is positive,” since Turnbull’s problem seems to be muscular rather than structural.  Another good sign was that Turnbull didn’t appear to be in severe pain, as Hinch said that the righty “fought to stay in the game.”

The IL placement interrupts that has already been a memorable season for Turnbull, who authored a no-hitter back on May 18 and has looked solid over an even 50 innings pitched in 2021.  Turnbull has a 2.88 ERA/3.71 SIERA, with a big 57.2% grounder rate, six percent walk rate, and some strong soft-contact numbers that have allowed him to succeed despite not missing many bats (21.9% strikeout rate).

Jose Urena could serve as a ready-made replacement for Turnbull, as Urena is scheduled to start Sunday in his own return from the injured list.  Urena is back after only a minimum 10 days after a forearm strain of his own, so his situation would represent the best-case scenario for Turnbull if his forearm problem is also relatively minor.  Since Michael Fulmer isn’t likely to be shifted out of relief work and Julio Teheran isn’t ready to return from the 60-day IL, the Tigers could turn to the opener strategy to fill the open spot in the rotation, or perhaps turn to Tyler Alexander or a minor league call-up.

Tigers Select Bryan Garcia

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The Tigers announced today they’ve selected the contract of right-handed reliever Bryan Garcia. Outfielder JaCoby Jones, already known to be out for the season, was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space.

Garcia, 24, ranks 23rd among Tiger farmhands at Fangraphs, where Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen praise the Tommy John survivor’s mid-90’s fastball and plus slider. Garcia has stayed healthy all season and logged a 2.97 ERA in the hitter-friendly International League over 33.1 innings. His strikeout (23.9%) and walk (10.1%) rates with Triple-A Toledo are less impressive than the run prevention numbers, but he’ll nonetheless get a chance to cement himself as a long-term piece in a Tiger bullpen that sorely needs them.

AL Central Notes: Indians, Cruz, Tigers

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The chances of the Indians trading one of Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer “seem to diminish by the day,” writes Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic in his latest notes column (subscription required). Rosenthal writes that Cleveland is instead looking at affordable options to round out the back end of the roster more than moving either of the oft-rumored-to-be-available righties. As MLBTR’s Ty Bradley recently noted in profiling the remaining needs of the American League Central’s five teams, the Indians could still use some outfield upgrades as well as help in the bullpen and behind the plate. Adding some veteran versatility for the bench could also prove prudent in Cleveland, where Jordan Luplow, out-of-options Max Moroff and non-roster invitee Mike Freeman are currently among the candidates for bench roles.

Elsewhere in the American League Central…

  • The Twins obviously plan to use Nelson Cruz primarily as a designated hitter, but manager Rocco Baldelli at least raised the possibility that Cruz could see occasional outfield work in 2019, as Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. “We’re going to work with him and have a lot of conversations about how he is doing,” said Baldelli. “How he feels. How he prepares for the season to play in the outfield.” Presumably, Cruz would be more of an emergency option or perhaps an option in National League parks during interleague play. Minnesota, after all, isn’t short on young, athletic outfield options with Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler currently in line for the bulk of the corner outfield work, plus Byron Buxton and Jake Cave in the center field mix. Miller also quotes Cruz on his decision to sign in Minnesota, which was influenced in part by his familiarity with GM Thad Levine and former Orioles teammate/new Twins second baseman Jonathan Schoop. Meanwhile, Rosenthal adds that Cruz did receive two-year offers in free agency, but none that would’ve come close to the $26MM he can earn if the Twins exercise his 2020 option. The Rays and Astros were among the other teams prominently linked to Cruz in free agency.
  • Chris McCosky of the Detroit News chats with Tigers prospect Bryan Garcia, who is now 11 months removed from Tommy John surgery and is nearing a return to the mound. As McCosky notes, the Detroit farm system looks dramatically different now than it did a year ago, when Garcia was ranked among the organization’s more promising young arms. MLB.com still ranks Garcia as the Tigers’ No. 22 farmhand, but he’s been leapfrogged by numerous pitchers over the course of the year he missed. None of that bothers Garcia, who discusses his decision to undergo surgery, his mindset during rehab and his 2019 outlook at lengthy with McCosky. A sixth-rounder in 2016, Garcia enjoyed a meteoric rise through Detroit’s system in ’17, ascending from Low-A to Triple-A and amassing 55 innings of 2.13 ERA ball with 12.8 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 along the way. Tigers VP of player development Dave Littlefield tells McCosky that the goal is for Garcia to be pitching competitively by May. The 23-year-old could well emerge as a ’pen option in Detroit in late 2019 or in 2020, though Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote last May that Garcia could also have the stuff to start.

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