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Casey Mize

Tigers Notes: Mize, Manning, Pineda

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The Tigers were dealt a couple scares in the rotation last week, with righties Casey Mize and Matt Manning both landing on the injured list due to arm issues. Mize suffered an MCL sprain in his throwing elbow, an ominous-sounding injury that seemed as if it could result in a long  absence. There’s still not much clarity on his timetable for return, but the most recent news on the 24-year-old has been promising.

In an appearance on MLB Network Radio yesterday, manager A.J. Hinch said initial results indicated they’d “avoided any sort of catastrophic occurrence” (relayed by Jason Beck of MLB.com). Mize himself addressed the matter this afternoon, saying he “(feels) good” because he’s “not having surgery and … going to pitch again soon” (via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press).

That Mize appears to have avoided a serious injury is obviously fantastic news for the club. The former first overall pick is an integral part of the organization’s present and future. That’s also true of Manning, himself a former top ten draftee and highly-regarded prospect. The 6’6″ hurler left his start over the weekend with shoulder discomfort. Detroit placed him on the injured list due to inflammation this afternoon, but Hinch didn’t sound particularly concerned. The manager said Manning is hoping to resume throwing as soon as this weekend (Beck link), suggesting his stay on the IL could be brief.

Even if Manning returns in short order, the Tigers will be down a couple starters through an ongoing stretch of six consecutive games without an off-day. In response, Detroit announced tonight they’re recalling veteran Michael Pineda to make his season debut tomorrow afternoon against the Yankees. Signed to a $5.5MM guarantee in Spring Training, Pineda consented to be optioned to open the year after being delayed in reporting to camp by visa issues.

The hope had been for the big righty to start three games with Triple-A Toledo before being called up, but he’ll be pressed into action after two minor league appearances by the injuries to Mize and Manning. Now that he’s in the majors again, Pineda figures to take the ball every fifth day as a regular member of the rotation. Once Mize and Manning return, Tyler Alexander would likely be bumped into a long relief role — assuming the club avoids intervening injuries.

Tigers Place Casey Mize On Injured List

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TODAY: Mize has a sprained MCL, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News and Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press).  Mize will undergo more tests on Monday but did say that his arm was already feeling better today.  Pineda has been scratched from tomorrow’s Triple-A start and is expected to pitch for the Tigers during their upcoming series (Apri 19-21) against the Yankees.

APRIL 15: The Tigers announced they’ve placed starter Casey Mize on the 10-day injured list with a right elbow sprain. Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic relays the Tigers consider the IL placement “precautionary” in nature. In a corresponding move, outfielder Daz Cameron has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo.

Mize worked five innings of two-run ball yesterday against the Royals. He felt some elbow soreness upon waking up this morning and will go for further testing, tweets Jason Beck of MLB.com. That the team is stressing today’s IL placement to be precautionary is a bit of a relief, but it’s worrisome any time a young pitcher of Mize’s talent goes on the shelf with any sort of arm issue.

The first overall pick in the 2018 draft, Mize entered the professional ranks with sky-high expectations. He moved quickly through the minors, performing well consistently while maintaining his status as a top prospect. The Alabama native reached the big leagues late in 2020 and spent last season in the Detroit rotation. Over 30 starts, Mize tossed 150 1/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball. His 19.3% strikeout percentage and 9.4% swinging strike rate were subpar, but he showed excellent control and induced ground-balls at a solid 48.1% clip.

Mize stayed healthy for the entirety of last season, but he’s had some injury concerns in the past. He missed time with forearm troubles during his sophomore year at Auburn — essentially the only flag raised on pre-draft scouting reports — and he spent a month on the minor league IL with shoulder soreness in 2019. Between that history and Mize’s obvious importance to the organization long-term, the Tigers are sure to proceed with caution.

With Mize out of the rotation for at least the next week and a half, the Tigers are down to Eduardo Rodríguez, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning and Tyler Alexander as the top four. Detroit signed veteran righty Michael Pineda to a one-year deal to serve as the #5 starter, but he was delayed by visa issues and consented to be optioned to Toledo to open the year. Pineda is lined up to start for the Mud Hens this weekend but could be recalled by the middle or end of next week.

Right-hander Wily Peralta started 18 games for the Tigers last season and is in the organization on a minor league deal. He’s been building up arm strength after visa delays held him back too, but manager A.J. Hinch told reporters he’ll be brought up to the majors “shortly” (link via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press). Detroit plans on deploying him out of the bullpen this season, but his background as a starter should make him a multi-inning option. Peralta is not yet on the 40-man roster, so the Tigers will need to make a move in that regard to formally select his contract.

AL Notes: Blue Jays, Jansen, Moreno, Mariners, White, Mize, Skubal

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Before this afternoon’s game against the Rays, the Blue Jays activated catcher Danny Jansen from the injured list and optioned Riley Adams to Triple-A. Jansen will be limited to scripted usage in the near-term, as manager Charlie Montoyo is committed to riding the hot hand of Reese McGuire for now, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). McGuire was designated for assignment at the start of the season, and he’d have to be waived again for Toronto to take him off the active roster. He’s not going anywhere for now, however, not while he continues to hit as he has, with a .302/.350/.406 triple slash line through 104 plate appearances. That means Alejandro Kirk will remain in Triple-A for the time being, where he is currently on a rehab assignment.

More from Toronto and the rest of the American League:

  • In other Blue Jays catching news, top prospect Gabriel Moreno underwent surgery on his fractured right thumb, as first reported by Future Blue Jays (and confirmed by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). There’s no specific timetable on his return, but the young backstop will be out for multiple weeks. Moreno entered the season as one of the top catching prospects in the minors, and he’s taken his stock to another level with Double-A New Hampshire. Despite only being 21 years old, Moreno has thrived at the minors’ second-highest level, hitting .373/.441/.651 with eight homers across 145 plate appearances.
  • The Mariners don’t appear particularly close to returns from either of a pair of injured regulars. There’s still no timetable on center fielder Kyle Lewis, who is recovering from a meniscus tear in his right knee, relays Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). Lewis isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day injured list until early August, but it doesn’t seem feasible to expect him back at that point given the vague outlook on his injury. First baseman Evan White, meanwhile, “isn’t close” to even resuming baseball activities after receiving a cortisone shot in his ailing left hip, per Divish. White is eligible to return from the 60-day IL in a little over a week, but he’s obviously going to need significantly more time than that to recover.
  • The Tigers are planning to be more judicious with Casey Mize’s and Tarik Skubal’s in-start workloads in the coming weeks, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive. Detroit isn’t planning to shut down either of their prized young hurlers entirely; instead, there’ll be pre-planned quick hooks during some starts to keep their innings totals in check. The process already began during Mize’s start yesterday, as manager A.J. Hinch lifted the 24-year-old after three innings and 56 pitches against the White Sox. Mize, who threw 28 1/3 innings during last year’s shortened season, is up to 91 1/3 frames in 2021. Skubal tossed 32 innings in 2020 and is up to 82 2/3 this season after today’s five-inning outing against Chicago.

Latest On Tigers’ Rotation

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The Tigers are going to move Tarik Skubal into a scheduled piggyback role for his next couple of outings, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. The Tigers could do the same with Casey Mize at some point during this season. Manager A.J. Hinch views the piggyback option as a way to avoid shutting down or demoting Skubal and Mize as they work with innings restrictions for their young hurlers.

The move, Hinch was careful to note, is not a demotion. Skubal has a 6.08 ERA in 13 1/3 innings so far this season, allowing 11 hits, four home runs, and nine walks against 12 strikeouts. The home runs are a concern, but Skubal also has a 15.0 percent groundball rate, a number that is sure to rise over time. Per the Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen, Hinch said, “It’s not an indictment on where he’s at in our rotation or what we think of his first few starts. But it’s the plan we’re gonna put in place to be smart about our pitching resources throughout a six-month season.”

Skubal’s move to the pen actually comes prompted by a bit of good news: Spencer Turnbull will return to the rotation for his first start of the season on Wednesday. Turnbull had his season debut delayed because of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis in spring. The 28-year-old is coming off a strong 2020 in which he posted a 3.97 ERA/3.49 FIP over 56 2/3 innings. It was the first time Turnbull saw his ERA match his typically strong FIP. Turnbull will join Matthew Boyd, Mize, Jose Urena, and Michael Fulmer in the rotation, at least in the short-term. Detroit’s rotation has already lost Julio Teheran to injury after the veteran got the win in his first start as a Tiger.

When Turnbull joins the roster, another roster move will follow. McCosky suggests a pitcher will likely be demoted, with Joe Jimenez being one possibility. The 26-year-old right-hander has just two appearances so far this season, but he’s off to a rough start. The former All-Star has walked seven of 10 batters this season while being charged with five earned runs (despite not yielding a base hit). In fact, with two strikeouts also on the ledger, only one batter has put the ball in play with Jimenez toeing the rubber, an Aramis Garcia ground out. Both of Jimenez’s appearances this season have come against the Athletics. The Tigers will likely wait to make an official roster move until much closer to Turnbull’s Wednesday start.

Tigers Announce Decisions On Pitching Staff

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Former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize has made the Tigers’ Opening Day rotation, manager A.J. Hinch announced this morning (Twitter links via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Hinch also revealed that former AL Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer will begin the season in the bullpen, where he’ll be joined by veteran lefty Derek Holland — a non-roster invitee to camp who has made the Opening Day squad. Detroit will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move once Holland’s contract is formally selected, though that has not yet occurred.

Mize, 23, didn’t have a great spring but was sharper in his most recent outing, holding the Blue Jays to a pair of runs on five hits and no walks with nine strikeouts through four innings. Overall, he’s been tagged for 13 runs in 14 frames during Grapefruit League play, but he’s also punched out an impressive 21 hitters in that time.

Mize made his big league debut in 2020 and looked sharp at times but generally struggled to work deep into games. He held opponents to a tepid .228/.302/.358 batting line the first time through the order but saw those numbers leap to .235/.361/.510 upon turning a lineup over for the second time. It was a small sample, just seven starts, and Mize certainly has the pedigree to pitch at or near the top of a big league rotation. In addition to a strong NCAA track record, the former Auburn ace carries a 2.71 ERA, a 24.8 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 5.4 percent walk rate through 123 minor league innings. He skipped Triple-A entirely due to the canceled minor league season in 2020, but he’ll be given the opportunity to prove to the Tigers that he needn’t ever throw a pitch with their Toledo affiliate.

Mize joins Matthew Boyd, Jose Urena, Julio Teheran and Tarik Skubal in a rotation that looks quite different than it did early in the 2020 season. Righty Spencer Turnbull figures to eventually join the mix in some capacity, but he’s been in Covid-19 protocol since early this week.

Fulmer, too, could eventually work his way back into the rotation picture. The righty has undergone a pair of arm surgeries — ulnar nerve transposition and Tommy John — since being named AL Rookie of the Year back in 2016. He struggled mightily this spring, but Hinch gave him a vote of confidence Friday, calling Fulmer a “big league pitcher” (via Woodbery) and noting that optioning him to Triple-A was not a consideration. He’ll work in a multi-inning role, so he could perhaps slide into the rotation when injuries and/or struggles from the other starters necessitate. The Tigers still control Fulmer through the 2022 season.

As for Holland, he’ll give Hinch a third lefty alongside Gregory Soto and Daniel Norris. The 34-year-old has overwhelmingly earned his roster spot this spring, rattling off eight scoreless innings while allowing just five hits and a walk against 13 strikeouts. Holland has struggled with the Pirates, Giants and Cubs across the past two seasons, but he turned in 171 1/3 innings of 3.57 ERA ball for San Francisco as recently as 2018. He’s worked mostly as a starter in his 12-year big league career but has come out of the bullpen 80 times at the MLB level, so a relief role is hardly unfamiliar territory for him.

Tigers Select Casey Mize, Jorge Bonifacio

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, formally selecting the contract of right-hander Casey Mize (as had been previously announced) and also selecting the contract of outfielder Jorge Bonifacio. They’ll both join the big league roster. Righty Dario Agrazal and first baseman C.J. Cron have also been transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 45-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster. Meanwhile, utilityman Harold Castro is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring.

Mize, the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick, will make his MLB debut against another debuting first-rounder: White Sox righty Dane Dunning. Mize is regarded as one of the game’s premier pitching prospects and a potential foundational piece of a rebuilding Tigers squad — one whom the club hopes can pitch atop its rotation through the 2026 season at least. He dominated opponents at Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2019, working to a combined 2.55 ERA with a terrific 106-to-23 K/BB ratio in 109 1/3 frames.

Bonifacio is no stranger to the AL Central, having spent several years with the Royals as a right fielder and designated hitter. He’s a career .247/.319/.408 hitter in 713 Major League plate appearances and is looking for a rebound opportunity after a PED suspension more or less ended his tenure in Kansas City. Bonifacio did tally 21 plate appearances after being reinstated from that suspension, but he’d since been surpassed on the depth chart and was ultimately cut loose last November.

The injury to the 26-year-old Castro deprives the Tigers of some versatility off the bench. He’d appeared at shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield positions in 2020 already — all while posting a respectable .276/.364/.379 slash through 33 plate appearances.

Tigers Promote Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Isaac Paredes

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The future is here in Detroit. The Tigers announced this morning that the organization will promote top prospects Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Isaac Paredes this week. The left-handed Skubal is slated to start Tuesday’s game, while the right-handed Mize will take the ball Wednesday. Paredes will take the spot of fellow infielder Dawel Lugo, who is being designated for assignment.

It’s an aggressive play by a Tigers club that has dropped five consecutive games to fall under .500 (9-10) after a surprising start to the season. Skubal and Mize will make their MLB debuts in key starts against the division-rival White Sox, who have overtaken the Tigers in the standings. Detroit is currently in fourth place — but still just 3.5 games back of the AL Central-leading Twins.

Casey Mize | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

In Mize, the Tigers will get their first look at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft. The former Auburn ace is considered one of the five best pitching prospects in baseball by most accounts, and his results in 2019 — his only full pro season to date — underscore just why he’s so highly regarded. The 6’3″, 220-pound Mize tossed 109 1/3 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last year, pitching to a combined 2.55 ERA with a 106-to-23 K/BB ratio. Those numbers include a no-hitter in his debut effort at the Double-A level.

Mize, 23, is currently ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the game on MLB.com’s summer update. Baseball America and FanGraphs have him ranked 14th on their own summer lists — the same slot at which Kiley McDaniel placed Mize in his preseason rankings for ESPN. Mize draws praise for a mid-90s heater that he can run up to 97 mph, but his splitter is the pitch that generates the most love from scouts. MLB.com’s report on him places a 70-grade on the pitch (on the 20-80 scale). Mize’s slider and cutter are both considered above-average offering as well.

Skubal was drafted eight rounds later in the same draft that the Tigers selected Mize, and his ascension should be considered a feather in the cap of the Tigers’ scouting and player development teams. Also 23, Skubal himself is widely considered to be a Top 100 prospect. Those same publications list him 35th (Baseball America), 50th (MLB.com), 54th (FanGraphs) and 79th (ESPN) on their rankings, and The Athletic’s Keith Law pegged him as high as No. 24 prior to the season.

Tarik Skubal | Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Just as Mize did, Skubal split last season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. The 23-year-old racked up 122 2/3 innings with an outrageous 179-to-37 K/BB ratio — including a whopping 82 strikeouts in 42 1/3 frames at the Double-A level. Skubal can run his heater up to 97 mph as well, and while he doesn’t have a pitch as highly regarded as Mize’s splitter, his curveball is still said to be a plus offering accompanied by an average-or-better slider and changeup.

Not to be lost in the shuffle, the 21-year-old Paredes was a Top 100 farmhand himself at Baseball America in each of the past two offseasons (though he dropped off their list following the addition of this summer’s top draftees). He played the 2019 season at 20 years old and was one of the youngest players in the pitcher-friendly Double-A Eastern League. However, Paredes still turned in a healthy .282/.368/.416 slash (133 wRC+). Bat-to-ball skills are Paredes’ best asset, as evidenced by the fact that against much older competition, he walked nearly as many times (57) as he struck out (61).

Isaac Paredes | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With C.J. Cron out for the year, Jeimer Candelario has slid over to first base. That should clear a path to regular reps at the hot corner for Paredes, which is where he spent the bulk of the 2019 season playing. Paredes, acquired alongside Candelario in the trade that sent Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Cubs, played shortstop for much of his early career in the minors, so he could see some time there as well if Niko Goodrum needs a day off. Alternatively, the club could opt to give Paredes and Willi Castro regular time on the left side of the infield, with Goodrum returning to the super-sub role in which he found success over the past couple seasons.

The timing of the promotions is of some note as well. Holding the trio down for even the first week of the season bought the Tigers an extra year of team control, and each of Mize, Skubal and Paredes has now been down long enough that they could fall shy of Super Two status as well. Paredes’ promotion is the only move that is official as of today. Skubal and Mize will have their contracts selected on the day of their respective starts.

If Paredes sticks in the big leagues from this point on, he’ll finish out the year with 116 days of service, which could still leave him on the fringe Super Two status. Skubal would only accrue 113 days of service, though, and Mize would log just 110. Both of those marks should leave them on the outside looking in with regard to Super Two status.

The 25-year-old Lugo,meanwhile, is could be on his way out the door in the Detroit organization. Acquired from the Diamondbacks in the trade that sent J.D. Martinez to Arizona, Lugo simply hasn’t found his footing at the MLB level. He’s received an even 400 plate appearances in parts of three seasons and saw semi-regular action last year (288 plate appearances), but Lugo has produced only a .236/.270/.358 output in that time. He’s out of minor league options, so it’s possible he’ll clear waivers given that another club would have to carry him on its MLB roster. Then again, Lugo was once a solidly regarded prospect and has the ability to play both second base and third base, so another club could take a speculative look on waivers.

The Tigers have a week to either trade Lugo, release him, or pass him through outright waivers.

Quick Hits: Cardinals Coronavirus Update, Mize, Kimbrel

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The Cardinals and Brewers scheduled doubleheader for Sunday has been postponed, MLB announced in a statement. The Cardinals had 3 players and 1 staff member test positive for coronavirus this weekend with four pending tests still unresolved, tweets ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The positive tests will affect the schedule for the next week as well. The Tigers and Cardinals were originally supposed to play a home-and-home pair of series this week in St. Louis and Detroit. Following the cases of coronavirus in St. Louis, however, all four games will be played in Detroit, including a doubleheader on Wednesday. The Brewers’ schedule will be unchanged, as they’ll head to Chicago to take on the White Sox.

  • Contrary to earlier speculation, Casey Mize will not make his major league debut for the Tigers on Sunday, writes The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen. Without a minor league pipeline in which to develop, many young players have made their debuts already this season, including highly-touted pitching prospects like Brady Singer of the Royals and Nate Pearson of the Blue Jays. For the time being, however, the Tigers continue to play coy with the future of Mize. Despite the rampant speculation that Mize would earn his promotion to take part in Sunday’s doubleheader, the Tigers finally tabbed Daniel Norris and Rony Garcia instead. Norris will make his 2020 debut after previously testing positive for coronavirus. Garcia, a 22-year-old Rule 5 pick from the Yankees, made his debut on Tuesday getting against the Royals. Garcia went 3 innings, giving up 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. 
  • The Cubs are considering moving Craig Kimbrel out of the closer’s role as the veteran fireballer has continued to surrender the long ball at an alarming rate, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and others. Cubs manager David Ross was noncommital when asked to comment on the situation. Jesse Rogers of ESPN noted that Kimbrel has given up a rather shocking 11 home runs in just 22 innings since joining the Cubs midseason last year. Kimbrel is arguably one of the most successful closers the era, but he has yet to figure it out in Chicago. With the bases loaded in the seventh inning today, Ross turned the ball over to Jeremy Jeffress, who would be a top contender to replace Kimbrel. Though he too is coming off a difficult 2019, Jeffress does have experience closing out games (45 career saves). If today’s game was any indication, however, Ross may choose to deploy Jeffress in high-leverage moments while distributing closing opportunities piecemeal to some combination of Rowan Wick, Kyle Ryan, Kimbrel, and Jeffress.

Tigers Could Promote Casey Mize For Sunday’s Start

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One of baseball’s top prospects could make his MLB debut on Sunday, as Casey Mize could potentially start the Tigers’ game against the Reds.  Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire has held back from directly stating that Mize is slated to start, as the skipper told MLB.com’s Jason Beck and other reporters on Friday that “I can’t announce anything until my general manager makes a statement.”  In another chat with media (including MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery) this morning, Gardenhire noted that “We’re on a day-to-day basis here.  We’ve got to make sure everything’s okay before we make that announcement for tomorrow.”

Factors both large and small go into that “everything’s okay” designation.  Most directly, rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for both tonight and tomorrow in the Detroit area, so the Tigers aren’t going to promote Mize unless they are certain a game will actually be played.  (To that end, the Tigers and Reds moved their game today from a 5:10pm CT start to 12:10pm CT in an effort to try and beat the rain.)

In the bigger picture, there is also the increasingly ominous threat that the 2020 season could be paused or halted altogether as multiple teams (the Marlins and Cardinals) are now dealing with coronavirus outbreaks.  The latter situation is more directly concerning to the Tigers, as Detroit is scheduled to face St. Louis in four games from August 3-6.  At the very least, it seems very likely those four games won’t be happening, leaving the Tigers with an extended break in the schedule unless they can possibly rearrange any other games with other opponents.

Such on-field considerations are of obvious concern to the Tigers in regards to Mize’s status, as they’re not going to call up their most prized young arm only to begin his career in stop-start fashion.  Service time could also be an issue, as while enough time in the season has passed that Detroit has gained an extra year of control over Mize, the Tigers might not want to start his service time clock due to the possibility that the league might halt play all teams within just a few days’ time.

It’s an unusual situation to be sure, though the idea of Mize making his debut in 2020 was certainly in the cards long before the pandemic became a reality.  The first overall pick of the 2018 draft has impressed in his brief pro career, posting a 2.71 ERA, 4.62 K/BB rate, and 8.8 K/9 over 123 total minor league innings.  Mize hasn’t pitched beyond the Double-A level, tossing 78 2/3 frames for the Tigers’ Erie affiliate in 2019, though the canceled 2020 minor league season erased his opportunity to pitch Triple-A ball.  Detroit included Mize on its 60-man player pool, and the righty has been working out at the team’s minor league training site.

Filling Out The Tigers’ Starting Rotation

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UPDATE: Zimmermann has been placed on the 45-day injured list, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck and others (Twitter links). The Tigers aren’t ruling him out for the season yet.

TODAY: Jordan Zimmermann is dealing with the same sort of forearm soreness that sapped him of much of the 2019 season, per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. If he can stay healthy – a big if – Zimmermann would look to make the most of a short season by proving his arm still plays at the major league level. This will be the final year of the five-year, $110MM pact he signed with the Tigers before the 2016 season.

It’s been a tough couple of years for Zimmermann, who will end his contract without ever making 30 starts in a season after doing so in each of his final four seasons with the Nationals. Despite the precipitous drop in performance, the Tigers were nonetheless turning to Zimmermann as a veteran stopgap in a rotation that will soon be overrun by high-upside prospects like Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Franklin Perez, Casey Mize, and Joey Wentz. The rotation is already without Daniel Norris, who has yet to pitch in camp after testing positive for coronavirus.

In the meantime, the Tigers are scrambling to fill out the rotation behind ace Matthew Boyd. Veteran Ivan Nova was brought in to soak up innings (34 starts, 187 innings in 2019), and Spencer Turnbull figures to slot in somewhere in the middle of the rotation after a mostly-strong showing in 2019. Turnbull went 3-17 last season with a 4.61 ERA/3.99 FIP. He’s done a nice job of limiting long balls throughout his two seasons in the majors, and if he can improve upon some control issues that led to an AL-high 16 hit batters and 3.6 BB/9, the Tigers hope Turnbull can level off his 4.76 career ERA and land closer to his 3.88 career FIP mark.

Beyond those three, the Tigers are working on extending the innings of Dario Agrazal, Shao-Ching Chiang, Hector Santiago, and Tyler Alexander to potentially fill out the rotation. Former Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer also has a chance to get some rotation innings, writes McCosky. Fulmer missed all of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Of the youngsters in camp, Mize probably has the best shot of cracking the rotation. Under normal circumstances, Mize would be ticketed for Triple-A after 22 starts with a 2.55 ERA in Double-A last year, but without minor league games to further his development, count Mize among the many young stars with a slightly better chance of breaking into the big leagues sometime during the shortened 2020 season. Seven days on the taxi squad will be enough for the Tigers to secure an extra year of service time, notes McCosky, but manager Ron Gardenhire doesn’t plan on making any official decisions until knowing more about the health of Zimmermann and Norris.

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