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Tigers Reinstate Victor Reyes, Option Elvin Rodriguez

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The Tigers made a pair of corresponding roster moves, reinstating Victor Reyes from the injured list and optioning Elvin Rodriguez to Triple-A, per the team.

The Tigers outfield is slowly but surely getting a little bit healthier, with Robbie Grossman returning to the club yesterday. It will be interesting to see if Reyes can keep up the pace he established in his first 11 games this season. Reyes was slashing .292/.346/.458 through a small-sample 26 plate appearances, good for an unsustainable 131 wRC+. While it’s unfair to expect that level of production from Reyes, even topping the 100 wRC+ mark would be a win for a Detroit team desperate for offense. A quad strain has kept the 27-year-old out of action since May 16th.

Reyes has yet to see regular playing time this season, but he absolutely could step into center field for the time being. Derek Hill and Daz Cameron have largely been sharing that responsibility, but Cameron is now on the COVID injured list and Hill has a 61 wRC+ on the season through 92 plate appearances. Cameron was better with a 94 wRC+ across 61 plate appearances. But neither guy had been receiving regular run as the everyday guy. Willi Castro has been the third piece, stepping in at all three outfield spots while posting an 82 wRC+.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, gets sent to Triple-A after getting knocked around in Friday’s ballgame, yielding eight earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays. This comes on the heels of allowing 10 earned runs in 4 1/3 against the Yankees. Outside of a scoreless four-inning outing against the Guardians on May 29th, Rodriguez has largely struggled this season.

Furthermore, Eduardo Rogriguez is expected to return sometime this week and take back his rotation spot. It will be interesting to see if Detroit decided to go back to a three-man bench at that point. If that’s the case, Hill or Kody Clemens could be the odd man out, with both outfielders having options remaining.

Tigers Place Austin Meadows, Victor Reyes On 10-Day IL

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May 16: The Tigers have formally placed Meadows (vertigo) and Reyes (right quad strain) on the 10-day injured list. Righty Alex Faedo and outfielder Daz Cameron have been recalled from Toledo in their place.

May 15: Austin Meadows and Victor Reyes both made early exits from the Tigers’ 5-1 win over the Orioles today, and postgame, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that the two outfielders would be placed on the 10-day injured list.

Meadows missed three games last week due to a sinus infection, and he hadn’t played in Detroit’s previous two games due to what he described as dizziness or vertigo-like symptoms.  Attempting to play today, Meadows managed only one inning before having to depart, with Hinch saying that Meadows felt nauseous and lightheaded in addition to continued dizziness.  The skipper said that Meadows will meet with a doctor Monday in Florida when the Tigers travel to visit the Rays.

Reyes was only just activated from the IL earlier today after missing three weeks with a left quad strain.  Unfortunately for Reyes, he suffered a strain of his right quad while running the bases after a double in his first at-bat.  Reyes had to be immediately replaced by a pinch-runner.

The Tigers were going to call up Alex Faedo to start Monday’s game against Tampa Bay, so Faedo will take the roster place of one of the injured outfielders.  It would seem like a position player would be the other callup in order to help bolster the bench, and this could provide an opening for the recently-demoted Akil Baddoo to return to the majors.  However, Baddoo hasn’t hit much during his week in Triple-A, so the Tigers might want to give him more time to really get on track before calling him back up the Show.

Derek Hill and Willi Castro can fill in for Meadows and Reyes in the outfield, but losing more position players won’t help a Detroit team that has been collectively ice-cold the plate.  Meadows is one of the only Tigers with above-average production to date, with a .270/.365/.350 slash line over his first 115 plate appearances.

Tigers Place Victor Reyes On Injured List

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The Tigers announced today that they have placed outfielder Victor Reyes on the injured list with a left quad strain. Fellow outfielder Derek Hill has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic relays word from Reyes, who says he’s been battling the injury all season. Despite that, he was off to a fairly strong start to the year. Reyes has a strikeout rate of 16% so far this year, well below his career mark of 22.1%. Similarly, his walk rate is at 8% on the young campaign, more than double his 3.9% career rate. His 112 wRC+ is also quite healthy, compared to the 82 he’s put up in his career so far. Of course, this is a tiny sample of just ten games and it would be unwise to draw sweeping conclusions from it, though there are positive signs in his Statcast profile as well, with his .394 xBA easily outpacing his numbers from previous years. It’s surely discouraging for the 27-year-old to have to sit out the next little while after a promising start to the year. Evan Woodbery of MLive relays word from manager A.J. Hinch, who apparently had a challenging time giving Reyes the news. Based on the fact that Reyes wanted to keep playing, it shouldn’t be a lengthy absence.

In more positive news for the Tigers, a couple of their offseason acquisitions could be returning from injuries shortly. Hinch told reporters that shortstop Javier Baez and reliever Andrew Chafin should be back in the coming days. (Twitter links from Woodbery) Baez played in five games for the Tigers, hitting .316/.350/.526, before being placed on the IL with thumb soreness. Chafin was signed by the Tigers to a two-year, $13MM deal but has yet to appear for the team due to a groin strain. Whenever they return, they will bolster the lineup and the bullpen, respectively. In the absence of Baez, the Tigers have been relying on two Castros, Willi and Harold, to fill the shortstop position. Gregory Soto is the only lefty in the club’s bullpen right now, but he has been deployed in the closer role, leaving the club a bit short-handed in the southpaw department.

Tigers Place Victor Reyes On 10-Day Injured List, Recall Zack Short

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The Tigers placed Victor Reyes on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain, the team announced. Given the amount of time left in the season, Reyes’ year is done. In a corresponding move, Zack Short has been recalled from Triple-A.

Reyes, 26, has played well enough in the second half to put himself in the conversation for an outfield spot next year. Reyes has just an 88 wRC+ on the year, but he hit .325/.348/.516 across 134 plate appearances in the second half. He doesn’t walk enough (3.6 percent walk rate), nor does he offer much pop (.158 ISO), but he saw some growth in the latter category this season, and if he continues on that upward trajectory, he could find regular at-bats for a Detroit team on the rise.

Short has been back and forth from Toledo to Detroit a couple of times this season. The 26-year-old right-handed infielder hit .147/.239/.293 in 176 plate appearances with the Tigers. That’s not enough bat, obviously, though his positional flexibility and ability to handle shortstop will make him a roster candidate next season.

Tigers Option Isaac Paredes, Keep Zack Short On Active Roster

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After splitting today’s doubleheader with the Astros, the Tigers announced that they are keeping 27th man Zack Short on the active roster and optioning Isaac Paredes to Triple-A. Paredes, 22, was given an opportunity to fill in for Niko Goodrum when the latter was placed on the injured list.

With a 17.1 percent walk rate and 14.3 percent strikeout rate in a small sample of 35 plate appearances, Paredes has shown a solid, contact-first approach. The bottom line results haven’t been there yet, however, as he slashed .143/.286/.321 in that time. His .130 BABIP suggests some poor luck, and his batted ball numbers (such as exit velocity, hard-hit percentage, and barrel rate) are a touch below average. Paredes will head back to the minors with hopes of producing more solid contact in regular playing time at Toledo.

Short, 26, is having a stellar season at the plate, both in Triple-A (.132 wRC+ in 124 plate appearances) and with the parent club (143 wRC+ in 16 plate appearances). The former Cubs’ farmhand can play all over the infield while filling Paredes’ role as a right-handed complement to switch-hitting infielders Jeimer Candelario and Willi Castro. Short may not have the long-term promise that Paredes does, but he has impressed in short-run samples this season, earning himself an opportunity.

Moving to the outfield, the Tigers have another roster decision coming soon, writes Evan Woodbery of Mlive.com. With Derek Hill and Victor Reyes close to returning from the injured list, the Tigers will have a surplus of outfielders. The most obvious move would be to activate Hill and option Reyes back to Triple-A, but Woodbery wonders whether Detroit might find this the right time to cut ties with Nomar Mazara.

Though still just 26, Mazara is seemingly running out of chances to prove himself a Major League hitter. After struggling through the shortened season with the White Sox, Mazara has put up similar production this year. Slashing .201/.273/.317 through 154 plate appearances, Mazara doesn’t have any trade value, and on a one-year, $1.75MM contract, he can be cut loose without significant financial consequence.

If the Tigers don’t see Mazara as a part of their future, there’s certainly some logic to allocating his playing time elsewhere. The Tigers can pull from a pool of outfielders that includes Robbie Grossman, Akil Baddoo, Daz Cameron, Hill, Reyes, JaCoby Jones, Christin Stewart, Jacob Robson. Infielders Castro and Goodrum (when he returns from the injured list) are also capable of playing the outfield.

Tigers Option JaCoby Jones, Recall Victor Reyes

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The Tigers will option outfielder JaCoby Jones to Triple-A and recall Victor Reyes to take his roster spot, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).

Both Jones and Reyes have struggled so far this season in their limited opportunities. Jones, the opening day starter in center, owns an uninspiring triple slash line of .175/.208/.258 through 101 plate appearances. The 29-year-old is struggling in all facets at the plate right now. He’s only walking in 4.0 percent of his plate appearances while striking out a too-often 39.6 percent of the time. He’s also not hitting for power with just a .082 ISO. All in all, the total package amounts to a 27 wRC+.

Reyes hasn’t fared much better in his 65 plate appearances so far, hitting just .143/.169/.238 before his demotion. The 26-year-old Reyes has posted just a 3.1 percent walk rate and .095 ISO while striking out 27.7 percent of the time. At the very least, Reyes has done a better job of putting the ball in play, and a .182 BABIP suggests there’s potential for improvement if he can continue to do so. Reyes should be feeling better about his at-bat skills after a stellar 11-game sample in Triple-A that saw him hit .419/.490/.581 over 51 plate appearances. As much as Jones has struggles, the Tigers may also feel that Reyes deserves another look given his strong play for Toledo.

Tigers Activate Nomar Mazara From Injured List

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The Tigers activated Nomar Mazara from the injured list today, optioning Victor Reyes to Triple-A to create the roster spot, per the team. Mazara returns to the lineup carrying a .237/.275/.395 line from 40 plate appearances prior to his injury. Reyes didn’t fair any better, however, slashing .143/.169/.238 in 65 plate appearances.

Erasmo Ramirez has also been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right pectoralis strain. Ramirez warmed up in the bullpen yesterday, but he ultimately did not enter the game, notes MLB.com’s Jason Beck (via Twitter). In fact, he has not appeared in a game yet this season. For his career, Ramirez owns a 4.31 ERA/4.56 FIP over 655 innings with the Mariners, Rays, Mets and Red Sox.

In his place, Joe Jimenez has been recalled from Triple-A. Jimenez walked seven and allowed five earned runs in just one full innings spread out between two appearances before being optioned to the minors.

Quick Hits: Rodon, Bellinger, Graterol, Mazara, Stripling

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Carlos Rodon was perfect through 8 1/3 innings tonight against the Indians. A backfoot slider skipped off the top of Roberto Perez’s right foot, ending his bid for a perfect game. Rodon managed to complete the no hitter, however, with a masterful 114-pitch complete game shutout. Coming into this season, the former third overall pick was in a battle for the fifth starter job in the White Sox rotation. But tonight, the burly southpaw routinely hit 97 mph on the radar gun (hitting as high as 99 mph in the ninth inning). Certainly, Rodon wasn’t all that high up on the list of pitchers likeliest to throw what would have been the first perfect game in the Majors since 2012: He hasn’t posted an ERA under five since 2018, and he was designated for assignment this winter. Yet, tonight’s start marked the culmination of an arduous journey through numerous injuries and multiple arm surgeries. Congrats to Rodon on throwing the 20th no-hitter in White Sox franchise history. Now, let’s check in on some players still making their way back from injury…

  • Cody Bellinger and Brusdar Graterol will both join the Dodgers on their forthcoming road trip, but neither is a guarantee to be activated. Belligner is still experiencing some swelling in his calf, and he’s yet to run the bases as full speed, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com (via Twitter). Bellinger has been out since April 5th. As for Graterol, he’ll be added to the taxi squad, per Jorge Castillo of the LA Times (via Twitter). It’s not entirely clear why Graterol wasn’t ready to start the season, but it’s only a matter of time until he becomes available out of the bullpen for manager Dave Roberts.
  • Nomar Mazara left Wednesday night’s game with a left abdominal strain, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. There’s no timetable for his return. In the meantime, JaCoby Jones and Victor Reyes should have more opportunities in the starting lineup. Both outfielders have seen their playing time cut both by the offseason acquisition of Robbie Grossman and the early-season breakout from Akil Baddoo. Both Reyes (30 wRC+) and Jones (-10 wRC+) are off to slow starts through their first week of games.
  • Ross Stripling is dealing with forearm tightness, but the Blue Jays don’t have any information beyond that, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). The former Dodger has been tagged for seven earned runs on 13 hits and three walks over 8 1/3 innings so far.

Tigers Notes: E-Jax, Reyes, Norris, Castro, Minor League Staff

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Edwin Jackson’s on-field performance in his second stint with the Tigers hasn’t given fans much to cheer about — 8.58 ERA in 35 2/3 innings — but catcher Grayson Greiner called Jackson’s experience “invaluable,” when talking with MLB.com’s Jason Beck about the veteran right-hander’s role as a mentor. And while one would expect teammates to voice support for Jackson, Beck adds that a member of the opposing dugout also heaped praise onto Jackson. Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde called Jackson “one of my top five teammates I’ve ever been around” — a reference to the pair’s days together with the Cubs. “He’s a total pro and a class act, and there’s a reason why he’s been around so long and people want to have him around and always give him an opportunity, because he’s such a great guy,” said Hyde.

Whether that makes Jackson worthy of a roster spot on a rebuilding team when his struggles on the mound have been so pronounced is another debate — one the Tigers will surely have internally this winter. Beck notes that Detroit could have interest in re-signing Jackson to a minor league contract. Doing so would at least bring him to Spring Training with the team’s young players and could give them a veteran to bridge the gap to promising pitching prospects like Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal and others — if he makes the roster.

More out of the Motor City…

  • Positive strides made by the trio of Victor Reyes, Daniel Norris and Harold Castro late in the 2019 season have most likely solidified their place on the 2020 roster, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Reyes, 25 next month, looked wholly overwhelmed as a Rule 5 pick in 2018, but he’s delivered a .299/.333/.415 slash line with a pair of homers, 14 doubles, three triples and six steals in 237 plate appearances since being recalled in 2019 — all while playing above-average defense in center. The Tigers began limiting Norris to three-inning outings last month, and he’s responded with a 3.86 ERA and a 21-to-7 K/BB ratio in 21 innings of work. He’s still been far too homer-prone in that time, but it’s an encouraging step forward for the former top prospect, who’ll likely command only a modest raise on this year’s $1.2MM salary in arbitration this winter. As for Castro, the 25-year-old has hit at a .305/.320/.399 clip in 333 plate appearances, although his paltry 2.7 percent walk rate and a .383 average on balls in play call into question the sustainability of that production.
  • Lynn Henning of the Detroit News reports that the Tigers have fired six minor league coaches, including Double-A hitting coach Brian Harper and minor league field coordinator Bill Dancy. The Tigers are still deciding the fate of Triple-A manager Doug Mientkiewicz, who is currently under contract through the 2020 season. Double-A skipper Mike Rabelo could be a potential replacement option for Mientkiewicz if Detroit opts not to bring him back, Henning adds.

2017-18 Rule 5 Draft Update

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At this point of the season, it’s reasonable to expect the remaining Rule 5 players who are on big league rosters to hold those spots for the remainder of the season. That doesn’t mean that each has necessarily impressed to the point where he’s viewed as a viable long-term option, but with rosters set to expand in a couple of weeks and this much time already invested in each player, the remaining prospects who are clinging to eligibility have likely secured themselves a look in 2019 — even if it means opening the season in the minors.

When I last checked in on this year’s Rule 5-ers back in June, there were nine players either on active MLB rosters or on the big league disabled list, with the rest of this year’s class having been returned to their original organizations. That number hasn’t changed, though the complexion of the list is a bit different, and there have been some encouraging strides among the bunch. Here’s how the class looks at present:

Active Big Leaguers

  • Victor Reyes, OF, Tigers (from D-backs): Reyes still isn’t hitting much, but the Tigers have given him much more time in the outfield as the season wears on. The 23-year-old played just nine complete games through the end of June, but since July 1, he’s logged 22 full games of action in addition to numerous partial appearances where he’s either been pinch-hit for or entered the game as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement. Reyes is hitting just .244/.279/.256 through 86 PAs in July and August, so he’s not impressing at the plate in spite of the recent uptick in playing time. He is 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts and has registered solid defensive marks in the outfield. It still seems likely that he’ll be ticketed for regular work in Triple-A next season once he can be optioned.
  • Brad Keller, RHP, Royals (from D-backs): As the Kansas City Star’s Maria Torres noted over the weekend, Keller has been a rare bright spot in a largely abysmal season for the Royals. Keller posted underwhelming numbers in Double-A last season and skipped Triple-A entirely, but the Royals deserve some credit for nabbing him anyway last December. In 100 1/3 innings this year, Keller has posted a terrific 3.32 ERA. And while his 6.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 marks are underwhelming, he’s notched a strong 54.8 percent ground-ball rate. It remains to be seen if Keller can sustain his minuscule 0.45 HR/9 rate, though he’s never averaged even a homer per nine frames in the minors. Fielding-independent pitching metrics are fairly spread out on him, due in no small part to that low homer rate, but if he can settle in even as a pitcher capable of delivering an ERA in the low 4.00s over a season’s worth of starts, that’d make him a very successful pick.
  • Burch Smith, RHP, Royals (from Rays, via trade w/ Mets): Kansas City hasn’t been as successful with Smith, whose ERA sits at an ugly 6.54 through 64 2/3 innings — mostly out of the bullpen. He’s averaged 8.6 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9, and in addition to issuing too many walks, he’s been far too homer-prone (1.95 HR/9). More than 18 percent of the fly-balls against Smith have left the yard — a troubling trend for a pitcher with just a 39.4 percent ground-ball rate. Smith barely pitched from 2014-17 due to injuries, including Tommy John surgery, so the Royals may not want to give up on him in spite of the poor results. At this point, they’ve come far enough along that it could make sense to keep him around and see how he fares in the upper minors next season. He’ll be 29 in April, but he has minor league options remaining.
  • Carlos Tocci, OF, Rangers (from Phillies, via trade w/ White Sox): Tocci has been the most seldom-used player in the Majors, functioning almost exclusively as a defensive replacement for much of the season. He’s appeared in 51 games and totaled just 103 plate appearances, but the Rangers have given him a slight increase in playing time in August. This month, he’s started nine games and shown a bit of promise in that tiny sample, hitting .300/.323/.367 in 33 plate appearances — albeit with nine punchouts and just one walk. Tocci is hitting .207/.255/.250 overall, though, and appears ticketed for minor league work in 2019 even if his glove has been solid in limited work to date.
  • Elieser Hernandez, RHP, Marlins (from Astros): Hernandez, who turned 23 back in May, made the jump from High-A to the Majors and, unsurprisingly, has posted less-than-stellar results. He’s tossed 56 2/3 innings for Miami, including five starts, while working to a 5.08 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.27 HR/9 and an extremely low 26.3 percent ground-ball rate. Some struggles were to be expected given the considerable jump he faced, however, and it’d be fair to say he’s at least held his own, given that he skipped both Double-A and Triple-A. He should survive the season with the rebuilding Marlins, and he’ll likely be ticketed for upper-minors work in 2019.
  • Brett Graves, RHP, Marlins (from Athletics): Graves was on the DL back in June, having missed the first two-plus months of the season with an oblique injury. Since making his big league debut, he’s posted a 6.23 ERA with 10 strikeouts against seven walks (two intentional) and three hit batters in 17 1/3 innings. The 25-year-old has primarily been a starter in the minors but has been used out of the bullpen in Miami to this point. He’s displayed good ground-ball tendencies thus far (53.6 percent) and has yet to allow a homer. Though he missed notable time this year, Graves was activated early enough that he’ll accrue the requisite 90 days on the active roster to shed his Rule 5 status this season — provided he doesn’t incur an injury before rosters expand.

On the Major League Disabled List

  • Julian Fernandez, RHP, Giants (from Rockies): Fernandez underwent Tommy John surgery back in April. He’ll accrue MLB service time while spending the season on the 60-day disabled list and will retain his Rule 5 status heading into 2019, if the Giants wish to hang onto him all offseason.
  • Pedro Araujo, RHP, Orioles (from Cubs): Araujo is the last of three Orioles picks from the 2017 Rule 5 Draft remaining on the big league roster, but he’s been on the DL since June 11 due to an elbow sprain. When he was active, he showed plenty of ability to miss bats (13.9 percent swinging-strike rate, 9.3 K/9) but also averaged 5.8 walks and a staggering 2.89 homers per nine innings pitched. It’s not clear if he’ll return this season, but if he doesn’t, he’ll retain his Rule 5 eligibility into 2019. The Orioles won’t be able to option him until he spends 90 days on the active MLB roster, and he’s a bit more than two weeks shy of that right now.
  • Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (from Twins via trade w/ Phillies): The flame-throwing Burdi missed nearly all of 2016 due to injury and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, but he’s finally on the comeback trail in a new organization. Pittsburgh sent the former Louisville standout on a rehab assignment earlier this month, and he’s pitched seven innings with an 11-to-4 K/BB ratio across three levels so far. He’s yielded five earned runs in that time, though the Bucs likely aren’t focusing heavily on bottom-line results at this point of his recovery. Burdi will have to carry over his Rule 5 eligibility into the 2019 season if the Pirates wish to retain him, but he’s a highly intriguing bullpen piece who could be worth the investment. Burdi’s heater received 80 grades on the 20-80 scale prior to surgery, and he’s been touted as a potential big league closer since his college days.

Returned to Original Organization

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