The Detroit Tigers‘ staff is suffering injuries already We know injuries are always going to happen. It’s part of any baseball team. How a team responds is what makes or breaks a team. Now they have to move some pitchers around for coverage. Now they—and their fans—are watching to see if the moves and these guys can provide innings and wins.
Injuries
The Detroit Tigers staff is suffering injuries already to both starters and relievers. Starter Matt Manning was removed from this past Saturday’s game, as a precaution, with right shoulder discomfort after just two innings.
Starter Casey Mize was placed on the IL with an elbow strain. He’s set for further evaluation and it appears he will miss some starts. With Spencer Turnbull already out for the season, this has hit the Tigers’ starting staff hard.
Even the relievers have met with injuries. Reliever Jose Cisnero was already placed on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain. On top of that, Kyle Funkhouser will most likely be out the rest of April and into early May with a shoulder injury.
A bit of good news… reliever Andrew Chafin, who had already been on the IL, recently threw a 30-pitch bullpen session. He could be ready soon.
Available Veterans
The Tigers have a few pitchers on their 40-man roster who could step in as starters. Whoever they bring in must be able to give this team some quality starts. Michael Pineda, who has been at Triple-A Toledo after arriving late to Spring Training with Visa problems, has been working on getting in game shape both mentally and physically. The veteran has been around for eight years and signed a one-year deal in March. Once he is ready to pitch, he will be slotted in to start and should pitch effectively.
Wily Peralta is another veteran who could see some starts. He signed a minor league contract and was invited to Spring Training. Although he did not make the Opening Day roster, the Tigers just activated him to the big-league roster on Saturday. He has seen time as both a starter and reliever. Michael Fulmer is a former starter in their rotation. He seems to have found his groove as a bullpen arm, but could also see a start, here or there.
Prospect Option
The Detroit Tigers’ staff is suffering injuries already, and they could force them to consider one or more prospects. The first pitcher they might consider is right-hander Beau Brieske. The Tigers have mentioned that he is probably the most major-league-ready. Brieske, who spent all of last season in Double-A, had an excellent Spring Training, but was assigned to Triple-A Toledo to start the year. His fastball has been consistently around 94-95 mph, even hitting as high as 97. He also brings an MLB-ready slider/change-up combo.
However, a spot would have to be created since Brieske is not on the current 40-man roster. The Tigers would like to keep him at Toledo as long as possible to gain experience, but if Pineda or Peralta struggle—or another injury happens—he might be called up sooner than they would like.
Outlook
There is never a right time for injuries. Working around injuries is never easy, especially when it comes to pitching. Injuries to the Detroit Tigers’ staff is going to put pressure on Eduardo Rodriguez. He needs to pitch like the Eduardo Rodriguez who has won 45 games since 2018. He also is going to need to be that “innings” pitcher.
Tarik Skubal will move into the number two role. If he can keep the home run ball down should be able to help carry the starters.
If the Tigers can hang on over the next three to four weeks and avoid a losing streak, they may be able to get through this without too much damage to their playoff chances. The team needs to work to stay around the .500 (or better) mark and wait for the staff to get healthy. They may come out the other side of these injuries in a better place than they started.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Matt Manning, Casey Mize, Spencer Turnbull, Jose Cisnero, Kyle Funkhouser, Andrew Chafin, Michael Pineda, Wily Peralta, Michael Fulmer, Beau Brieske, Eduardo Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal
