ARLINGTON, Texas — Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter held a meeting with left-hander Joey Wentz on Thursday morning, before officially optioning him to Triple-A Toledo.
Hinch and Fetter told Wentz about the demotion to the Mud Hens, then offered encouragement. The 25-year-old has struggled throughout the first half of the season, allowing at least four runs in eight of his 16 games.
“It’s been a grueling stretch for him, but there’s been some good mixed in,” Hinch said. “We’ve got to get him back to consistently throwing well, using his pitches and executing. … We expect him back, but we’ve got to get him right and get him more effective. I think he can get there relatively quickly.”
Wentz owns a 6.78 ERA with 31 walks (9.4% walk rate) and 66 strikeouts (20% strikeout rate) across 71⅔ innings in 16 games (15 starts). He had a 6.45 ERA in April, an 8.03 ERA in May and a 5.84 ERA in June.
Wentz in Wednesday’s 10-2 loss to the Texas Rangers surrendered six runs (four earned runs) on nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 4⅔ innings. He gave up four of the six runs in the first inning.
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“It’s not a close game in the first (inning) when it’s 4-0, so it’s fine by me (to keep pitching),” Wentz said after throwing 97 pitches. “I’m good to throw. I’m healthy and whatever. Just a bad performance.”
After demoting Wentz, the Tigers added left-hander Zach Logue to the 40-man roster and activated him to the 26-man roster. Left-handed reliever Anthony Misiewicz, who allowed three runs in Tuesday’s 8-3 loss, was designated for assignment to make room for Logue on the 40-man roster.
Logue, 27, logged a 5.92 ERA with 30 walks and 52 strikeouts over 51⅔ innings in 15 games (13 starts) with Triple-A Toledo. He will pitch out of the bullpen with the Tigers, though he might not stick around for long.
“He’ll provide some length,” Hinch said of Logue. “He’s missed some bats, left-on-left.”
The Tigers have an upcoming three-game series, from Friday through Sunday, against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Matt Manning will start Friday and Sunday, respectively.
There will be a bullpen-only game Saturday to fill the spot of injured left-hander Matthew Boyd.
“This was needed a few fronts,” Hinch said of Wentz’s demotion. “One, we anticipate adding to the rotation here pretty soon. Two, the extra arm is going to be critical into Colorado with the bullpen game. Three, obviously, we need to get Joey back to being effective again more consistently.”
Holiday returns coming for Skubal, E-Rod
Demoting Wentz is directly tied to the expected return of left-hander Tarik Skubal, who completed his fifth rehab start Wednesday with Toledo. He will throw a bullpen over the weekend with the Mud Hens and make his next start with the Tigers, possibly on Tuesday.
Skubal is expected to take Wentz’s spot in the starting rotation.
“There’s a lot that still has to happen,” Hinch said.
The 26-year-old, coming back from flexor tendon surgery, would be lined up to start on five days rest against the Oakland Athletics at Comerica Park. He last pitched in the big leagues Aug. 1, 2022.
Skubal on Wednesday allowed two unearned runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts across four innings. He threw 44 of 68 pitches for strikes, and his fastball averaged 95.1 mph.
The unearned runs occurred because of a throwing error by third baseman Nick Maton, recently demoted to the Mud Hens, in the first inning.
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will start Thursday night for Toledo in what might be a one-and-done rehab assignment. If that’s the case, he would be lined up to start next Wednesday against the A’s.
“We’ll assess where he fits in,” Hinch said.
Rodriguez is returning from a left index finger pulley rupture. The 30-year-old posted a 2.13 ERA with 16 walks and 67 strikeouts across 67⅔ innings in 11 starts before suffering the finger injury.
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Baddoo, Greene coming next
Outfielder Akil Baddoo and Riley Greene are joining Toledo on Thursday to continue their return-to-play programs. The Tigers aren’t taking any rehabbers to Colorado because of the altitude.
Baddoo (right quad strain) and Greene (left fibula stress reaction) won’t immediately start playing upon their arrival to the Mud Hens, but Baddoo could begin his rehab assignment Saturday.
“I think Akil is a little ahead of Riley when it comes to actually getting back into games,” Hinch said. “We’ll see if we can get them into games over the weekend or into next week. There’s no off day for Triple-A between now and the All-Star break, so really any given day that they’re ready to play, we will certainly put them in.”
Greene could start his rehab assignment early next week. The 22-year-old hit .296 with five home runs in 52 games before suffering his leg injury.
The Tigers will need to clear space for Baddoo and Greene on the 26-man active roster. Outfielder Jake Marisnick and infielder Jonathan Schoop are candidates to lose their roster spots.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.