DENVER — They’re back.
Left-handers Tarik Skubal and Eduardo Rodriguez, by far the best pitchers in the organization, are scheduled to start for the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics at Comerica Park.
“We’ll have Skubal on Tuesday and E-Rod on Wednesday, in pencil,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It sounds like those guys are both doing well. We need one last evaluation before that happens, but in pencil, they are our starters.”
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The presence of Skubal and Rodriguez in the starting rotation is unmatched, and their impending returns complete the oft-broken five-man rotation with Michael Lorenzen, Matt Manning and Reese Olson. There won’t be as many planned bullpen-only games like the one the Tigers implemented Saturday against the Colorado Rockies, as well as six times in June.
Skubal posted a 3.52 ERA with 32 walks and 117 strikeouts across 117⅔ innings in 21 starts last season. The 26-year-old had a 2.33 ERA in his first 11 starts, then he fired 17 scoreless innings in his final three starts — July 21, July 27 and Aug. 1 — before suffering a season-ending arm injury.
He underwent flexor tendon surgery Aug. 17, 2022.
During his five-start rehab assignment, Skubal posted a 1.23 ERA with three walks and 20 strikeouts across 14⅔ innings for High-A West Michigan (two starts) and Triple-A Toledo (three starts).
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Rodriguez logged a 2.13 ERA with 16 walks and 67 strikeouts across 67⅔ innings in 11 starts this season before a left index finger pulley rupture sent him to the injured list in the final days of May.
He will have missed 37 days.
Rodriguez, who signed a five-year, $77 million contract in November 2021, needed one start with Triple-A Toledo in his rehab assignment. He pitched 4⅓ scoreless innings — allowing three hits and one walk — with four strikeouts, throwing 41 of 58 pitches for strikes.
While Rodriguez won’t have any restrictions, the Tigers are expected to take a calculated and cautious approach to easing Skubal back into the big leagues for the first time in 337 days.
The Tigers entered Saturday with a 35-46 record, good for third place in the American League Central. They’re 5½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for first place and four games behind the Cleveland Guardians for second place.
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Adding Skubal and Rodriguez to the starting rotation, at least until the Aug. 1 trade deadline, will help the Tigers in their pursuit of a second-half push for first place and a spot in the postseason.
“I haven’t looked back at the first half,” Hinch said, when asked about completing the first half of the season with Friday’s 8-5 loss to the Rockies. “I’m sorry to the fans at home. I just don’t operate that way. We are where we are, and we’ve got a long way to go to be where we want to be, to get as good as we want to get. We have not played as consistently as we hoped, but I haven’t analyzed anything.”
Rodriguez, who can opt out of his contract after the season, represents the Tigers’ best trade chip in years.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.