The Tigers announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game. Right-hander Reese Olson was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain and infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade was optioned to Triple-A Toledo. To take those two roster spots, the Tigers selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Bligh Madris and recalled left-hander Easton Lucas. To open a 40-man spot for Madris, outfielder Kerry Carpenter was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Olson started for the Tigers yesterday against the Blue Jays but departed after just two innings with the club announcing his injury as right shoulder soreness. Now it seems a strain has been discovered and he’ll need to miss at least 15 days, though it’s unclear how severe the strain is or exactly how long the club expects to be without him.
That will interrupt a very nice season for Olson, as he has made 19 starts with a 3.23 earned run average. His 21.6% strikeout rate is subpar but he’s limited walks to a 7.3% clip and kept 51.2% of balls on the ground.
The Tigers’ rotation is also without Casey Mize and Sawyer Gipson-Long, as both of those hurlers are currently on the IL. Gipson-Long had internal brace surgery in April and is done for the year while Mize has a left hamstring strain and has yet to begin a rehab assignment. In recent days, Matt Manning suffered a lat strain in the minors and won’t be an option anytime soon either.
Detroit has been hot lately, with 11 wins in their last 14 games, pulling them to within five games of a Wild Card spot in the American League. Prior to that, they looked like clearcut deadline sellers, but that looks a bit more questionable after they recent climb.
A couple of weeks ago, Jack Flaherty was the top name on MLBTR’s list of deadline trade candidates. That was due to the combination of his excellent season, his status as an impending free agent and Detroit’s place in the standings. Guys like Gio Urshela, Mark Canha and Andrew Chafin also made some sense as deadline trade candidates, while plenty of clubs have seemingly been trying to pry Tarik Skubal loose as well.
Skubal was always a long shot with his two extra years of control and he’ll probably be even harder to acquire now that the Tigers are back in the playoff picture. Whether the club trades any impending free agents in the weeks to come will be an interesting situation and could perhaps depend on how they perform in the next week.
For now, they will have to proceed without Olson, Mize, Manning or Gipson-Long. That leaves them with a rotation consisting of Flaherty, Skubal and Keider Montero. They could perhaps return Kenta Maeda to the rotation, after bumping him to the bullpen recently. Prospect Ty Madden is in Triple-A but has an 8.43 ERA there and isn’t on the 40-man roster. Other non-roster options could include Bryan Sammons, Brant Hurter or Lael Lockhart. The Tigers also have one of the best pitching prospects in the league in Jackson Jobe, though he has not yet reached Triple-A and doesn’t even have 40 innings at the Double-A level yet.
Madris, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason and has been performing well in Triple-A this year. Through 80 games at that level, he has hit 14 home runs and walked in 12.8% of his plate appearances. The offensive environment is quite strong in the International League this year so his .236/.339/.464 batting line only translates to a wRC+ of 105, but he’s also stolen 17 bases and lined up at first base and all three outfield spots.
Since optioning Spencer Torkelson to the minors, the Tigers have been rotating first base duties mostly between Canha and Urshela but neither is having an especially strong year and both of them can play other positions. They also both hit right-handed while Madris is a lefty, perhaps creating platoon opportunities. Madris has hit just .217/.314/.383 against lefties this year but .241/.346/.488 against righties. Madris is in today’s lineup at first base against righty Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays. Madris has a couple of options and less than a year of major league service time, so he could potentially be a long-term piece for the Tigers if he continues to hold onto his 40-man spot.
As for Carpenter, this move is largely a formality as he’s almost been on the IL for 60 days already. He landed there at the end of May due to a lumbar spine stress fracture and still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. He’ll be eligible to come off the IL once it’s been 60 days from his initial placement. That’s only a few days away but he’s not close to a return anyhow.