Did Jack Flaherty’s trade value just take a hit?
Minneapolis – The Detroit News Tigers podcast has taken a short break, so I thought I would use this space to discuss in print some of the topics we surely would have chatted about.
The news that Tigers starter and top trade chip Jack Flaherty needed a second injection to clear up inflammation in his lower back is troubling on all levels.
The Tigers are wisely portraying it as a routine maintenance measure rather than a long-term problem. And it’s true that Flaherty went through the exact same procedure last season and even got a second chance.
But, as you may recall, last season didn’t end well for him. His technique wasn’t the same. He wasn’t moving quickly and freely down the mound. That’s part of what the Tigers helped him fix this offseason.
The plan now is for Flaherty to meet the team in Cincinnati and throw a bullpen. If all goes well, he would be expected to pitch against the Guardians at Comerica Park on Monday, July 9. If that happens and this injection clears up the back problem once and for all, Flaherty could make two starts before the All-Star break and two, possibly three, before the transfer deadline.
This would give teams enough time to assess his value for the final two months of the season.
Obviously, that’s not the ideal scenario — neither for the Tigers nor for Flaherty. But the club still has some advantage, having a qualifying offer for a 28-year-old top rotation starter. Maybe they’re not getting what they could have gotten had Flaherty stayed healthy and kept up his pace. But they certainly don’t need to make a bad trade just to get rid of him.
A few more short shots:
▶ At the beginning of the season, the Tigers scored most of their runs late in games. Seventeen of their 38 wins were comebacks. But in June and July, that almost stopped.
As we noted on Tuesday, the Tigers have scored just one run against opposing relievers in 19.1 innings over their last five games. This season, they have scored 112 runs from the seventh inning onwards, seventh-worst in the American League. Their OPS of .649 and slugging percentage of .355 from the seventh inning onwards are the worst in the league.
This is due in part to the overall offensive weakness in June, when the Tigers scored the second fewest runs (98) and had the worst average (.213), on-base percentage (.273), slug percentage (.344) and OPS (.617).
At the beginning of the season, it seemed like AJ Hinch had more opportunities to take advantage of late in games. And he did so with a healthy Kerry Carpenter and a fresher and more productive Mark Canha. Even though Spencer Torkelson and Javier Báez struggled, they still posed a threat to opposing teams in terms of lining up their bullpens.
Currently, managers can set up their bullpens so that they can’t be beaten by Riley Greene or Andy Ibanez late in games, and Hinch has little to counter that.
The Twins have three left-handed relievers in their bullpen. Although one went in earlier in the game, manager Rocco Baldelli ultimately opted for right-handers to keep Ibanez and Matt Vierling on the bench.
Hinch had used only one pinch hitter in the last five games before Wednesday. That’s not how this roster should function.
▶ The fact that the two most experienced batsmen clashed certainly didn’t help.
Before Wednesday, Canha was 2 for 36 in his last 11 games. Gio Urshela was 1 for 35 in his last 10 games. All three of those hits were singles.
▶ Centerfielder Parker Meadows has played outstanding baseball in Triple-A. It seems inevitable that he will move up relatively soon. Akil Baddoo’s playing time has steadily shrunk, as has his offensive output.
▶ Torkelson is less clear-cut. His swing has improved, at least in terms of raw numbers. In his last seven games in Toledo, he’s hit .333/.419/.704 with three home runs and an OPS of 1.123. He’s also had 13 strikeouts in his last 31 plate appearances.
But this is his second Triple-A stint in three years. The Tigers want to make sure it will be his last, so they won’t rush him back up too quickly. They have a very specific list of adjustments and improvements they need to see from him on a regular basis.
Still, it would be a surprise if Torkelson wasn’t back right after the All-Star break.
▶ The Tigers aren’t going to give up on Matt Manning. It may seem that way, as Keider Montero gets the final two assignments. But both pitchers are viewed by the organization as part of the club’s rotation for the near future. They haven’t yet given Montero a chance to make multiple starts at the major league level.
They give him one now.
But that doesn’t mean Manning is being penalized or demoted. He had a rough start in Toledo, giving up three home runs and eight runs in four innings at the cozy CHS Field in St. Paul.
He rebounded with five scoreless innings against Louisville with five punchouts.
With Casey Mize likely out until after the All-Star break and the possibility/likelihood that Flaherty will be traded, if Manning continues to take care of his business, he has a chance to get back into the big league rotation.
▶ The Twins have moved up the start time for Thursday’s series finale to 1:10 p.m. Eastern Time as they try to get the game played before the storm hits.
Tigers at Twins
▶ First pitch: 1:10 p.m., Thursday, Target Field, Minneapolis
▶ TV/Radio: 97.1 FM
Scouting report
▶ RHP Kenta Maeda (2-4, 5.76), Tigers: He’s already faced his former teammates twice (once in spring training and once on April 13 at Comerica), so returning to Target Field is the last box to check off in that subplot. More importantly, Maeda is off to his best start in a month, limiting the Angels to two runs in 5.1 innings. His four-seam fastball averaged 92 mph, its best performance of the season, and the movement of his splitter was sharp.
▶ RHP Bailey Ober (7-4, 4.30), Twins: He faced the Tigers in back-to-back starts six days apart in April, beating them both times (12 innings, one run, five hits, nine strikeouts, one walk). He’s been good lately, too, holding hitters to a .165 average and .221 on-base percentage in his last three starts (four runs in 21 innings, 25 strikeouts, four walks). He mixes changeups (for lefties) and sliders (for righties) with a 92-mph, high-extension four-seam fastball and a cutter. Hitters are 4-for-48 against his slider with 18 strikeouts.
@cmccosky
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