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Tigers Designate Jacob Barnes For Assignment

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The Tigers announced they’ve designated reliever Jacob Barnes for assignment and optioned outfielder Derek Hill to Triple-A Toledo. The moves open a pair of 26-man roster spots for right-hander Drew Hutchison and lefty Tyler Alexander, who will be added to the active roster tomorrow. Hutchison is being selected from Toledo, while Alexander will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Detroit’s 40-man roster count remains at 38.

Barnes signed a minor league deal over the offseason and broke camp with the club. The seven-year MLB veteran made 22 appearances for skipper A.J. Hinch, working primarily in lower-leverage situations. Barnes struggled to a 6.10 ERA through 20 2/3 innings, and of greater concern, saw his swing-and-miss propensity fall precipitously. He has generated swinging strikes on only 7.7% of his offerings, and his 11.2% strikeout rate is the fourth-lowest mark among the 160 relievers with 20+ innings pitched.

That’s a surprising development, as Barnes has typically posted solid strikeout and whiff numbers throughout his career. The velocity and spin on both his fastball and cutter are virtually unchanged relative to last season, but he’s simply not getting the kind of swing-and-miss to which he’s been accustomed. Barnes is out of minor league option years, so the Tigers had to designate him for assignment if they weren’t prepared to continue giving him opportunities to sort things out at the major league level.

Detroit will now have a week to trade the 32-year-old or place him on waivers. Given his rough start to the year, Barnes will probably land on the waiver wire. Even if he passes through unclaimed, he’d have the right to refuse a minor league assignment while still collecting the remainder of his $1.13MM salary by virtue of having surpassed five years of MLB service this season.

Hutchison returns to the big leagues for the second time in 2022. He made ten appearances earlier in the year after cracking the Opening Day roster, but Detroit designated him for assignment last month. Hutchison reached free agency after clearing waivers but re-signed on a minor league deal and worked his way back after five strong outings with the Mud Hens. The veteran has allowed only three runs in 9 2/3 innings with Toledo, punching out 13 batters with three walks.

A starting pitcher early in his career, the 31-year-old Hutchison has worked primarily in relief of late. That includes all of his early-season work in Detroit, where he tossed 15 2/3 innings of nine-run ball. Hutchison punched out 15 batters and issued 12 walks over that stretch, but he’s capable of shouldering multiple frames out of the bullpen and will presumably step into Barnes’ middle relief role.

Alexander, meanwhile, returns after a six-week absence. The southpaw started four times in April but suffered an elbow sprain that has kept him on the shelf since then. Originally targeted for a swing role, he’ll likely head right back into the rotation for a club that lost Casey Mize to a Tommy John procedure and has seen Matt Manning and Michael Pineda shelved due to long-term injury issues. Detroit will also be without Eduardo Rodríguez indefinitely as he attends to personal matters.

Tigers Re-Sign Drew Hutchison

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Right-hander Drew Hutchison is back with the Tigers on a new minor league deal after electing free agency last week, as indicated on the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. Detroit designated Hutchison for assignment on May 11, and he elected free agency a couple days later. He’s already made one appearance with the team’s Triple-A club, and with so many injuries on the big league pitching staff, it’s feasible he’ll get another opportunity in the Majors before too long.

The 31-year-old Hutchison showed some promise with the Blue Jays early in his career, but he’s settled into a journeyman career, having now pitched with five big league clubs (Jays, Phillies, Rangers, Pirates, Tigers) plus another four Triple-A affiliates for big league clubs (Twins, Dodgers, Angels, Yankees).

Hutchison has experience both as a starter and reliever, though the Tigers used him exclusively out of the ’pen earlier this year. In 10 games, he tallied 15 2/3 innings of 4.60 ERA ball with a 20.8% strikeout rate against a bloated 16.7% walk rate. In 497 2/3 frames at the MLB level, Hutchison has a 4.96 ERA, a 20.2% strikeout rate and an 8.3% walk rate.

The Tigers have Eduardo Rodriguez, Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tyler Alexander, Michael Pineda and Spencer Turnbull all on the injured list at the moment, while breakout lefty Tarik Skubal exited his last start after taking a 100 mph comebacker off his leg. With their entire Opening Day rotation, minus Skubal, now on the injured list, the Tigers have given looks to Alex Faedo, Beau Brieske and tonight’s starter, Elvin Rodriguez. Hutchison’s May 19 appearance with Triple-A Toledo only lasted 1 2/3 innings, but he did start that game, so it’s possible the Tigers will continue building him up to give them an additional option to make some starts while the rest of the rotation mends.

Drew Hutchison Elects Free Agency

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The Tigers announced that right-handed pitcher Drew Hutchison has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. The 31-year-old veteran signed with the team in March but was designated for assignment earlier this week to clear a space on the 40-man roster for young starter Joey Wentz.

Through 10 Detroit appearances this year Hutchison has soaked up 15 plus innings and posted a 4.60 ERA, albeit with a bloated 16.7% walk rate. After a two-year run in the Tigers system it seems the organization, owner of a dismal 9-23 record to start the Major League season, prefers to shake up the roster by infusing some younger players over rostering a frequently shuttled veteran type. The former fifteenth-rounder is just a season removed from 21 plus innings of 2.11 ERA ball though, and has put up solid results in the upper minors for most of his career.

Hutchison will now head to a largely picked-clean market of free agents in hopes of latching on with another team. That the righty cleared waivers hints that his next deal will likely be of the minor league variety; given the conservative handling of many pitchers this year, however, the odds are good that Hutchison will draw interest as a depth piece in the near future. In the event of a promotion and late career breakout, a signing team can keep Hutchison under team control via arbitration through the 2023 season.

Tigers To Designate Drew Hutchison For Assignment

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The Tigers will designate righty Drew Hutchison for assignment prior to tonight’s game against the A’s, the team announced yesterday.  The move will create a spot on the active 26-man roster for rookie Joey Wentz, whose call-up was covered here yesterday.  Wentz will make his MLB debut tonight, and then the Tigers will decide whether he or fellow rookie Alex Faedo will get a start next week.

The Hutchison DFA will drop the Tigers’ 40-man roster down to 39.  Hutchison, 31, is no stranger to being bounced off a 40-man roster.  The Blue Jays’ 2015 Opening Day starter, Hutchison was outrighted by the Pirates in 2017, the Pirates and Rangers in 2018, and his current team, the Tigers, last year.  So far, Hutchison has added another 15 2/3 innings to his resume in 2022, working as a low-leverage reliever for Detroit.

The Tigers’ rotation is the more pressing concern, with an ERA that ranks 22nd in baseball and has averaged 4.71 innings per start.  Tarik Skubal has been a revelation, and free agent signings Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Pineda have done acceptable work.  Matt Manning is working his way back from a shoulder injury, while Casey Mize is set for his first rehab start tomorrow after an elbow sprain.  Though Wentz, Faedo, and Beau Brieske are not considered top prospects, the rookies will continue to deserve as the Tigers’ primary depth options once everyone is healthy.

Tigers Announce Several Transactions, Finalize Opening Day Roster

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The Tigers announced a landslide of roster moves Wednesday as they set their Opening Day roster. Most notable among them is the formal selection of top prospect Spencer Torkelson’s contract. It was already known that Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2020 draft and a consensus top-five prospect in all of baseball, would make the Opening Day roster, but his promotion to the big leagues is now official.

Detroit also selected the contracts of right-handers Drew Hutchison, Jacob Barnes and Will Vest. In a series of corresponding 40-man roster moves, Detroit designated left-hander Miguel Del Pozo for assignment and placed catcher Jake Rogers (recovering from Tommy John surgery), Spencer Turnbull (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and Jose Cisnero (strained right shoulder) on the 60-day injured list.

The Tigers also announced an additional series of placements on the 10-day injured list: lefty Andrew Chafin (groin strain), outfielder Derek Hill (hamstring strain) and righty Kyle Funkhouser (shoulder strain) are all beginning the season on the 10-day IL. Top outfield prospect Riley Greene is being placed on the minor league injured list after fracturing his foot late in Spring Training. The Tigers also announced that righty Elvin Rodriguez made the roster over infielder Willi Castro, and the team has assigned veteran right-handers Chase Anderson (Triple-A) and Wily Peralta (Class-A Advanced) to minor league affiliates to begin the year.

None of Hutchison, Vest or Barnes has an extensive track record of big league success, but they’ve all logged MLB action in the past and will give Detroit some bullpen depth early in the season, particularly while Cisnero sits out at least the first two months of the season mending a shoulder injury. That absence is perhaps the most surprising revelation in today’s sequence of moves. Cisnero was behind schedule to start camp and felt some discomfort in his most recent outing, but prior to today’s announcement there was no indication he’d require such a lengthy absence. It’s a notable loss for the Tigers, given the 32-year-old’s 3.45 ERA, 24 holds and four saves over the past two seasons.

Chafin, who signed a two-year, $13MM contract with an opt-out after the 2022 season will hope for a minimal absence. There’s been no indication from the club that he’s expected to require a long stay on the IL, but he’s been trending toward a 10-day placement since originally experiencing pain at the end of March. Hill has also been ailing since the final day of March, so his move to the IL doesn’t rate as much of a surprise.

As for the 29-year-old Del Pozo, he lasted the offseason on Detroit’s 40-man roster after allowing two runs on eight hits and no walks with four punchouts during a brief Detroit debut late in the 2021 campaign. He’s allowed a total of 20 runs in 18 1/3 Major League innings, however, and didn’t help his cause this spring when he appeared in two games and was tagged for a combined five runs in just one inning of work. Detroit will have a week to trade him or try to pass him through outright waivers.

Veterans Anderson and Peralta will give the Tigers some pitching depth in the minors to begin the season. Anderson joined the club on a minor league deal in mid-March and allowed three earned runs on nine hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts in five innings during camp. He’s struggled substantially in the Majors across the past two seasons but from 2014-19 was a solid back-of-the-rotation arm, logging a combined 3.94 ERA in 857 innings between the D-backs and Brewers.

Peralta seems even likelier to be added to the big league roster, despite his assignment to a Class-A affiliate. The right-hander had a strong showing in Detroit last year after signing a minor league pact, pitching to a 3.07 ERA across 18 appearances (17 starts) — a total of 93 2/3 innings. But Peralta was slow to get to camp, owing to visa issues, and he’ll remain at the Tigers’ Lakeland facility, where their High-A team plays, as he builds up toward game readiness. Peralta didn’t make it to Tigers camp until this past weekend and didn’t have time to get into an official spring game, but once he’s built up he’ll be an option to join the club’s rotation or pitch in a long-relief role.

Tigers Sign Drew Hutchison, Ramon Rosso To Minor League Deals

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The Tigers have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with righty Drew Hutchison, announced the team.

Hutchison, 31, made nine appearances for the Tigers in 2021 in his first Major League action since 2018.  Hutchison had signed a minor league deal in February of last year.  He made a pair of starts for the Tigers in August and then spent September working in long relief.  Prior to that, Hutchison made 19 starts in Triple-A with a 23.5 K%, 10.8 BB%, and 41.2 GB%.

Hutchison made 32 starts in a solid sophomore season with the Blue Jays back in 2014, even garnering the club’s Opening Day start the following year.  He wasn’t able to stick in the Jays’ rotation in 2015, though, and was traded to the Pirates for Francisco Liriano at the 2016 deadline.  He was booted off the Pirates’ 40-man roster in September of ’17, electing free agency and signing a minor league deal with the Phillies the following February.  He made that team out of camp, but lost his 40-man spot by June.  He then moved to the Dodgers on a minor league deal, quickly opting out and signing with the Rangers.  Hutchison spent 2019 with the Yankees, Twins, and Angels’ Triple-A affiliates before resurfacing with the Tigers a year ago.

Detroit also signed reliever Ramon Rosso to a minors contract. The 25-year-old righty made seven appearances with the Phillies in each of the last two seasons. He owns a 6.11 ERA in 17 2/3 MLB innings but averaged 95.2 MPH on his fastball last year.

Drew Hutchison, Ian Krol Elect Free Agency

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The Tigers announced this afternoon that right-hander Drew Hutchison and lefty Ian Krol were removed from the 40-man roster and cleared outright waivers. Both players had more than enough service time to elect minor league free agency.

Hutchison had a pair of separate stints with the Tigers this past season, his first big league action in three years. A back-of-the-rotaion option with the Blue Jays and Pirates early in his career, Hutchison started all nineteen of his Triple-A outings this year but came out of the bullpen for seven of his nine big league appearances. He ultimately worked 21 1/3 frames of 2.11 ERA ball at the MLB level, but his peripherals were far less impressive than that bottom line run prevention mark.

The 31-year-old walked 11 of the 91 big league hitters he faced (12.1%), while striking out just ten (11%). Because of those poor strikeout and walk numbers, Hutchison posted just a 5.98 SIERA, and the Detroit front office determined it best to part ways rather than bring him back via arbitration, where he’d been projected to land a salary in the $900K range. To his credit, Hutchison had a decent season with Triple-A Toledo, tossing 88 1/3 frames of 3.77 ERA ball with serviceable peripherals. That solid work should earn him some minor league offers with Spring Training invitations this winter.

Krol also made it back to the majors for the first time since 2018. The 30-year-old worked 18 2/3 frames of relief, pitching to a 4.34 ERA with a below-average 20.9% strikeout rate but a fine 9.3% walk percentage. He’d also been projected for a $900K arbitration salary but will instead hit the open market in search of a new opportunity.

Tigers Select Drew Hutchison’s Contract

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The Tigers have selected the contract of right-hander Drew Hutchison from Triple-A Toledo, and also called up right-hander Bryan Garcia.  The two hurlers will take the places of righties Joe Jimenez (placed on the COVID-related injury list) and Drew Carlton (optioned to Triple-A yesterday).

This will be Hutchison’s second appearance on Detroit’s big league roster this season, as the 31-year-old was previous designated for assignment and then outrighted to Toledo last month.  Hutchison’s previous stint saw him make two starts, the first a rough outing against the Indians on August 15 that saw Hutchison allow six runs (but only two earned) in 1 2/3 innings.  The righty fared much better in his second start, as he allowed one unearned run on four hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays on August 22.

The result was a 3.00 ERA over six total innings, which served as Hutchison’s first MLB action since the 2018 campaign.  At the Triple-A level this season, Hutchison has a 3.77 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, and a 10.8% walk rate over 88 1/3 innings for Toledo, starting all 19 of his appearances.

Since the Tigers are already working with a six-man rotation, Hutchison might be deployed out of the bullpen for now.  However, as Detroit’s younger starters approach innings limits, Hutchison could be called upon for spot-start duty, or perhaps piggyback outings.

Tigers Outright Drew Hutchison

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AUGUST 26: Hutchison has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Toledo, per the team. As a player who has previously been outrighted in his career, he has the right to elect free agency.

AUGUST 23: The Tigers have reinstated outfielder Akil Baddoo from the 10-day injured list.  The team also announced that right-hander Drew Hutchison was designated for assignment, opening up space for Baddoo to rejoin the active roster.

Baddoo hasn’t played since August 10 due to a concussion, as he was first placed on the seven-day concussion IL and was then moved to the normal 10-day IL so he could get a few rehab games under his belt.  Just a week removed from his 23rd birthday, Baddoo returns to continue what has already been an impressive rookie season.  Originally a second-round pick for the Twins in the 2016 draft, the Tigers selected Baddoo in last December’s Rule 5 Draft, putting Baddoo in line to jump from high-A ball in 2019 right to the majors.

The outfielder has wholly embraced the opportunity, hitting .267/.333/.467 with 10 homers and a league-high six triples over 333 plate appearances.  Baddoo’s excellent speed has resulted in a .345 BABIP and helped him overcome a lot of soft contact numbers, though he is still a work in progress (-5 Defensive Runs Saved, -4.6 UZR/150) as an outfielder, mostly splitting time between left and center field.  Since Baddoo will surely finish the season on the active roster, the Tigers will officially acquire his rights from Minnesota, giving Detroit another intriguing young building block going forward.

Hutchison signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason and made two appearances after his contract was selected last week.  The righty (who just turned 31 yesterday) posted a 3.00 ERA over two abbreviated starts, tossing six innings and recording four walks against only two strikeouts.

Apart from 42 2/3 innings with the Phillies and Rangers in 2018, Hutchison hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2016.  A veteran of six MLB seasons overall, Hutchison could get a look from another team seeking pitching depth on the waiver wire, or the Tigers could outright him to Triple-A for their own depth purposes if he clears waivers.

Tigers Designate Buck Farmer For Assignment

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The Tigers have designated right-hander Buck Farmer for assignment, according to multiple reports.  The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for Drew Hutchison, as the right-hander’s minor league contract will be selected so he can start tomorrow’s game against the Indians.

Detroit previously designated Farmer back in May, and he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A before his contact was again selected in June.  It’s been a rough year for Farmer, who has a 6.37 ERA over 35 1/3 innings, with an inflated 20.5% homer rate and 12.3% walk rate contributing to those struggles.  However, a clear line can be drawn between Farmer’s performance before and after his first DFA — the righty had a garish 12.66 ERA in 10 2/3 IP in April and May, but has a much more respectable 3.65 ERA in 24 2/3 IP since returning to the big league roster in June.

Given this recent good form, Farmer’s decent numbers out of the Tigers’ bullpen from 2018-20, and the number of contenders who could use relief help, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Farmer was claimed during this latest trip on the DFA waiver wire.  He also has the option of declining another outright assignment in order to test free agency.

A fifth-round pick in the 2013 draft, Farmer has spent his entire pro career in the Tigers organization, including eight big league seasons.  There have been plenty of ups and downs, though Farmer seemed to have found a niche after becoming a full-time reliever in 2018.  The 30-year-old is earning $1.85MM this season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining before being eligible for free agency following the 2022 campaign.

Hutchison signed a minor league deal with the Tigers last winter, and his start will mark his first Major League game since 2018.  Perhaps best known for his early-career status as a promising starter in the Blue Jays organization, Hutchison was beset by a Tommy John surgery and never really lived up to his potential, bouncing around to several teams at the major and minor league levels, as well as some independent teams.  Hutchison has a 5.10 ERA over 460 1/3 career innings in the Show in parts of five MLB seasons, and he has a solid 3.63 ERA in 84 1/3 IP for Triple-A Toledo this year.

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