With the trade deadline over, Tigers prepare to reshape their pitching staff

New York Times

2 days ago

DETROIT — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch followed the trade deadline, tracked the chaos, stayed glued to every update around the league.
'Across the game, that was crazy,' Hinch told reporters Friday in Philadelphia. 'Just every minute it felt like another trade was happening and guys were changing teams. There was a ton of activity, ourselves included.'
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Say what you will about the Tigers' trade deadline. They were anything but inactive. Most of their moves were around the margins. They didn't chase a powerful new bat, and their reluctance to trade prospects seemingly got them nowhere in talks for big-ticket relief pitchers.
One day later, the immediate optics were not good. The Tigers' bullpen blew a lead. Phillies deadline acquisition Jhoan Duran shut down the Tigers in the ninth.
But there are 51 games left to determine how all this will work out. The Tigers added a flurry of new arms Wednesday and Thursday, and now they prepare for the final two months of the season with a reshaped pitching staff.
Are better results to come?
Kyle Finnegan was arguably the best of Detroit's deadline acquisitions. He is certainly the most consistent and most proven. Previously the closer for the Washington Nationals, Finnegan had a 3.68 ERA, 38 saves and made the All-Star Game last year.
This season, Finnegan comes to Detroit after posting a 4.38 ERA and 20 saves in Washington. ERA can sometimes be an ineffective way to measure relief pitchers. A couple of bad innings can skew the number too wildly. Finnegan surrendered one or more earned runs in only nine of his 40 appearances with the Nationals.
His profile, though, doesn't exactly bolster the Tigers' mission to get more swing-and-miss from their back-end relievers. Finnegan ranks in only the 24th percentile in whiff rate and comes to Detroit averaging 7.4 K/9. The lack of ability to miss bats again hurt the Tigers on Friday, when an infield single off Brant Hurter allowed the Phillies to take the lead.
Do not be surprised, though, if Finnegan becomes one of Detroit's most-used leverage relievers down the stretch. Hinch will continue operating without a designated closer, as he has for almost the entirety of his five seasons in Detroit.
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'I've appreciated his calmness and his arsenal,' Hinch said of Finnegan. 'The fastball is real. The split is really good. He's pitched at the back end of games, so he can handle big moments and as much pressure as we can put on him. … We're gonna use him in a lot of different ways. He could close games; he could also be part of the path to get to the back end. I told him one of the reasons we've been really good is we've got guys who are all in, and he reminded me that he's all in from the get-go. He's willing to do anything.'
Finnegan and Montero were the only two new pitchers to join the active roster Friday. The Tigers sent right-hander Chase Lee to Toledo to open a roster spot. Left-hander Dietrich Enns was designated for assignment and then traded to the Orioles for cash considerations Thursday.
Montero was arguably the most eyebrow-raising of Detroit's bullpen moves. The 34-year-old right-hander was brilliant for the Astros in 2022 but otherwise has a 4.76 career ERA. Montero had a 5.50 ERA in his most recent stop with the Braves. He has had five 'meltdowns' — defined by Fangraphs as an outing where a reliever's win probability added is less than or equal to -0.06 — in 39 outings this season.
What Montero does bring is swing-and-miss. He ranks in the 89th percentile in chase rate and the 76th percentile in whiff rate this season. He added a splitter this winter and has used the pitch to hold opponents to a .192 batting average. His 3.62 xERA indicates he's pitched better than his rather abysmal surface numbers indicate.
The walks, though, are a real concern. His 13.9 percent walk rate ranks in MLB's bottom second percentile.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris was complimentary of Montero's under-the-hood performance and cited his propensity to keep balls out of the middle of the plate. Montero's walk rate of 9.9 percent since June 1 has been somewhat better but is still above the league average, which tends to hover around 8 percent.
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'He's going to have to pitch well to earn his innings,' Hinch said. 'That's something that's starting to happen with our pen, is we have a lot of options. Montero is going to factor in as well as he pitches. If he deserves more innings and more opportunity, then as you know, I'm willing to use anybody in any spot.'
OK, it might not resemble the constant bullpen games of last season. But the Tigers seem intent on getting creative using their pitching in the final two months of the season.
They acquired a high volume of pitchers at the deadline. They should be able to cycle arms in and out as needs and performance dictate. Lee is in Triple A but could easily get back to the majors this season. Codi Heuer, a trade acquisition from the Rangers in exchange for cash, is a high-extension arm with a good fastball and could be as interesting as anyone Detroit acquired. Paul Sewald, traded from the Guardians, is a proven closer but won't be eligible to come off the injured list until Sept. 10. There are others, such as José Urquidy, working their way back from the IL, and promising young arms such as left-hander Drew Sommers and righty Tyler Mattison nearing the majors.
Volume over quality is a bold choice. But it's worked for the Tigers before. And though the Tigers' deadline decisions seemed driven by analytical models, it's not hard to see the certain traits the Tigers like with each of the players they acquired.
Charlie Morton, the 41-year-old right-hander, was their final deadline piece. Slated to join the team Saturday, Morton will round out the rotation and is scheduled to start Sunday against the Phillies.
The start of Morton's season was an absolute disaster. But he has a 3.88 ERA over his past 11 starts and still grades out with a favorable 101 Stuff+ rating.
'The ball is still coming out hot out of his hand,' Hinch said. 'He still has the good breaking ball. Changeup has been good. And I'm impressed by the fact that he's sort of resurrected his season based on how it started, how we saw him in the spring, how we saw him early and then how he's finished his Orioles tenure. He's ready to go. He'll be energized by coming to this team and the expectations that come with it.'
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Adding Morton to the rotation means rookie Melton is headed to the bullpen. Melton — who pitched seven scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks in his second MLB start — throws a power fastball, has terrific extension and has already shown he can miss bats at the MLB level.
In a way, Melton could be as good an addition to this bullpen as anyone.
Hinch said he plans to be creative with Melton. He could pitch multiple innings. He could come in for shorter leverage bursts.
These are only some of the factors in the strategy the Tigers have chosen.
Should be fascinating to see whether it works.
'We deserve this type of pressure,' Hinch said of the final two months. 'It's an opportunity to continue what's been a very special season thus far, but it's far from complete.'
(Top photo of A.J. Hinch: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)