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4 days ago
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Starting pitchers coming soon for Detroit Tigers? Injury updates: Alex Cobb, José Urquidy
The Detroit Tigers have four pitchers locked into their starting rotation: Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson and Casey Mize. Of those four, Skubal is the only pitcher with a sub-3.00 ERA. The fifth spot in the rotation has been a combination of three pitchers over the past two months: Keider Montero, Sawyer Gipson-Long and Troy Melton. It was supposed to be Alex Cobb, the 37-year-old right-hander who signed a one-year deal with the Tigers in the offseason. He continues to occupy a spot on the injured list. "It's been hard because I know how badly he wants to contribute to this team," manager A.J. Hinch said Friday, July 25. "He was signed in the offseason to help us in exactly these situations like we're going through right now, where we've had to mix and match our rotation." THE PLAN: Big splash coming? Tigers expected to take conservative approach at trade deadline The Tigers signed Cobb to a $15 million contract in December 2024. By February 2025, the 37-year-old had suffered a right hip injury, even before pitchers and catchers reported to spring training. The 13-year MLB veteran has dealt with injuries to both hips throughout this season. Cobb has received too many injections to count. He still isn't healthy. Cobb completed a bullpen session Thursday, July 24, in hopes of beginning another rehab assignment in the near future. He previously made a three-start rehab assignment in late May and early June, but he felt pain in every start, walked five batters across 6⅓ innings and had to be shut down. "I'm not sure that he feels perfect," Hinch said. "I just passed him in the weight room when I was walking up here. He's always in great spirits, but there's always a little something that he's trying to navigate." ROSTER MOVE: Tigers add reliever Geoff Hartlieb, cut Carlos Hernández after experiment is no-go It sounds as though Cobb needs at least one more bullpen session before starting the second rehab assignment, but nobody knows the timetable for him to join the Tigers. His health will determine his availability. "We need to get him back on the mound again," Hinch said, "and keep pushing him until we get him to competition." When healthy, Cobb has been an effective starting pitcher. He owns a 3.75 ERA across 410⅔ innings in 77 starts over his past four MLB seasons, but he made just three regular-season starts in 2024 due to injuries. "That's a big win, when and if he gets healthy," Hinch said. [ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ] Timeline for José Urquidy Right-hander José Urquidy continues to recover from his second Tommy John surgery — the reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The 30-year-old is rehabbing in Lakeland, Florida – home of the Tigers' spring training complex. The Tigers signed him to a one-year, $1 million contract with a $4 million club option for 2026. "He's going great," Hinch said. ROOKIE: Tigers prospect Troy Melton on MLB debut: 'You have to make pitches' Urquidy completed his first bullpen session May 20, then his first live batting practice session Tuesday, July 22. He will complete his second live batting practice session Saturday, July 26, and he is getting close to a rehab assignment. "Normally, it's one or two of these live BPs to get into competition," Hinch said. "When you're talking about coming back from surgery, it's got to be a little bit open-ended." Expect Urquidy to begin a rehab assignment in early August. After that, Urquidy could join the Tigers' starting rotation by late August. "We're going to have baby watch with him," Hinch said. "He and his wife are having another baby. I think it's early next month. Hopefully, that coincides with the right timing of him getting into competition, and then we'll see how far we need to build him before we have to make decisions on him." Celebrate 125 seasons of the Detroit Tigers! When is Sawyer Gipson-Long's next rehab start? Gipson-Long — a right-hander who was pulled off his rehab assignment recently after two rehab starts — is scheduled to complete a bullpen session Saturday. The 27-year-old has been sidelined with neck stiffness. He will throw a couple of bullpen sessions before beginning another rehab assignment, possibly in early August. "It shouldn't set him back too far from a volume standpoint," Hinch said, "but we need to clear any issues, so we'll get him off the mound this weekend. We'll probably do it maybe a couple of times before we get him out." Gipson-Long hasn't pitched for the Tigers since June 27. Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at Order your copy of 'Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Tigers!' by the Free Press at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alex Cobb, Jose Urquidy could help Detroit Tigers as starting pitchers
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4 days ago
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Detroit Tigers flounder again in 6-2 loss to Blue Jays for 11th defeat in 12 games
Detroit Tigers TV voice Jason Benetti didn't hold back from telling the truth. "This is the kind of defense you can't win a ton of games with," Benetti said on the FanDuel Sports Network Detroit broadcast Friday, July 25, reacting to mistakes by the Tigers in the fourth inning, as left fielder Riley Greene failed to catch a fly ball and Javier Báez made a wild throw. Those mistakes led to two runs, and the Tigers lost 6-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in the second of four games in the series at Comerica Park — their fifth loss in a row and 11th in 12 games. FRIDAY'S NOTEBOOK: Starting pitchers coming soon for Tigers? Injury updates: Alex Cobb, José Urquidy The Tigers (60-45) have a 7½-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central. Just 17 days ago, the Tigers had a 14-game division lead. In the fourth inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a ball off right-hander Keider Montero to the warning track in left field that Greene should've caught, but he mistimed his jump and failed to catch the ball, resulting in a double for Guerrero. Addison Barger then drove in Guerrero with a double to tie the game at 1-1. With two outs in the inning, Joey Loperfido hit a grounder to Báez at short for what should've been an easy conclusion to the fourth. Instead, Báez made a bad throw that first baseman Spencer Torkelson couldn't save, allowing Barger to score and give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. TRADE TALK: Big splash coming? Tigers expected to take conservative approach at trade deadline From there, the Blue Jays took command for the second straight night — scoring four runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by Guerrero's RBI double off Montero's curveball and Bo Bichette's two-RBI double off Montero's sinker. Both big swings were on the first pitch. "Let's go, Blue Jays" chants broke out after the extra-base hits. The Blue Jays extended their lead to 6-1 when Alejandro Kirk hit an RBI single against left-handed reliever Tyler Holton, who replaced Montero but inherited a runner, to cap the four-run fifth inning. Montero allowed six runs (five earned runs) on nine hits and zero walks with three strikeouts in four-plus innings, throwing 76 pitches. The 25-year-old has a 4.66 ERA in 15 games (nine starts) this season, along with a 4.72 ERA in his MLB career, spanning 34 games (25 starts). [ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ] Spencer Torkelson homers again It was too little, too late. But Torkelson hit a solo home run — his second in as many games — in the sixth inning, tagging a middle-middle 92.3 mph sinker from right-hander José Berríos. His 23rd homer in 99 games cut the Tigers' deficit to 6-2. The Tigers scored the first run of the game for a 1-0 lead in the second inning, thanks to Dillon Dingler's RBI double. Greene — the Tigers' best position player — went 0-for-3 with one walk and three strikeouts. The two-time All-Star outfielder has a .192 batting average, four walks and 34 strikeouts across 19 games in July, with 12 multi-strikeout games. Celebrate the Tigers' 125 epic seasons with our new book! Brothers-in-law Báez and Berríos are brothers-in-law. Báez is a .067 hitter (1-for-15) with one home run, one walk and four strikeouts in 16 plate appearances in the all-time matchup, including an 0-for-2 performance with two strikeouts in Friday's game. In the second inning, Báez — a right-handed hitter — struck out swinging on a breaking ball that was located in the left-handed batter's box, stranding a runner on second base. In the fifth inning, Báez struck out swinging on a down-and-in changeup with a runner on first base for the first out. Berríos allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts across six innings, throwing 85 pitches. He generated 10 whiffs, with two of them occurring in his battles with Báez. Berríos has a 3.83 ERA in 22 starts. Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at Order your copy of 'Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Tigers!' by the Free Press at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers lose fifth straight, 6-2 to Toronto Blue Jays
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4 days ago
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What A.J. Hinch is saying about Detroit Tigers' struggles: 'It's important to be steady'
The Detroit Tigers have lost 11 of their last 12 games. They've won just once in the past 17 days. The Tigers (60-45) had a 59-34 record in their first 93 games, followed by a 1-11 record in their last 12 games. The lead in the American League Central has dropped from 14 games to 7½ games, with 57 games remaining. Since July 9, the offense ranks 30th among the 30 MLB teams with a .598 OPS, while the pitching also ranks 30th with a 6.90 ERA. As the losses pile up, here's everything Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Friday, July 25 — both before and after a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park: [ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ] How do you manage the team through a stretch like this? "I think it's important to be steady. I've never been on a team that hasn't gone through a little bit of something at some point. There is no easy 162-game schedule. If you look at the American League right now, the teams that have gotten to or eclipsed 60 wins, as an example, have all gotten there in different ways, and they've run through the questioning from, what's going on with their team to, oh my gosh, this is the best team in the league, to anywhere in between. A steady approach works. It's not always easy. It's not always the most popular because you want this massive reaction one way or the other. We've got to play the game that's in front of us today. There's nothing we can do about the previous X-amount of games. If you want to go back one series, two series, three series, four series — eventually, you're going to get back to a time where we were dominating series. The steadiness is what these guys are looking for. As a leader, the first thing they're going to look at is my mood that day and the edge that I bring. I've got to separate the edge of what's happened with the edge of the competition. I always have an edge because of the competition, but it's not because we won or lost yesterday. I've tried to establish that as part of our identity for these exact moments. I've managed 100-plus win teams that have gone through six- and seven- and eight-game losing streaks, or lost 12 of 13. You don't think of that because we forget over time. There's going to be a time that we all forget about this. It's just not right now when you're going through it. You feel like you're getting suffocated day by day where the first thing that goes wrong brings back the thoughts of previous games. Welcome to sports. It's an emotional ride. Those that stay steady will survive." MORE ABOUT HIM: Tigers' A.J. Hinch: His peers consider him 'one of the best managers in the game' Do you think the players are thinking about the trade deadline? "I don't know if it gets into the players' heads. I know they're looking forward to getting Carp (Kerry Carpenter) back. Everyone is curious what Sawyer (Gipson-Long) is doing. We just talked about Alex Cobb. There are going to be changes throughout, no matter what. The deadline is the deadline. It's the most popular topic nowadays than ever before. There are times where it was a hush, hush topic and nobody talked about it, and now, it's on everybody's feed. It's the first thing your family, your friends, people around the game, (media). Baseball has done a good job of making it a huge, huge day, even if it's controversial amongst fanbases. I try to keep that noise out of the clubhouse, but we're going to carry around these iPhones, and they have the ability to check every 30 seconds, if they want. I can pretend like the topic doesn't exist, but it doesn't help us beat Toronto. I'm trying to get these guys focused on that. If it affects them, then we'll try to navigate it the best we can. Hopefully, it doesn't." Does being buyers instead of sellers at the trade deadline change the mindset in the clubhouse? "I think what's more interesting about this team is we're in a completely different situation this year than we were last year. It's been a rough week. We're still being chased. We still have a lot to pump our chest out about with how we've gotten to this point and what we've done. But as I've said before, it doesn't matter until we get to the end of the schedule — what we've done or haven't done. We've got to play the whole schedule. When Ernie Clement homers, everybody collectively was like, 'Oh man.' That doesn't mean the game is over. That doesn't mean the series is over. I've got to try to get everybody to believe that and do the little things that it's going to take to beat the Blue Jays and be the team that we've been over the large majority of the season. That's the fun part. You got to love it in the bad times too. You're not just allowed to love sports when you're going well and hate sports when you're going poorly. That's not how it works." JULY 31: Big splash coming? Tigers expected to take conservative approach at trade deadline Do you feel like the players are pressing right now? "Of course. I think it's natural to want it more today based on how the last couple weeks have gone. This is a young group that's trying hard. We can all be naive. I can lie to you and say, 'No, they're fine.' Of course, we're pressing. That's what you do when things don't go well. Anybody that doesn't press a little bit harder, dig a little bit deeper or be a little bit more concerned is probably faking it. Sports matter. It matters every day. I think it's a healthy thing to go through and have to push and persevere and maybe focus a little bit more because there's going to be another one of these in these guys' careers, if they stick around long enough. The ebbs and flows of the season are real, and we've got to own it and continue to play to win." What's the difference between a healthy urgency and pressing too much? "You don't want it to suffocate you. You don't want it to overwhelm you to the point of being a shadow of yourself or not being able to function. I certainly don't see that. But I know how badly guys want to be the guy. I'm concerned more about the process. When you're chasing the result, you're going to get distracted along the way. The process is what gets you there — swinging at good pitches, being in a good position, being mentally aware of how many outs there are, all the little things that teams do. If I describe Toronto right now, they're doing all the little things really well. George Springer works the ball up the middle to move a guy to third base as a middle of the order bat. It's a little thing, and they got themselves in a better position to do well. Those are things that lead to wins. If we chase winning: I want to win. I want to win. I want to win. What does it take to get there to wins? It's a lot of little things that make it difficult on your opponent. And it sounds like the team that we had for 100 games. Do we not have that team anymore? Of course, we do. But we got to go into the competition, and we got to go prove it, and we have to prove it the next night and the next night — for 60 more games. Try not to ride the roller coaster too much but respect the fact that, right now, we're not in a great place doing the things that have led to so many of our wins." IN PITTSBURGH: Struggling Tigers need to 'get our swagger back' amid rough stretch, mental lapses How is managing during a rough stretch different from when things are going well? "It's hard enough to press the reset button after a good time, where you win a series. We've lost a little bit of our identity of getting out of the gate hot in the game. We haven't been able to do that. The morale is good, but it's tough on these guys. This has been a rough, tough couple of weeks, and we're getting tested at the highest mark. I think they're both equally hard to manage through, when you're talking about 162 games, but the lows are definitely harder. The highs are always great. You're just trying to get to the next game and carry a little bit of your mojo into the next game. This one, we're trying to keep our chins up, keep our chest out and realize we're still a first place team. We're one good win away from potentially taking off again." Is there a specific reason for this stretch beyond the ups and downs of a long season? "If we could explain it, we would snap our fingers and fix it. I think that's what is hard about sports: Everybody wants to know why. We've got to go get ready for a game. We're trying to address some of the things that are bleeding into our style of play — uncharacteristic mistakes, two-strike middle-middle (pitches), which are getting beat. You can write a laundry list of things when teams aren't going well about what's going wrong. Baseball is going to push back a little bit and make you play the next day and the next day and the next day. The Blue Jays or any other team that we play aren't going to feel sorry for us. We've got to play better." How can you tell morale is still good even when the results are bad? "We're not pouting and sulking. There's a ton of frustration. There's a ton of togetherness. There's a ton of guys trying to find solutions. It's not a matter of effort, trying, working, drills or staying together. Right now, execution is hard to find for nine innings. It feels pretty good for a minute, but it's going to take 27 outs to get to the finish line." Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at Order your copy of 'Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Tigers!' by the Free Press at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: A.J. Hinch breaks down Detroit Tigers' struggles
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6 days ago
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Detroit Tigers' Troy Melton makes MLB debut, gives up 6 runs in 6-1 loss to Pirates
PITTSBURGH — Right-hander Troy Melton is the best pitching prospect in the Detroit Tigers' farm system, but even he couldn't save the Tigers from their losing ways in his MLB debut. The newcomer gave up six runs. And the Tigers lost, 6-1, to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, July 23, at PNC Park — swept by the lowly Pirates in the three-game series. The Tigers (60-43) have a 1-9 record since July 9 — and a 14-18 record in 32 games since June 14. FATHER'S DAYS: Detroit Tigers place Tarik Skubal on paternity list for new baby. When will he return? The offense has been limited to two or fewer runs in five of the past six games, all since the All-Star break. In their past 10 games, the Tigers are hitting just .215 with a .621 OPS — after hitting .253 with a .751 OPS in their first 93 games. In Wednesday's game, Melton allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks with seven strikeouts across five innings, throwing 66.7% of his 90 pitches for strikes. The 24-year-old posted a 2.72 ERA in eight games (six starts) for Triple-A Toledo before the Tigers promoted him for his MLB debut. He also had a 3.23 ERA in 10 starts for Double-A Erie. The Pirates crushed Melton early and often. Andrew McCutchen, a 17-year MLB veteran, welcomed Melton to the big leagues by hitting a first-pitch 97.2 mph fastball for a solo home run to center field with one out in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. Celebrate 125 seasons of the Tigers with our new book! In the second inning, Melton was responsible for a single to Oneil Cruz and walks to Tommy Pham and Joey Bart — loading the bases with one out. He bounced back with a three-pitch strikeout for the second out, then surrendered a grand slam to Spencer Horwitz hit a second-pitch cutter to center, to extend the Pirates' lead to 5-0. CAT-TASTROPHE: Struggling Detroit Tigers need to 'get our swagger back' amid rough stretch, mental lapses The Pirates tacked on their sixth run against Melton in the third inning, when Bryan Reynolds hit a double, advanced to third base on a flyout and scored on Cruz's sacrifice fly. Facing Melton, the Pirates averaged a 96.2 mph exit velocity on 15 balls in play. At the Triple-A level, Melton allowed an average exit velocity of 93.6 mph, so hard contact from hitters will be something to monitor moving forward, whether he's with the Tigers or Mud Hens. [ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ] One run not enough For the Pirates, left-hander Bailey Falter allowed one run on four hits and zero walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings, throwing 87 pitches. The 28-year-old didn't give up a hit until the fourth inning, and he didn't give up a run until the seventh inning. He entered with a 4.00 ERA in 20 starts. He now has a 3.82 ERA after his 21st start. The Tigers scored their lone run in the seventh inning, when Spencer Torkelson — who continues to hit the ball hard — delivered a one-out double off Falter's first-pitch fastball and scored on an ensuing single from Matt Vierling. That cut the Tigers' deficit to 6-1. A two-out single from Wenceel Pérez marked the Tigers' first hit, occurring with two outs in the fourth inning. First MLB strikeout (and more) In his first game, Melton recorded the first strikeout of his MLB career against Kiner-Falefa in the second inning. Melton needed just three pitches: 86.7 mph slider for a swinging strike, 99.1 mph four-seam fastball for a called strike and 79.9 mph curveball for a called strike. The Pirates had already scored six runs, but Melton struck out five batters in his final two innings. He worked around two singles with three swinging strikeouts in the fifth, taking down McCutchen (96.1 mph sinker), Nick Gonzales (84.3 mph slider) and Tommy Pham (84.9 mph slider). Melton generated 14 whiffs on 47 swings for a 29.8% rate with three fastballs, eight sliders, one sinker, one curveball and one splitter. His fastball averaged 97 mph, maxing out at 99.2 mph. Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at Order your copy of 'Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Tigers!' by the Free Press at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers rookie pounded early in 6-1 loss to Pirates
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6 days ago
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Detroit Tigers sign six-year MLB reliever Geoff Hartlieb to minor league contract
ARLINGTON, TX — The Detroit Tigers signed right-handed reliever Geoff Hartlieb to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Toledo. He already pitched in his first game for the Mud Hens, making his debut Sunday, July 13 — just one day after signing. He retired four batters across 1⅓ innings, striking out two and throwing 11 of 17 pitches for strikes. Hartlieb has logged in 80⅔ innings over 66 relief appearances in parts of six MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2019-21), New York Mets (2021), Miami Marlins (2023), Colorado Rockies (2024) and New York Yankees (2025). WE'RE BACK: Tigers post-All-Star break: A.J. Hinch wants players to be 2 things In his MLB career, Hartlieb owns a 7.92 ERA with 59 walks and 80 strikeouts. He throws three pitches: four-seam fastball, sinker and slider. Buy our book: The Epic History of the Tigers Over the past three seasons, Hartlieb has a 10.05 ERA with 11 walks and 14 strikeouts in 14⅓ innings with the Marlins, Rockies and Yankees. In 2025, his fastball averaged 95 mph, and his slider generated a 31.3% whiff rate. The Yankees designated Hartlieb for assignment July 9 — his second DFA of the month — a day after he allowed three runs while getting just one out. He elected free agency July 11, then signed with the Tigers on July 12. Z-MAC: How Tigers utility player Zach McKinstry became a 2025 MLB All-Star Hartlieb has spent most of his professional career at the Triple-A level, where he owns a 4.15 ERA, 9.6% walk rate and 25% strikeout rate across 262⅓ innings. But Hartlieb has shown improved command and effectiveness in 2025, posting a 3.22 ERA with a 6.7% walk rate and 26.8% strikeout rate over 36⅓ innings between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees) and Triple-A Toledo (Tigers). Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at Order your copy of 'Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Tigers!' by the Free Press at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers sign Geoff Hartlieb to minor league contract
