The Tigers announced this morning that they activated right-hander Jack Flaherty off the injured list. Left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Flaherty on the active roster. Flaherty started today’s game against the Astros, throwing five scoreless innings while striking out nine and surrendering just two hits.
Flaherty went down on June 13th with a left peroneal strain as the corresponding move for the returning Tarik Skubal. Flaherty, who exercised a $20MM player option to stay with Detroit over the winter, was pitching poorly before going on the IL. In 65 2/3 innings over 15 starts, he has a 5.35 ERA and an 11.1% walk rate that grades as below average. Flaherty is striking out 25.5% of opposing hitters, which is a decrease from last year but still above league average. Still, it’s hard to deny that Flaherty has been underwhelming in his second full season with the Tigers.
With Flaherty healthy, the Tigers may use a six-man rotation going forward, according to Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Flaherty is arguably the least effective member of that group. Injuries aside, Skubal, Casey Mize, Keider Montero, and Troy Melton all have ERAs below 3.50. Framber Valdez has a 4.05 ERA, but he’s still generating ground balls over 50% of the time and leads the rotation with 95 2/3 innings. Flaherty is the only starter who has objectively struggled, and if the playoffs started today, he’d almost certainly be left out of the rotation.
For now, it’s more important that Flaherty is healthy and able to take pressure off the other starters. Skubal (loose bodies in left elbow), Mize (right adductor inflammation), and Melton (elbow inflammation) have all spent time on the IL this season. Justin Verlander made just one start before going down with left hip inflammation in early April. He’s been out since then and doesn’t have a clear return timeline. At the very least, Flaherty’s presence gives the other arms an extra day of rest between starts. However, massive improvements from Flaherty (as well as the Tigers’ offense) will be needed if the team is to avoid a deadline selloff.
De Jesus’ demotion to Triple-A is a bit of tough luck to accommodate the six-man rotation. The 29-year-old lefty has a 3.98 ERA in 31 2/3 innings of relief this year. He’s striking out opposing hitters at an above-average 23.1% clip and doing a great job of keeping the ball in the park, allowing just a single home run all year. Dating back to May 21st, De Jesus has thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings while striking out 13 and allowing just three hits. By performance alone, he deserves to stick in the Majors, so this demotion has more to do with Drew Anderson and Jacob Waguespack being out of options and not having roster flexibility. In all likelihood, De Jesus will be back in the Majors when a fresh arm is needed or the team reverts back to using five starters and eight relievers.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Doster, Imagn Images
