Tigers Shifting Struggling Starter To Bullpen For ‘Foreseeable Future’
The Tigers are shifting Kenta Maeda, the second highest-paid player on their roster, to the bullpen for the “foreseeable future.” Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch announced on Thursday that the righty will not make his next scheduled start and will instead move to the bullpen.
Maeda, who signed a two-year, $24 million contract with Detroit in November, has a 7.26 ERA through 16 starts. This is not the outcome the Tigers envisioned when they signed the eight-year MLB veteran. Detroit signed Maeda in part based on his second-half success last year coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2021. His fastball gained velocity while his slider emerged as a
valuable put-away pitch. But things have gone in the opposite direction in 2024.
While his command has remained relatively solid (7.9% walk rate), his strikeout rate has plummeted to 17.1%. Not to mention his average fastball velocity dropped to 90.3 mph, the lowest of his MLB career. Most problematically, Maeda has allowed 15 homers over 65 ⅔ innings on the year. That’s two shy of his 2023 total (104 ⅓ innings) and one shy of his 2022 total (106 ⅓ innings).
Maeda’s next start would have come on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Detroit is making that a bullpen game instead.
“There’s definitely frustration. Nothing’s really going right at this point. I’m causing too much trouble to the team, and I feel sorry about that,” Maeda said through interpreter Dai Sekizaki.
Tigers Shift Kenta Maeda to Bullpen Amid Struggles
According to Detroit’s skipper, the 36-year-old right-hander will remain in the bullpen when the Tigers return from the All-Star break. While Maeda has been a starter throughout his career, he does have some experience pitching out of the bullpen. Making 36 relief appearances for the Dodgers from 2017-19, Maeda recorded a 3.15 ERA with 63 strikeouts while picking up six saves.
Detroit has built a strong reputation for developing young arms and getting veterans back to previous success. They have three strong examples in rookie Keider Montero, second-year breakout Reese Olson, and veteran righty Jack Flaherty.
“We have some adjustments we’d like him to make,” Hinch told reporters on Thursday. “He’s open to any and all ideas.”
