Detroit Tigers Shocking Veteran Continues Strong Spring With Great Outing

The Detroit Tigers have some very tough decisions to make with their Opening Day roster.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenta Maeda throws against Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of a Grapefruit League game at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At the start of spring training, the Detroit Tigers starting rotation seemed to be fairly set.

Between a Cy Young ace in Tarik Skubal, a lucrative free agent in Jack Flaherty, a promising young arm in Reese Olson and likely a top prospect in Jackson Jobe, it didn't seem all that complicated what the top of the unit would look like.

A couple of weeks into spring training games getting going however, things appear to be much more complicated than that.

One of the main reasons is the emergence of a signing from last winter who had a dreadful first year with the Tigers. After being sent to the bullpen down the stretch of last season, the prospects for Kenta Maeda to work his way back into a crowded rotation seemed slim at best.

Still under contract for one more season at a big number, it looked as if Detroit would simply have to chock up his two-year, $24 million deal to a failure and see what they could salvage from him out of the bullpen.

Through three spring outings however, Maeda has put himself into a position where he may have a very good chance to work his way back into the equation.

Tuesday afternoon's tilt against the Tampa Bay Rays may have been his finest performance yet.

In his second start and third overall appearance, Maeda threw 3.2 innings and gave up just one hit with no runs, no walks and five strikeouts.

The five K's give the veteran right-hander now 14 of them in just 8.2 innings pitched all with an ERA of 3.12 and a WHIP of 0.810.

#Tigers starter Kenta Maeda wins a seven-pitch battle vs. Junior Caminero in the second inning, striking him out with a 92.4 mph fastball. (He also struck out Taylor Walls to end the second inning.) pic.twitter.com/PIxcUr9d9L

— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) March 4, 2025

Notably, Maeda did see a drop in velocity during his fourth inning of work. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, after averaging over 92 mph on his fastball through the first three innings, that figure dropped to the 90 mph range as his pitch count went up.

Whether or not that's an indicator of Maeda not being able to handle the rigors of being a starting pitcher in this late stage of his career remains to be seen, but regardless another strong start is good news.

If Maeda is back to the kind of pitcher the Tigers believed they were getting when they signed him in terms of command and accuracy, it gives them the flexibility to do a number of things. A return to the bullpen as a long reliever is an option as is letting him start games and knowing a speciality A.J. Hinch reliever type game will be necessary is on the table as well.

In either scenario, it's a more positive place than he was in at the start of the spring.

After looking like a total bust last season, Maeda has proven both to Detroit and to himself he is still capable of helping a Major League roster.

While that may complicate the picture for the Tigers, it also gives them the ability to have the kind of flexibility Hinch salivates over.