Detroit Tigers Sign Former New York Mets Top Prospect To Low-Risk Deal

The Detroit Tigers have signed a talented pitcher who has been derailed by injuries.

Sep 21, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Thomas Szapucki (61) pitches in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers have signed Thomas Szapucki to a minor league deal, per Evan Woodberry of MLive.

This did not include an invite to Major League spring training camp, so he'll head to where the other minor leaguers are instead.

Szapucki was a fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft by the New York Mets, climbing up their prospect rankings until he reached the top five. He made his Major League debut in 2021, appearing in just one game and throwing 3.2 innings where he gave up six earned runs that caused him to get sent back down.

In 2022, he got into another game with the Mets in late-May but was traded to the San Francisco Giants later in August after a rough 1 1/3 innings.

Injuries have played a major part in his pitching issues, undergoing Tommy John surgery before later getting ulnar nerve transposition surgery and then another procedure for thoracic outlet syndrome.

Szapucki's time with the Giants yielded some promising results, though, recording a 1.98 ERA in 13 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate climbed to 29.6%, seemingly turning things around during the 2022 season with San Francisco.

His progress was stopped in 2023, however, when injury prevented Szapucki from pitching in any games with the Giants. That's when underwent treatment for thoracic outlet syndrome.

Szapucki has had plenty of roadblocks during his career, but he's now entering a new era with Detroit.

The first goal for him will be to stay healthy, something that's proven challenging. But with a minor league opportunity in an organization that has developed pitchers well, he could get his career back on track if everything goes right.