Tigers Injury Update on Troy Melton Feels Like Potential Brewing Disaster
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The Detroit Tigers entered spring training with one of the highest upside pitching staffs in all of Major League Baseball, however they got a bit of scary sounding news this week on one of them.
Young right-hander Troy Melton -- who likely was not going to be in the rotation to begin the year because of free agent moves Detroit has made -- was announced by A.J. Hinch as currently unavailable to pitch in spring training games due to "general soreness."
"We're just not taking any chances," Hinch said Wednesday via the Detroit Free Press. "We're playing it pretty conservative. We're not going to have him pitch through any kind of soreness."
While Detroit may be downplaying the decision as out of an abundance of caution with more updates to come, this is a story that feels all too familiar for fans in the Motor City. Melton may be fine, but if he isn't, this team's elite starting rotation depth instantly takes a huge hit before the season starts.
Melton Expected to Play Significant Role for Tigers Staff
The signings of Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander following Reese Olson's season-ending surgery likely took away the chances of Melton being in the Opening Day rotation, moving him into the bullpen to start the year or back down to Triple-A.
As Detroit found out quickly last season though, five quality starters are simply not enough, and Melton was going to be the next name up the second one of the Tigers' five horses was not going to be able to make a start.
The playoff X-factor as a rookie, Melton had a 2.76 ERA and 1.007 WHIP over 16 appearances in the regular season including four starts. Naturally, the plan in his second year was to move him into a full-time starter, however it looks like things here may be up in the air.
Where Tigers Go From Here if Melton is Out
Hinch said in the Melton update that he will provide more information when he has it, and while the news could be positive, it's worth wondering what Detroit does just in case it is not.
The next name up for the rotation's sixth man would likely go to intriguing offseason KBO signing Drew Anderson, who came to the Tigers on a one-year deal worth $7 million earlier this past winter.
Though he entered camp as a somewhat afterthought following the Valdez and Verlander deals expected to take on a swingman role, Anderson now could become critical to the plan for Detroit as they try to navigate things. Other names like Keider Montero come to mind as well, although he had a dreadful start to the spring and may have already hit his ceiling
Beyond that, it looks like a fairly significant mystery as to what the plan could be. Depth is critical, and has never been more so than it is today. In the meantime, the Tigers will continue to hope for a strong outlook on Melton, but general arm soreness is always going to be worrisome news.
Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.