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Tigers Baseball Report

Tigers Announce Roster Moves Ahead of Afternoon Matinee vs Guardians

Tarik Skubal is finally back and the corresponding move was announced.
Tyler Miller|
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29), left, and pitcher Framber Valdez (59) walk off the field after congratulating teammates for the 10-4 win over Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29), left, and pitcher Framber Valdez (59) walk off the field after congratulating teammates for the 10-4 win over Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are getting set to play the second game of their series against the division rival Cleveland Guardians and have some good and bad news ahead of game two. The Tigers are officially activating Tarik Skubal and announced that reliever Ty Madden is being sent down to Triple-A in correspondance.

But the bad news is that the Tigers still do not fully know what is going on with starting pitcher Jack Flaherty after he left Friday night's loss after only three innings. And in the event that Flaherty would have to be placed on the injured list, the Tigers have infielder Hao-Yu Lee with them in Cleveland.

The Tigers did not have a whole lot of choices on who to send down to Triple-A Toledo to make room for Skubal to make his start on Saturday. Madden actually pitched quite well in the limited time that he was up with the Tigers.

Madden pitched 20 innings to an ERA of 3.15 and a WHIP of 1.05 while striking out 23 batters and only walking five. Madden should get more opportunities as the season goes on, as he likely will not be in Toledo very long, as he is valuable to the Tigers' bullpen.

Verlander Set to Return

Ty Madde
Detroit Tigers pitcher Ty Madden (36) throws against Boston Red Sox during the fifth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Monday, May 4, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tigers fans have been waiting for quite some time for Justin Verlander to come back off the injured list and make another start for the team. And it seems like he is getting much closer to coming back to Detroit and doing just that.

Although it is uncertain if Flaherty is going to miss time with his leg injury suffered Friday night, if that is the case, the Tigers would be fine for the time being. Verlander made his latest rehab start on Wednesday with Toledo and did not pitch great.

But if Flaherty goes on the IL, the Tigers could choose to activate Verlander and let him make a start this upcoming week when the Tigers face the Houston Astros or the Chicago White Sox. It is a good thing that the Tigers have several starting pitchers nearing a return in event one goes down again.

Flaherty is definitely valuable to the Tigers rotation as he knows what it takes to pitch in big moments and win big games. But if he misses any kind of time, Verlander should be ready sooner rather than later.

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Tyler Miller
TYLER MILLER

Tyler Miller is a 26-year-old Sports Journalist who has had a passion for writing ever since graduating from Georgia Southern University with a Journalism degree in 2022. Tyler has been writing about sports for going on 8 years now. Tyler has been a Detroit Tigers fan ever since Miguel Cabrera was tearing up the league in the early 2000s and has followed them from there till now with superstar Kevin McGonigle being in the mix. Tyler also has had experience writing for FanSided in the past where he was a site expert and a contributor across different sites.

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