Tigers Could Consider Reunion with Former Flop After Tarik Skubal Injury
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The Detroit Tigers have been the talk of baseball this week as superstar ace Tarik Skubal deals with an injury that will require surgery and force him to miss multiple months of the season.
For a team in the Motor City that has shown flashes but has yet to hit its stride, losing their best player for months is a devastating blow and one which could prove to define the entire season and seal their fate.
Unfortunately, the Tigers have dealt with injury issues outside of Skubal, and while they are hopeful reinforcements are going to arrive, thin would be an understatement to describe this staff right now.
Desperate times call for desperate measures though, and a familiar face just became available this week who is very familiar to Detroit from a disappointing stint with the team last year. After he was designated for assignment by the Miami Marlins, would Scott Harris consider a reunion with veteran right-hander Chris Paddack?
Chris Paddack is Available if Tigers Want to Give Him Another Shot
Though all of Detroit may let out a collective groan at the thought of Paddack throwing another inning at Comerica Park, they are another pitching injury away from having multiple bullpen game slots in the rotation.
Simply put, they need to find a way to get innings for the next couple of months.
Paddack was of course a part of last season's trade deadline disaster and had a 6.32 ERA across 12 appearances for the Tigers, but he did give them 47 innings and issued just 10 walks in that period to post a respectable WHIP of around 1.3.
The results in Miami have not been pretty, but if this Detroit coaching staff believes they can get at least something out of the 30-year-old, the idea is at the very least worth considering.
Tigers Could Use Paddack as Opener
Paddack is not going to come in and be the ace he once looked like at the start of his career, but he is capable of giving a couple of average innings to begin a game and take a little bit of strain off a bullpen that will be asked a lot of in the coming months.
It would certainly not be a flashy move, but depth is critical, and right now Detroit really does not have any. With Paddack likely to clear waivers or be traded in the coming days, keep an eye on the Tigers as a team who could be a factor here.
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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.