The Detroit Tigers designated for assignment right-hander Charlie Morton after another rough outing in which he allowed six earned runs in just 1.1 innings of work. In his final six starts since being acquired at the trade deadline from Baltimore for left-hander Micah Ashman, Morton allowed 24 earned runs, five home runs and walked 18, which added up to an ERA of 9.39. 

Morton talked to the media on Friday, visibly shaken after the Tigers lost their fourth in a row. He was booed by the crowd, who have seen the lead in the AL Central now shriek to one game as Cleveland is making history, going 15-1 over their last 16 games, allowing just 23 runs. 

OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) on X Over their last 16 games, the @CleGuardians are 15-1 and have allowed 23 runs. They are the first MLB team to have a 16-game span with that many wins and so few runs allowed since the 1981 Oakland A's (April 9-24).

In his place, the Tigers brought the contract of right-hander Tanner Rainey, another arm that was picked up from the waiver wire back in July. Rainey pitched for the Pirates this season, posting an ERA of 10.57 in 11 games, allowing 9 earned runs in 7.2 innings of work.  He will be pitching out of the bullpen as the Tigers coaching staff will have their work cut out for themselves. Here's a scouting report on Rainey and what Tigers fans should expect. 

Quick Tanner Rainey Scouting Report

Basic Info: Tanner Rainey, RHP. Roughly 6′3″, ~235-245 lbs. Arm & Stuff: A power arm. Fastball in the mid-90s, occasionally touching higher. His slider is his best secondary offering — sharp, swing-and-miss potential.

Strengths: Strikeouts:  when he’s on, he can miss bats. Fastball velocity / raw stuff is his calling card. Frame / durability potential once healthy.

Weaknesses / Risks: Control & Command — tends to be wild at times; walks and hittable pitches when off. Consistency: big swings in effectiveness. When he’s sharp, he helps; when he’s off, he can get punished and quickly

Current Role / Projection: Depth bullpen arm / middle relief. In the best case, provides high leverage if he can clean up control and pitch sequence.  Gives the Tigers a 7th inning option.

The Trade Deadline: A Mix Bag 

While Kyle Finnegan and Rafeal Montero has worked out to a degree, the rest of the deadline has been a disaster. Chris Paddack was sent to the bullpen after struggling in his last three starts in August, in which he allowed 12 earned runs over 14 innings of work, posting an ERA of 7.53. The Tigers picked him up for starter depth, but he is a fly ball pitcher, which doesn't seem to fit the Tigers motif of controlling the strike zone.

The prospect the Tigers gave up, Enrique Jimenez, has very good offensive upside and calls a good game, so keep an eye on how he works out. 

The fans saw this trade deadline in two ways. The first way was Scott Harris was being cheap, not giving up prospects to put the Tigers over the hump. The second way was Harris was not willing to mortgage the future. Detroit is top heavy, prospect wise, and the lack of pitching depth of healthy above Double-A that could help in Detroit was not there. At all. So, Harris went through the waiver wire to see what can be cleaned up and sent up I-75. 

However you see it, no one expected what the Guardians are doing, considering they are down two relievers, putting Carlos Santana on waivers, basically saying they were waiving the white flag. 

Still, this whole month of September has been one of the most brutal ones Tigers fans have witness in a long time.