Detroit reshuffles its roster as trade speculation swirls around Tarik Skubal. While Hao-Yu Lee heads to Toledo, the Tigers ace focuses on winning to quiet the noise.
It was quite a busy day in St. Petersburg as the Tigers are getting ready to play the Tampa Bay Rays as they seek to win their first series in more than a month. Last night, Detroit hit five home runs and avoided a bullpen meltdown late in the game as Beau Briseke continues to struggle with the strike zone and some sloppy defense in the 9th.
First piece of news was that Gleyber Torres came off the IL and will be batting leading off tonight. Hao-Yu Lee was sent back to Toledo. He went 17-for-83 (.204/.241./.337) with two home runs and nine RBI.
Both Kerry Carpertner and Kevin McGonigle have the night off so having another veteran hitter with those two players out of the lineup is a big help. The bat that still stays in the lineup is Dillon Dingler, who looks to get his first All-Star nod, was a beast last night. He went 4-for-5, with a pair of home runs, a single and a double. He now has 13 home runs on the season.
The second piece of news, injury-related was involving a pair of shortstops in Javier Báez and Trey Sweeney. Sweeney, it appears, will be shut down, as he is dealing with a rotator cuff issue. Báez's ankle is not healing anytime faster, and his doctor recommended he take a break from rehab.
Tigers Pitchers Update
On the pitching front, Justin Verlander is set to make a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo as they kick off a six-game series against the Iowa Cubs. Speaking of which, based on things are being lined up, Tarik Skubal will be set to pitch for the Mud Hens on Saturday.
He spoke to the media today as the trade rumors have started among the national press, which is pretty predictable for this time of year, but apparently, reaching Juan Soto fever level.
With all that being said, Skubal offered a simple solution with all the speculation:
"With all the trade stuff, we just got to start winning games," Skubal said. "Last year, there was not one word about me being traded. Winning calms all that stuff down, and that's what this team needs to do."
"That stuff is all out of my control, so why would I really worry about it?" said Skubal, "I don't really have control or say of what other people say and what other people's opinions are. I care about the opinions of the guys in this clubhouse."
The Tigers are 8-22 since he hit the IL so whenever he does come back, the Tigers season can hopefully return to some sense of normalcy.
One welcomed sight in Tampa was right-hander Jackson Jobe, who came over from Lakeland and was throwing a bullpen on the side so the coaches and trainers can get a closer look. It has been projected that he will not come back until August so what version of Jobe we will get, we shall see. If he can give them anything, no matter where they are in the season, that will be a huge help
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