The Kenta Maeda experiment in Detroit fizzled fast â and now itâs all over. The Tigers designated the veteran right-hander for assignment on Thursday morning, cutting ties with the 37-year-old after a prolonged stretch of underwhelming performance that spanned parts of two seasons and never lived up to its $24 million price tag.
Maeda arrived in Detroit with a solid track record â playoff-tested with the Dodgers, a Cy Young runner-up with the Twins, and a reputation as a guy who could still spin it even after elbow surgery. But the version the Tigers got never looked like the one they paid for. Over 36 appearances and 120â innings in a Detroit uniform, Maedaâs ERA ballooned to 6.21. The 2024 campaign was especially rough: a 7.42 ERA in 17 starts before being demoted to the bullpen, where he gave up eight runs in just eight innings.
Manager A.J. Hinch and president Scott Harris delivered the news Thursday morning at the team hotel. It wasnât a surprise to anyone in the room. âHe was disappointed just that he didn’t get untracked and didn’t contribute more,â Hinch told reporters. âHe was very respectful, as expected, as he’s always been in all of our interactions,â as Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
This was not just a Maeda problem, though. The Tigers, who take pride in their ability to help pitchers rediscover themselves, couldnât make it work either. Despite a promising spring where Maedaâs fastball hovered at 90â92 mph, illness, inconsistency, and a lack of command derailed whatever momentum he had built.
By the end, Maeda was a mop-up guy, buried in the bullpen, eating innings that didnât matter. Detroit, now eating the remainder of his $10 million salary, will have seven days to trade, release, or outright him to the minors â a move Maeda could reject in favor of free agency.
Tyler Owens Next Up for Tigers
With Maeda out, the Tigers are turning to a new arm with a very different profile. Twenty-four-year-old Tyler Owens is getting the call from Triple-A Toledo, bringing with him a fastball that regularly touches 98 and a chip on his shoulder the size of Comerica Park.
Listed at just 5-foot-10, Owens made noise this spring with his velocity and spin, impressing Tigers brass with his bulldog mentality. Though his stat line in Toledo wasnât pretty â 14 innings, 10 earned runs, nine walks â his recent work with pitching coaches Doug Bochtler and Virgil Vasquez has streamlined his delivery and sharpened his command.
“When we acquired him (from Texas for Carson Kelly last July), I heard a lot about his aggressiveness and his pitches, his mix and his high-end velo,” Hinch said. The Tigers like what theyâve seen recently â enough to trust Owens with a major league bullpen spot, even if itâs still very much a work in progress.
Beau Brieskeâs expected return this weekend will further reshuffle Detroitâs relief corps, but for now, Owens steps into the breach â a hard-throwing symbol of the Tigersâ pivot from aging veterans to young, moldable arms.
As Hinch put it: âWe do want to create opportunity for young players and young pitchers. We’re really excited about Tyler.â
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