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The Detroit Tigers were active at the MLB Trade Deadline, making several small moves. As a result of these moves, Detroit had to shuffle its roster around a bit. One of the corresponding moves saw the Tigers place rookie Troy Melton in the bullpen after two starts at the back end of the rotation.
Melton is not an experienced bullpen arm. Both of his games at the major league level were starts. Moreover, out of his 66 appearances on the mound since becoming a professional in 2022, only three of them came out of the bullpen. Two of those three came this season.
The overall point is that Melton, by all accounts, is a starting pitcher. For now, though, he will help Detroit's struggling bullpen. And this is a situation the rookie right-hander is fine with. He mentioned his excitement about the role in a recent interview.
“I'm excited to just be here,” Melton said, via Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press. “I don't really care too much what the role is. If I can help the team out, I'm ready to do that however I can.”
Why Tigers moved Troy Melton to bullpen
As mentioned, the Tigers were active at the trade deadline. They didn't make any major splashes. However, the moves they made did have a significant impact on their pitching staff. Relevant to Melton were the acquisitions of Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton.
Paddack came over from the Minnesota Twins. He made his team debut a few days later, and pitched well. He went six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 30, allowing three hits, one run and striking out five.
At the MLB Trade Deadline a day later, Detroit swung a trade for Charlie Morton. Morton made his debut with the Tigers on Sunday. He pitched six innings of his own, allowing four hits, a run, and striking out six. Unfortunately, he took the loss against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Both pitchers provide depth and experience to the back end of Detroit's rotation. As a result, someone needed to be moved out. Melton's stuff can contribute at the major league level, so he heads to the bullpen as the Tigers prepare for a World Series push.
