The Detroit Tigers are slogging through another lost season. At five games under .500 the team is 14 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. The Tigers are 6.5 games back in the American League Wild Card race with four teams ahead of them for the final spot.
Since 2015 the Tigers have just one winning season. This year is shaping up to be even worse than their disappointing 2023 campaign as the Tigers head to the MLB trade deadline as likely sellers.
There are a number of factors for Detroit’s failures but starting pitcher Kenta Maeda’s season-long struggles have been particularly glaring. Maeda has given up 15 earned runs in just 5.4 innings pitched in July. That type of implosion will put a starter’s spot in the rotation in serious jeopardy.
The 36-year-old righty missed all of the 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Following a healthy return to the mound in 2023, the Tigers signed Maeda to a two-year, $24 million contract. He’s making $14 million in 2024 and will make $10 million next year so Detroit is stuck with him for the time being.
However, after his most recent start ended in a disastrous six earned runs in just 2.2 innings, Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch knew the situation needed to be addressed. Speaking of Maeda, Hinch admitted, “Regardless of anything that we do, we’ve got to get him right and we’ve got to find a way to get him to pitch more clean innings,” per The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen.
Following that assessment, the Tigers’ skipper officially moved Maeda to the bullpen. “We can’t have a pitcher on our team that you’re not gonna pitch … I’m gonna use him like a normal reliever,” Hinch explained. “We’ve got to get him a successful outing one way or the other.”
A.J. Hinch hopes Maeda regains his form in the bullpen
During Maeda’s nightmarish debut season for the Tigers he has failed to complete six innings in 10-straight starts. He’s only reached that total twice this year in 16 starts and he last pitched six full innings on May 1. Since then, his ERA has gone from 5.02 to 7.26.
The 2024 season marks the first time Maeda’s K/9 has dipped below 9. In the seven seasons prior, he always had more strikeouts than innings pitched. He’s also produced a career worst ERA+ (57) and WAR (-1.4) to date.
Maeda’s best year came during the truncated 2020 season when he finished second in Cy Young award voting. His 66.2 innings pitched for the Minnesota Twins in 2020 is just one more than the 65.2 innings he’s labored through so far this year. However, that’s where the similarities end. Maeda struck out 80 batters in 2020, posting a 2.70 ERA, 10.8 K/9, an ERA+ of 160 and an MLB-best 0.750 WHIP.
This year he’s managed just 50 strikeouts, a 7.26 ERA, 6.9 K/9, a 1.584 WHIP and that brutal ERA+ of 57. Clearly Maeda is in the midst of his worst season.
His struggles are emblematic of baseball’s frustrating nature. The eight-year veteran struck out his 1,000th batter during his last start. He’s done well in the majors. But this season he’s lost it and he’s struggling to get it back.
“Reflecting on my baseball career, I don’t think I’ve struggled this bad … It’s not that I’m not trying. I’m doing my best and hardest to bounce back. But things just aren’t happening,” Maeda lamented, per The Athletic. Acknowledging his frustration, Maeda added, “I’m causing too much trouble to the team, and I feel sorry about that.”
The veteran starter does have some experience as a relief pitcher. The Los Angeles Dodgers moved Maeda to the bullpen multiple times from 2017-2019 as a result of inconsistent performances. However, the hurler didn't care for the experience.
Hinch and the Tigers hope he can regain his form in the bullpen. Of course, even if he does, it won’t change the fact that Detroit is playing out another lost season. It’s been nine years since the Tigers last made the playoffs, which is tied for the longest current drought in baseball with the Los Angeles Angels.
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