Story by
Tigers’ late-season rotation shuffle is giving them an early look at 2027
- Story by
- Tigers’ late-season rotation shuffle is giving them an early look at 2027
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The rotation for the Detroit Tigers for the rest of the month is shaping up
The Detroit Tigers are out of the postseason race, but the final weeks of the season are still giving them something useful: opportunities to evaluate how several pitchers might fit into the 2027 rotation.
Advertisement
That became even more apparent Friday with another round of rotation news. Left-hander Andrew Sears is expected to start Saturday against Colorado while Keider Montero heads to Venezuela for the birth of his child. Jack Flaherty , meanwhile, is scheduled to throw a two-to-three inning simulated game Saturday as he continues working back from right forearm flexor inflammation. River Ryan has also started his buildup at Triple-A Toledo, while Jackson Jobe is scheduled to start Sunday against the Rockies.
For a team already looking toward next year, that is a lot of moving pieces worth watching.
Sears is the most immediate one. He has already shown some value in a small major league sample, including 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball against Cleveland on Sept. 4. His fastball is not overpowering compared to some of Detroit's other young arms, but he has shown enough strike-throwing ability and secondary stuff to make these September innings meaningful. Saturday gives the Tigers another chance to see whether he can be more than emergency depth.
Montero's situation is different. He has already thrown 147 innings this season and has spent much of the year in the rotation, posting a 3.55 ERA. His workload is near his career high, so moving him aside temporarily while he goes on paternity leave also gives Detroit a natural opportunity to look at someone else. There has also been some suggestion that Montero could work out of the bullpen once Flaherty returns, which adds another layer to how the Tigers may use him down the stretch.
Advertisement
Flaherty may be the most important health question of the group. He has been out since late July with flexor inflammation and threw only 19 pitches in his first rehab outing. Saturday's simulated game should stretch him out a little more, and if that goes well, he could return to Detroit's rotation sometime next week. The key at this point is less about results and more about whether he finishes the season healthy enough to enter the offseason without another setback.
Then there is River Ryan , who might be the most intriguing long-term piece. In his first outing with Toledo, Ryan threw two scoreless innings, allowed two soft hits and struck out two. His fastball averaged 97 mph and topped out at 98.2, while his slider averaged 91.7 mph. That is encouraging considering he is working his way back from both Tommy John surgery and a hamstring issue. Detroit has not ruled out giving him major league innings before the season ends.
Jobe is already getting those innings. He is scheduled to start Sunday and remains one of the more important arms in the organization despite the uneven results that come with returning from major surgery. His last outing in Cleveland included seven strikeouts over five innings, matching his career high, and every start now gives Detroit another data point heading into 2027.
The Tigers are not going to answer every rotation question in September, but they can start narrowing the list. Framber Valdez , Troy Melton , Jobe , Montero, Flaherty, Ryan and Sears all bring different levels of certainty, experience and health risk. The final two weeks are less about finding a perfect five-man rotation and more about figuring out which arms deserve to be part of that conversation when spring training begins.
For a team no longer playing meaningful games in the standings, that evaluation may be one of the more useful things left to accomplish.
