Ahead of their series finale against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, the Detroit Tigers shook up their starting rotation in a major way as they’re fighting for their playoff lives.
According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers have designated starting pitcher Charlie Morton for assignment. To take Morton’s spot on the roster, Detroit has called up veteran reliever Tanner Rainey from Triple-A Toledo.
This is a rather shocking move by the Tigers, as the 41-year-old pitcher just recently started on Friday against the Braves. Morton struggled mightily in what would be his final start in the Motor City.
He allowed six earned runs (one home run), five hits, two walks, and had only two strikeouts in 1.1 innings. It was not the outing the Tigers expected or needed from Morton after getting swept by the Cleveland Guardians.
Charlie Morton Gets Shown the Door by Tigers in the Middle of a Playoff Push
Detroit acquired the 41-year-old Morton from the Baltimore Orioles in hopes of bolstering the backend of their starting rotation for the second half. The Tigers also acquired Chris Paddack in a trade with the Minnesota Twins, which hasn’t worked out either.
When the Tigers acquired Morton, he had a 7-8 record and 5.42 ERA in 23 appearances (17 starts) with the Orioles. Morton pitched well in his first five starts with the Tigers, sporting a 2-3 record and 4.61 ERA, which was a slight improvement from his time with the O’s.
However, when the calendar flipped to September, things went downhill for Morton fast. In his four starts this month, the veteran right-handed pitcher has a 12.75 ERA, while opponents are hitting .340 at the plate.
Morton struggled to get strikeouts as he only had 11, which was a notable decrease from what he did in August (36). He also issued a fair number of walks (13) and gave up 17 hits in only 12 innings of work.
Morton was projected to pitch on Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians. But the Tigers will have to go in a different direction fast, as they’re fighting to not only win the AL Central but also a playoff spot.
One potential option is to go with an opener in Morton's spot and then bring Paddack out of the bullpen, who pitched five innings of relief on Friday night.