Detroit Tigers Moving Veteran Pitcher Kenta Maeda to Bullpen Amid Shaky Season

Kenta Maeda has been battered around all season long, so Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch finally decided to remove him from the starting rotation on Thursday.

Jun 28, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda (18) reacts after giving up a base hit during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Tigers are moving veteran starting pitcher Kenta Maeda to the bullpen for the foreseeable future, manager AJ Hinch told reporters Thursday.

Maeda has made 16 starts for the Tigers this season, only two of which have been of the quality variety. He is currently 2-5 with a 7.26 ERA, 1.584 WHIP, 6.9 strikeouts per nine innings, a 2.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a -1.4 WAR, all of which are career-worsts for the 36-year-old right-hander.

In July alone, Maeda owns a 21.32 ERA, 3.158 WHIP, a .485 batting average against and a 1.405 OPS against. The Tigers are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and Maeda has taken the mound in two of those three losses.

With Maeda leaving the rotation, Hinch said the Tigers will have a bullpen game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Detroit will then have until around July 23 until they have to use a fifth starter again, thanks to the upcoming All-Star break.

Tigers are moving Kenta Maeda to bullpen for the foreseeable future, A.J. Hinch confirmed. They’ll have a bullpen game Sunday, then decide what to do with the open rotation spot out of All-Star break.

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) July 11, 2024

The Tigers put their faith in Maeda this past offseason, signing him to a two-year, $24 million contract in November. His $10 million salary for 2025 now looks pretty rough, considering how poorly he has performed in 2024.

Maeda spent the prior four seasons with the Minnesota Twins, although he missed all of 2022 due to Tommy John surgery. Before that, Maeda pitched four seasons for the Dodgers.

The five-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star went 47-35 with a 3.87 ERA, 1.151 WHIP, 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings, a 3.60 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 5.4 WAR during his time in Los Angeles. In Minnesota, he went 18-14 with a 4.02 ERA, 1.118 WHIP, 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings, a 4.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 3.0 WAR.

Maeda finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 and second in AL Cy Young voting in 2020.

Over the course of his career, Maeda has made 36 relief appearance. In those games, Maeda went 5-4 with a 3.15 ERA, 0.985 WHIP, 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 6.30 strikeout-to-walk ratio, all of which are better than his numbers as a starter.

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