The Tigers announced this afternoon that they have put their right hand up Kenta Maeda on the 15-day list of injured victims of the virus. The outdoor arena Akil Baddoo he was recalled to Triple-A Toledo in the same outing, however Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports the one who uses the right hand Matt Manning is expected to be called up to the lineup on Monday to replace Maeda in the rotation.
Maeda’s start to Detroit has been rocky, as he has posted a 6.75 ERA in 30 2/3 innings of work in seven starts for the team this season. In those seven starts, the big damage came in just three where the veteran was tagged for a combined 19 runs (18 earned) in just eight innings of work. Now he will get a chance to rest and regroup from the injured list as he prepares to try to turn his season around. Maeda’s layoff will begin on May 8, meaning he could return to action in less than two weeks. That said, no timetable for his return has been made available.
Per Petzold, Manning is ready to take the ball against the Marlins on Monday, stepping into Maeda’s usual spot when he turns. The right-hander was a first-round pick of the Tigers in 2016 and has made 48 starts in the majors since making his big league debut in 2021. He struggled to a 5.80 ERA in his first season but has looked like a solid back-of-the-rotation arm when healthy since then, with a 3.59 ERA (117 ERA+) and 4.40 FIP in 158 innings of work since then. . That includes three starts in the majors this year, where he posted a league-average 4.24 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate despite a somewhat lackluster 4.40 FIP. He will return to a version that has received some impressive performances in his young hands this season. Tarik SkubalA 1.90 ERA and 2.07 FIP put him firmly in the AL Cy Young award discussion through seven starts, while both Casey Mize and Reese Olsen have also impressed so far this year with above-average numbers.
Replacing Maeda on the roster at the moment is Baddoo. The 25-year-old had a breakout rookie campaign back in 2021 with a .259/.330/.436 slash line in 124 games but has generally struggled at the big league level since then, hitting just .213/.302/. .331 in 582 trips to the plate since the start of the 2022 campaign. Baddoo has spent the entire 2024 campaign so far at the Triple-A level after being kicked out of the team by pitching Mark Canha and the emergence of youth such as Kerry Carpenteragain Riley Greene.
Baddoo has generally had great success in the minor leagues this year, slashing .257/.366/.478 in 30 games with the team’s affiliate in Toledo. If Baddoo can’t carry over that success to the big league level, he may be able to move back into the club’s lineup, where the Opening Day player is in center field. Places to stay in Parker Meadows struggled badly to open the season, giving the rookie a chance to hit Wenceel Perez taking over in recent weeks.
