Matt Vierling hitting a home run off of Spencer Turnbull earlier today was interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, this was Turnbull's return to Detroit since leaving in free agency and signing with Philadelphia. Turnbull was excellent with the Tigers but just could not for the life of him stay healthy.Yet with the Phils he's been durable, versatile and hasn't overexerted himself. The second reason is that these two played for each other's teams, then for the same team last year and now for their current teams.
And the most intriguing part of this is that Vierling had a big day for the Tigers, and has become a crucial member of the everyday team, yet all of the other pieces of the deal that sent him to the Tigers are either injured, free agents, or not playing well. Somehow, Vierling might be the key piece of the deal that was supposed to bring Gregory Soto's relief superiority to Philadelphia.
The one thing is that for someone like Vierling to be a key piece of this Tigers team as it stands, this Tigers team can't be especially great. Not to diss Vierling at all, he's got 10 homers and 32 RBIs, that's not bad at all. But the Tigers have a lot of replacement level guys in big positions, people like Carson Kelly, Gio Urshela, Colt Keith and Zach McKinstry. Baez is not only hurt but he's still underperforming. Torkelson's once again back down in the minors, making TWO #1 overall picks that are currently worrying Tigers fans at the moment [Casey Mize might be cooked, guys]. Riley Greene is absolutely everything he was cracked up to be, but it's really just him right now. Kerry Carpenter's hurt, Mark Canha's down from his A's/Mets days, nobody else is on his level right now, and that's kinda upsetting.
What's kept the Tigers relevant has been the pitching, which is excellent. Yesterday Tarik Skubal silenced my Phillies, and honestly, with the season he's having, I'll allow it. Reese Olson and Jack Flaherty are equally great up there. Jason Foley and Shelby Miller are still excellent relief pieces. What's worrying is that the bullpen guys that seemed so strong earlier this season are now getting shelled, people like Tyler Holton, Andrew Chafin and Will Vest. So that's getting away from them. They're also getting clear late-career stuff from Kenta Maeda, and they don't have the courage to cut him and let Matt Manning back up there.
The Tigers have mellowed to fourth place in the AL Central, are far enough behind the Royals and Twins to not worry them, and have lost so much of their April-era credibility. I hope it doesn't get much worse.
Coming Tomorrow- I initially thought he was a weird fit for a team whose infield seemed pretty set in 2023. Then the 1st baseman got hurt, the third baseman got suspended, and he started heating up.
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