Andrew Chafin<\/strong> this offseason, hoping to making the transition from rebuilding to competing.<\/p>\nUnfortunately, just about everything has gone wrong in Detroit this year, with multiple players missing significant time due to injury. The starting rotation has been hit particularly hard, with Mize, Manning and Rodriguez all being held back to various maladies, as well as Tyler Alexander and Michael Pineda.<\/p>\n
In the case of Mize, it was hoped that he could take a step forward in his development this year, his age-25 season. Instead, he was only able to make a pair of starts before landing on the injured list back in April. In the days after that IL placement, Mize began a throwing program, with the Tigers seemingly breathing a sigh of relief that a major absence had been avoided. However, over the subsequent months, repeated attempts to begin throwing ultimately led to further discomfort and shutdowns. Now it seems that, instead of the breakout year many had hoped for, 2022 will go down as a lost season for Mize. 2023 will be a question mark as well, given the usual 12-18 months of recovery that are generally required to recovery from Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n
In the short term, this will hurt the chances of the Tigers recovering from their miserable start to the season. They went 10-23 over their first 33 games but have gone a much more respectable 13-10 since then. The resulting 23-33 record is still not great, but they’re only six games out of a postseason spot in this year’s expanded playoffs. With so many starters on the shelf, the club has been relying on unproven youngsters such as Alex Faedo, Elvin Rodriguez and Beau Brieske, which will have to continue for the time being.<\/p>\n
In the long run, Mize will be following Spencer Turnbull down the Tommy John path, as he also underwent the procedure last year. By the time Mize returns in late 2023 or early 2024, it’s possible that the Tigers can finally have the elite rotation they dreamed of with Mize, Turnbull, Manning, Skubal and Eduardo Rodriguez all healthy, with Faedo, Brieske, Elvin Rodriguez, Joey Wentz and other hurlers working their way into the mix as well, though all of that will have to wait.<\/p>\n
More to come.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n