The Detroit Tigers were dealt a blow on Tuesday night in Atlanta. Starting pitcher Casey Mize, off to an outstanding start to his 2026 campaign, left the game in the third inning with what was described as right side groin tightness. Then in the fifth, center fielder and backup shortstop Javier Báez rolled his right ankle on an awkward slide into first base on a ground ball to shortstop Mauricio Dubon. Dubon’s throw was high, pulling first baseman Matt Olson off the bag into a tag play, and as Báez went
down to avoid the tag, he caught his foot on first base and had to be carted off the field. Not good.
After the game, both players spoke with the media and seemed optimistic that neither was a long-term injury, but odds are they’re both heading to the injured list for at least a few weeks. We talk every year about the game within the game in roster building, stockpiling minor league depth. Unfortunately, some injuries and ineffectiveness in those areas have already thinned out their options, and the Tigers are about to be tested.
Casey Mize replacement options
The bigger issue here is obviously the loss of Casey Mize. We’ll get to Báez and the position players options in a moment, but in terms of starting pitching, the Tigers have little to offer right now on the farm system. Their two Triple-A starters on the 40-man roster are right-handers Sawyer Gipson-Long and Ty Madden. The former returned late last season from Tommy John surgery, and then had a minor injury in spring camp as well. Now healthy, he’s at least got a good changeup and a solid slider to work with, but until his fastball command and velocity returns his fourseam-sinker combination is likely to get pulverized by major league hitters. Madden has a slew of solid secondary pitches, but he too hasn’t gotten his velocity back after a shoulder injury that cost him most of the 2025 season. Veteran left-handed starter Bryan Sammons has been home run prone and isn’t really a major league option for more than a spot start. He would need a 40-man roster spot too, and just doesn’t seem like a viable option. Perhaps he could piggyback with someone like Drew Anderson and do alright for a few starts, but this is really a last resort.
More likely, is that the Tigers could call up lefty Enmanuel de Jesus to the bullpen, and use left-hander Brant Hurter in a spot starter role. Hurter has pitched well, and has the sinker to keep opposing hitters on the ground. That could work on a short-term basis.
Beyond that, we’ll just have to see how long Mize is anticipated to be out for. Justin Verlander and Troy Melton are both coming off successful bullpens, but Melton isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day injured list until May 25. Verlander only made one start before a hip injury shut him down, so even if he’s ready to go out on a rehab assignment, he’s going to need 2-3 starts to stretch out, taking this into mid-May at the earliest.
Javier Báez replacement options
The obvious answer for Báez’s injury is to reinstate utilityman Zach McKinstry from the injured list. After a collision with the Royals’ Jac Caglione on April 15, the versatile left-handed hitter went to the injured list with what was described as left hip and abdominal inflammation. There wasn’t any uderlying issues reported, and so, with McKinstry taking live batting practice on Tuesday, he seems about ready to return. That gives the Tigers a backup for Kevin McGonigle at shortstop and Gleyber Torres at second base, with Hao-Yu Lee remaining on the roster to hit lefties and play third base and perhaps a bit of second base as well. McKinstry can also play corner outfield, which helps as Wenceel Pérez and Matt Vierling will be tasked with holding down center field until Báez returns. Obviously, going from Parker Meadows to Báez/Pérez/Vierling, to now just Pérez and now Vierling, isn’t going to be good for a club that was already average at best defensively
If McKinstry isn’t quite ready, the options are thin. Trei Cruz, a switch-hitting utilityman who is essentially McKinstry-lite, though with the added ability to play a solid center field, is already injured down in Triple-A. The Tigers don’t release information on most minor league injuries, so we don’t even have an estimate on when he might be available.Prospect Max Anderson, who fits into a similar profile as Lee, is also injured with the Mud Hens. Jace Jung can play around the infield other than at shortstop, but otherwise the other options for infield help all involve adding veteran minor leaguers like third baseman Gage Workman, or shortstops Max Burt or Andrew Navigato.
In center field, the only real viable option for center field help until Trei Cruz returns is Ben Malgeri, who can handle himself out there alright and perhaps would hit well enough against left-handed pitching to fill Báez’s shoes on a short-term basis. Still, adding any of those players likely forces a minor league pitcher off the 40-man roster, complicating these contingencies even further.
Further down the path, the Tigers’ expect top prospect Max Clark to contribute, but they also don’t want to mess with his development. The 21-year-old only just reached the Triple-A level this spring. He still needs more seasoning as a hitter and a defender before the Tigers are going to be willing to move him up to the major leagues.
Roster depth will always be tested
Of course, the Tigers can’t just hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves either. Plenty of teams around the league have already been ravaged by injuries, and that’s just a cost of doing business year in and year out. The Báez loss isn’t so dire, but replacing Mize is going to be difficult. With Jack Flaherty currently lost in space, the Tigers’ rotation has remained a strength anyway because Mize and Keider Montero have done a fine job backing up Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez. For at least a few weeks, the Tigers are going to have to piece something together despite an already scuffling bullpen group until Verlander and Melton become available.
The problem is that the significant amount of depth they had heading into the season was already winnowed down by injuries in the minor leagues, and by the struggles of guys like de Jesus and Anderson, who were expected to give the Tigers’ pitching staff depth and versatility. Their most advanced pitching prospects, lefties Jake Miller and Andrew Sears, haven’t taken the field yet either and were still a level away from major league readiness in the first place. Hopefully, Mize and Báez’s injuries won’t keep them out too long, but it’s probably unwise to expect either back until sometime in June. Potentially, Báez or even Mize could end up on the 60-day injured list, altering the 40-man roster equation a bit. On a longer timeline, Verlander, Melton, and Max Clark give them hope for relief from these issues, but the Tigers are up against it for at least a few weeks. Someone, and probably multiple someones, are going to have to step up if the Tigers are going to get clear of the .500 line and really start making progress in May.
