Tigers shuffle a struggling Maeda to bullpen

DETROIT -- The Tigers will use the upcoming All-Star break to reshuffle their rotation without Kenta Maeda, who is being moved to the bullpen while the veteran right-hander and the team try to figure out the solution to his struggles in his first season in Detroit.

“He’s going to go to the bullpen for the foreseeable future,” manager A.J. Hinch said in announcing the move Thursday morning. “We have some adjustments we’d like him to make. He’s open to any and all ideas.”

It’s not the outcome the Tigers envisioned when they signed Maeda to a two-year, $24 million contract as a free agent last November. But with Maeda having yielded 15 runs in 6 1/3 innings over his last two starts, it’s a move out of necessity.

“There’s definitely frustration. Nothing’s really going right at this point. I’m causing too much trouble to the team, and I feel sorry about that,” Maeda said through interpreter Dai Sekizaki after allowing six runs over 2 2/3 innings in his last start Tuesday against the Guardians.

Maeda’s rotation spot would’ve come up Sunday against the Dodgers. Detroit is making that a bullpen game, since it’s the final game before the four-day All-Star break. The Tigers will figure out what to do with the spot after the break -- they don’t need a fifth starter until July 23 -- but it won’t be Maeda.

“Coming out of the break, he will not be in the rotation,” Hinch said. “We’ll have to figure out whether we’re going to do bullpen days or what our game plan is going to be. We’ve got a lot of time for that to happen.”

The Tigers assembled a four-game winning streak in between Maeda’s last two starts. They’ve lost his past eight starts, during which he has a 9.00 ERA, though he left one of those after just two pitches with an oblique injury.

Maeda’s last two starts have raised his ERA for the season from 5.76 to 7.26, the highest by a full run among American League pitchers with at least 60 innings this season. His .906 OPS allowed is the highest in the Majors among pitchers with at least 60 innings.

Detroit has built a strong reputation for its pitching instruction, both with developing young arms and getting veterans back to previous success. Its rotation includes examples on both sides with rookie Keider Montero, second-year breakout Reese Olson and Jack Flaherty. Maeda’s predicament has been tougher.

The Tigers signed Maeda in part based off his second-half success last year in Minnesota in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. His fastball gained velocity and bite as last season went on, and his splitter was a valuable secondary pitch.

The fastball hasn’t held; his average fastball velocity of 90.3 mph is the lowest of his MLB career, according to Statcast, and its average exit velocity of 91.9 mph is the highest of his career. While opponents are batting just .197 off Maeda’s splitter, they’re slugging a career-high .395 against it, including four of his 15 home runs allowed.

Detroit plays 12 consecutive games out of the break before its first off-day of the second half on July 31, making more bullpen games difficult. The Tigers could turn to Matt Manning, who has made five starts for them this season, but he’s working through adjustments at Triple-A Toledo, where he has a 5.03 ERA through 11 games. The club's No. 5 prospect, Ty Madden, has an 8.43 ERA through 12 starts for the Mud Hens, while No. 14 prospect Brant Hurter has a 5.10 ERA through 16 games.