The Detroit Tigers have all but been officially and mathematically eliminated from what would be a third straight year of making the MLB postseason, but there are still a pair of notable events set to take place that fans will want to pay attention to.
Not only will future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander make the final start of his MLB career on Saturday against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park, but the Tigers will also give pitcher River Ryan, whom they acquired in the Tarik Skubal trade, a chance to make his Detroit debut.
Ryan’s debut will come before Verlander’s send-off, as he’s scheduled to get the start on Monday against the visiting Washington Nationals.
River Ryan Will Make His Detroit Tigers Debut On Monday
According to Tigers skipper AJ Hinch, Ryan will make his debut wearing the Old English D on Monday against the visiting Washington Nationals.
“Keider (Montero) will be used in some capacity because it’s his start date as well, but River will start,” Hinch said via The Detroit Free Press. “We’ve let him know and prepped him for that, so he’ll report tomorrow. Normally, we would like to bring somebody in for an acclimation day, especially somebody like River who doesn’t know the entire organization. But given the travel and the rain in Chicago, quick turnaround tomorrow, we’ll see him first thing tomorrow.”
“He’s very talented,” Hinch continued. “The next test for him is to come and hopefully get a couple outings over the course of the week, albeit shorter than a normal start. He’s using his pitches, he’s recovering fine. He’s throwing his normal bullpens and of course, we want to get him around our team. And because we expect him to be a big part of what we’re doing moving forward. He’s been in the big leagues before, so it’s not like a debut, but it will feel like it, given you know he’s brand new to the organization.”
River Ryan Looks Forward To His Career With The Tigers
Ryan recently made a start for the Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens on Tuesday, and he acknowledged that being dealt to Detroit from a pitching-heavy team like the Dodgers will be a good thing for his career.
“I was on a team that had six, seven starters,” Ryan told MLB.com after his start on Tuesday. “Regardless of how I did out there, I don’t think it was going to be in the cards for me as far as being a huge impact at the big league level this year with the Dodgers. Those guys have gone out there and done well, so I was kind of stuck in Triple-A, just kind of discouraged. Kind of didn’t matter if I went out there and threw 100 pitches and did amazing or not.
“I genuinely think that this trade to the Tigers is going to be really good for my career. I think it’s going to be plenty more opportunity.”
Ryan, who was injured upon his acquisition by the Tigers, has posted a 3.86 ERA across 4.2 innings pitched with the Mud Hens since returning.
Tigers Confirm Major Development Involving Tarik Skubal Trade Acquisition