The Detroit Tigers had to shuffle their pitchers on Sunday in order to clear room for the returning Jack Flaherty.
The Tigers optioned left-handed reliever Emmanuel De Jesus to Triple-A Toledo on Sunday, June 28, ahead of the series finale against the Houston Astros. The Tigers had to clear a spot on the 26-man roster for Flaherty, who is coming back from the 15-day injured list.
De Jesus last pitched for the Tigers on Friday in an 8-0 win over the Astros, throwing two scoreless innings to close the game. The Venezuelan lefty has thrown 31⅔ innings across 22 appearances with a 3.98 ERA. De Jesus has thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings over his last eight appearances, dating back to May 18.
The Tigers announced the decision just over an hour ahead of Sunday’s first pitch.
“We’ve got to work through a couple of different things, and I have a conversation or two pregame that needs to happen,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said pregame.
Flaherty made quick work of the rehab process, which included one start with Double-A Erie.
Hinch hoped Flaherty could attack the strike zone after command issues have plagued him during the early parts of the season.
“Jack at his best is convicted inside the strike zone and is in attack mode, not chasing results and in bad counts,” Hinch said. “This is a team that thrives in good counts. They put pressure on you.”
With a 1-8 record and 5.35 ERA entering Sunday, Flaherty has had his well-documented struggles. But he only had five walks over his last 28 innings before he hit the IL, compared to 29 walks in his first 37⅔ innings.
“When he’s in sync and he’s getting to that 1-2 count, he’s just got so many different options that aren’t available to him as he’s trying to get out of bad counts,” Hinch said.
Hao-Yu Lee finding footing in MLB
Rookie utility infielder Hao-Yu Lee has been solid as a stopgap replacement at second base since Gleyber Torres went back to the injured list. In the first nine games of Detroit’s 10-game homestand, Lee is hitting .375 (9-of-24) while being the team’s primary option at second base.
In Saturday’s 8-6 loss, Lee hit a solo home run to left field and made a sliding catch ranging into shallow right field. Lee’s home run was his third in the majors and his first pull-side home run.
“When you get experience, you tend to play with more freedom and play with a little bit more boldness,” Hinch said.
Contact Jared Ramsey at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers option LHP reliever Emmanuel De Jesus for Jack Flaherty
Reporting by Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
