ANAEHEIM, CA – Keider Montero has turned into an incredible, effective, trusted weapon for Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.
Recently, Montero has worked out of the bullpen, pitching in high stress, high-leverage situations. And he’s handled everything like a pitbull. A fierce, highly-competitive pitcher who seems to thrive in big moments.
Now, his role is going to switch again.
The Tigers are in the midst of playing 13 games in 13 days, so Hinch wants to expand his starting rotation, giving every pitcher more rest time.
Montero will move back to the starting rotation, and he will start against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, July 22.
“That does not guarantee that we’re going to stay in a six-man, but to get to the off day (on July 30), we’ll be lined up accordingly,” Hinch said.
Hinch has been preparing for this possibility, keeping Montero stretched out.
“When we have someone like him, it’s very similar to when Troy Melton was in the ‘pen last year,” Hinch said. “I’ve always said when I pitch him, I’m going to pitch him a lot. So when you see him go out for a second inning or a third inning or a fourth inning, part of that is competitive and strategic. The other part of it is to keep him stretched out to where it doesn’t disrupt his volume.
“It doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to go back to 90 and 100 pitches or whatever. But we’ve been able to mix in some long outings, albeit high leverage, for him to keep his pitch count up. So we’ve kind of done it behind the scenes in terms of, you look up and you’re like, oh, he’s pitching every fifth day, like every fourth day. Like there there’s a method to that to keep him healthy and keep him active.”
More than anything, this will give Hinch’s starters an extra day of rest.
In essence, it’s leaning into this team’s strong starting rotation, trying to make it even stronger, keeping those pitchers fresh.
“We’ve just tried to be very aware of using one of our best pitchers at the most optimal times,” Hinch said. “When we have this long stretch of no off days, it will benefit the rest of the rotation for Keider to be able to go in.”
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers’ Keider Montero moved back into starting rotation
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
