#detroit-tigers

#detroit-tigers

Excited and blessed to have been offered and accepted a position as a pitching coach in the Detroit Tigers organization. In 2026 I will be serving as the Bullpen Coach at the Triple A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens. Collegiately, Robbins pitched for both Troy University and Rollins College before the Blue Jays selected the left-handed pitcher in the 20th round of the 2019 draft. Robbins made his professional debut shortly after, authoring a 2.84 ERA and 3.26 FIP in 19 innings pitched.

Cruz gets a 40-man spot for the first time going into his age-27 season. The Tigers had left the former third-round pick unprotected in the past two offseasons. The switch-hitting infielder, the son of former big league outfielder José Cruz, earned his way onto the roster with a breakout year in the upper minors. Cruz hit .279/.411/.456 while leading all minor league hitters with 102 walks between the top two levels.

General manager Jeff Greenberg said at this week's GM Meetings that the Tigers "are going to prioritize pitching" in the months ahead, even after Jack Flaherty's decision to exercise his $20MM player option filled one rotation spot next season ( link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Greenberg added that the Tigers are open to further rotation additions and "certainly" need to address their bullpen.

The now-30-year-old Dobnak was a remarkable story back in 2017-19, going from an undrafted free agent playing in a tiny independent league (and driving Uber on the side to make ends meet) to pitching for the Twins in the postseason in less than two years' time. After pitching for Division-II Alderson Broaddus University in his college days, Dobnak signed with the Utica Unicorns of the United Shore League. He started only six games before the Twins caught a look at him and signed him.

even as that career took him out of Detroit. He would leave in free agency for the Nationals. A 2014 playoff blowout at the hands of the Orioles and an ensuing three-game sweep would be the final playoff series for the Tigers for a decade. The last time I saw him, and the last time my hometown team was good, were tied together in my brain.

Hitting coach Keith Beauregard won't be returning to the Tigers next year, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. His contract ran through 2025 and he has now decided to leave to pursue new opportunities in baseball. For the past three seasons, the Tigers have had both Beauregard and Michael Brdar serving as hitting coaches. James Rowson worked alongside those two as an assistant in 2023, but he moved on and was replaced by Lance Zawadzki heading into 2024.

With the Tigers' season now over, Gleyber Torres is planning to undergo sports hernia surgery, the second baseman told reporters (including the Detroit News' Tony Paul) in the aftermath of the club's loss in Game Five of the ALDS. Torres revealed that he has been dealing with the injury for several months, and praised the Tigers' training and medical staff for helping him keep playing. " It was not good from the [start of the] second half," Torres said. " It was a lot of pain. But we do a really good job keeping me playing....It's not about the numbers, it's just about playing every day."

After Wenceel Pérez's RBI double put Detroit ahead in the top of the 11th, López started the bottom half with an infield single that advanced automatic runner Joey Wiemer. Heriberto Hernández's RBI fielder's choice scored Wiemer before Johnston drove a slider from Rafael Montero (1-2) over the wall in right-center. It was Johnston's first career multi-homer game. Josh Simpson (3-2) got the last two outs in the top of the 11th for the win.

In three games, Malloy went 1-for-2 with one walk across three plate appearances. The 25-year-old didn't start in any of the four games while he was on the active roster, though he came off the bench in three games, including twice as a pinch-hitter. The Tigers called on Malloy as a pinch-hitter Friday, Sept. 5, in a 7-5 loss to the White Sox, replacing Parker Meadows for a favorable matchup with left-handed reliever Tyler Gilbert with two outs in the seventh inning.