The Tigers are still technically hanging around the postseason picture, but A.J. Hinch is treating September like a month for sorting out the future as much as chasing the present.
That showed up Tuesday at Comerica Park, where more than half of Detroit’s starting lineup against the Minnesota Twins was made up of rookies. Four of those rookies hadn’t even begun the season on the active roster, a pretty clear sign of where this team is with 17 games left.
Hinch isn’t backing away from that approach, either. Even with Detroit still alive - if barely - in the race, he’s sticking with the younger players and letting that mean more bench time for some of the veterans.
“We’ve been very open with [how] we’re going to clear some paths for some young players and they get their opportunities as well. So I let them know that it was going to be a little different,” Hinch said.
This isn’t just a September audition, either. Nine rookies have already gotten plate appearances for the Tigers this season, which is tied for second-most in MLB entering Tuesday. Only the 60-85 San Francisco Giants have used more, with 10.
Two of Detroit’s rookies - McGonigle and Clark - arrived with top prospect billing and could become foundational pieces for years. The rest are still being sorted out.
What’s made this more than a simple youth movement is that the rookies have actually produced. The Tigers have gotten the second-most FanGraphs WAR from rookie position players in baseball this season at 6.4, trailing only the Chicago White Sox at 9.5. Five of those seven rookies - Valencia, McGonigle, Malgeri, Clark and Lee - are also carrying above-average wRC+ marks.
That’s part of why Hinch views this as more than just development for development’s sake.
“Some of those young players are the best, so it’s not like we’re conceding and we don’t believe that they can do it,” Hinch said.
The reality, though, is still the reality. Detroit’s best shot at sneaking into the playoffs runs through the wild-card chase, where the Tigers are 6½ games back with 17 games to play and six teams to pass.
FanGraphs gives them a 0.1% chance. So Hinch isn’t pretending the race is over, but he is being blunt about how the team should use what’s left.
That means fewer opportunities for veterans such as Gleyber Torres, Zach McKinstry, Javier Báez and Spencer Torkelson. It’s a move that could make sense even without the standings context, especially with Torkelson and McKinstry producing less effectively in 2026 than they did in 2025.
Hinch said the message has landed.
“All the guys are on board,” he said. “It’s clearly an indication of trying to use our reps the best we can, and also there have been some struggles to address. So not necessarily the easiest conversations, but just trying to be very direct."
There was also an update on Jack Flaherty, who will throw a bullpen session Wednesday as he works back from the right flexor tendon injury he suffered against the Chicago Cubs on July 20. A return before the end of the regular season is still possible, but the Tigers aren’t committing to anything yet.
“We don’t have a plan yet until we get through the bullpen tomorrow,” Hinch said.
Flaherty made a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo on Sunday, allowing one hit and one walk over 1⅓ innings. If that bullpen goes well, Hinch said the next step would be another minor league rehab outing.
The right-hander is in the final season of the two-year deal he signed with Detroit before the 2025 season. In 2026, he’s 3-8 with a 4.59 ERA over 86⅓ innings.
Detroit also got another pitching note Tuesday: River Ryan has been activated from the 7-day injured list and will start for Toledo against the Iowa Cubs, according to Baseball America’s Emily Waldon. It will be Ryan’s first start in the Tigers organization after Detroit acquired the 28-year-old right-hander in the trade that sent lefty ace Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ryan is listed as the Tigers’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
In Other News...
Justin Verlander Return Doubts Just Got Worse For The Tigers
Justin Verlanders season has already been derailed once by a hip issue, and the hamstring injury that followed has only made the picture murkier for the Tigers. The veteran right-hander has barely had a chance to get going in his one-year deal with Detroit, making just one start before landing back on the sideline, leaving the club to wait and wonder whether there will be much of a return at all.
Verlanders own view of the injury only added to the uncertainty, since he acknowledged the hamstring may not fully heal and could get worse if he tries to push it. For a Tigers team that had hoped to at least get a meaningful stretch out of the reunion, the concern now is less about timelines and more about whether the season will ever give them a real opening to see what this comeback can still look like. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Suddenly Have A Kyle Finnegan Decision They Can't Ignore
The Tigers bullpen is already headed for some serious offseason scrutiny, and Kyle Finnegans rough showing against the Twins only sharpened the conversation. Detroit took a significant loss in that game, and Finnegans struggles fit a larger pattern this season that has made him one of the more uncomfortable decisions on the roster. For a team trying to stabilize late innings, every shaky outing matters a little more now because it feeds directly into how the front office views the bullpens future.
Finnegans contract adds another layer to the picture, since Detroit has to think beyond the immediate need and into whether the move makes sense a year or two down the line. The idea of passing on his 2028 option and even non-tendering him after the 2026 season is starting to sound less like a fringe debate and more like a real roster question. The Tigers do not have to settle it today, but the way they approach the bullpen this winter will say plenty about how much patience they still have. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Avoid A Front Office Twist They Really Didn't Need
Jeff Greenberg isnt going anywhere, and for the Tigers that matters beyond the usual front-office chatter. Greenberg has taken his name out of consideration for the general manager opening with the Red Wings, choosing instead to stay with Detroits baseball club as its general manager after being mentioned as a candidate for the hockey job. His background in hockey made the possibility a little more plausible than it might have been for a typical baseball executive, but the Tigers now know their front office will keep its current structure intact.
The connection between the two teams added an unusual twist, since the Tigers and Red Wings are both under Ilitch Holdings, which would have made this a rare Detroit-to-Detroit move rather than a traditional cross-country jump. Instead, Greenbergs decision leaves the Tigers without a distraction they did not need and keeps one of their key decision-makers in place as the organization moves forward. [Read more 🡒]