The Tigers knowledgeable reporters that depth starter Sawyer Gipson-Lengthy will bear an inside brace surgical procedure on Monday to restore his UCL (X hyperlink through Evan Woodbery of MLive). He’ll miss your complete 2024 season.
It’s an unlucky however not particularly shocking revelation. Gipson-Lengthy had gone for numerous evaluations after feeling forearm tightness a pair weeks in the past. The 6’4″ righty was already on the 15-day injured listing due to a groin pressure, but this clearly represents a way more severe setback. Whereas an inside brace process comes with a shorter restoration timeline than the usual Tommy John UCL reconstruction, it’s probably he’ll start the ’25 marketing campaign on the IL as nicely.
Gipson-Lengthy is a former sixth-round draftee of the Twins. Detroit acquired him on the 2022 deadline for reliever Michael Fulmer. The Tigers referred to as him to the majors for the primary time final September. Gipson-Lengthy had a wonderful exhibiting, working to a 2.70 ERA with a near-32% strikeout price in 20 innings. He didn’t face the hardest competitors — his begins have been in opposition to the White Sox, Angels, A’s and Royals — nevertheless it was about as spectacular a debut as Detroit may’ve moderately anticipated.
Detroit wasn’t probably to offer Gipson-Lengthy an Opening Day rotation spot even when he have been wholesome. Between Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Casey Mize, Matt Manning and offseason signees Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda, they’ve a good quantity of rotation expertise. Gipson-Lengthy would probably have been seventh on the depth chart. Even when he began the 12 months on optionally available project to Triple-A Toledo, it’s probably he’d have been tabbed for some begins all through the course of a 162-game schedule.
As a substitute, he’ll spend your complete season on the IL. The small silver lining is that he’ll be paid on the MLB minimal price and gather a full 12 months of service time. Detroit can switch him to the 60-day injured listing at any time when they want a 40-man roster spot. There’s no IL throughout the offseason, so the Tigers might want to reinstate or waive Gipson-Lengthy shortly after the conclusion of the World Sequence. Assuming they preserve him on the roster, he’ll be controllable for no less than one other 5 seasons.