Detroit Tigers: Who takes over as sixth starter?

Ryan Carpenter

The Tigers signed Ryan Carpenter to a minor league deal this offseason and gave him a chance to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. He had an excellent spring, but was relegated to Triple-A Toledo after the Tigers added veteran’s Francisco Liriano and Mike Fiers to round out the rotation.

The Tigers recalled Carpenter just three days into the season, when a rain out forced a doubleheader. Carpenter lasted just three innings, giving up three runs, including two home runs, while striking out three.

Carpenter has fared better at Toledo even though his results haven’t been great. He has a 5.40 ERA, although his 3.94 FIP and 4.32 xFIP indicate he’s suffered from some bad luck. He has a 7.31 K/9 and a 2.54 BB/9, good but not great numbers.

The main issue with having Carpenter in this role is his lack of experience coming out of the bullpen. Carpenter would make an adequate spot-starter, likely better than Bell, but the primary role of the long man is to come into the game when the starter has to come out early.

There’s no indication that Carpenter would excel in that role. That’s not to say he couldn’t do it, but the Tigers will likely want to find someone who has experience coming out of the pen.

Factoring in Carpenter’s sub par start to the year, and he’s not likely to see the big leagues over Detroit’s other options.