Detroit Tigers give RHP Jake Thompson minor league deal

Having one of the worst records in Major League Baseball this year, the Detroit Tigers are looking to get whatever help they can, especially when it comes to pitching.

With the Detroit Tigers likely to trade away key pieces on the mound like Matthew Boyd and Shane Greene before next week’s trade deadline, the team is looking to fill the void those trades will leave in the pitching staff. On Thursday afternoon, the Tigers announced that the team has signed right-hander Jake Thompson to a minor league deal.

Thompson was actually drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft and was a highly coveted pitching prospect early on in his professional career. However, Thompson never made a big-league appearance for Detroit, as he was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2014 as part of a deal for Joakim Soria.

Just a year later, Thompson was again used as a trade chip being sent from Texas to Philadelphia. The righty made his first major league appearance in 2016 with the Phillies and went 3-6 that year in ten starts. Over the next couple of seasons, Thompson continued to make sporadic big-league appearances with the Phillies and transitioned to a bullpen role.

The Milwaukee Brewers purchased the rights to Thompson’s contract last August, but he never made any appearances for Milwaukee and became a free agent at the end of the year. The 25-year-old currently holds a major league ERA of 4.87 in 30 career games.

So far in 2019, Thompson has spent time playing for the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization, where he has a 4.74 ERA in eleven games. Now, he returns to professional baseball in the US with the organization that first drafted him.

Picking up Thompson makes sense as a move for the Detroit Tigers. With Boyd and Greene likely off the roster in a matter of days, the righty can fill a hole either in the bullpen or as a starter, especially since the fifth spot in Detroit’s starting rotation has been up in the air all year. Starting in Lakeland means the organization does want to give him some time to keep honing his skills but don’t be surprised to see Thompson on the hill in the majors sometime in late August or September.