Detroit Tigers: Drew Hutchison era is over for the third time

Detroit Tigers part ways with pitcher Drew Hutchison.

While the Detroit Tigers are getting an intriguing infielder prospect in Jermaine Palacios as a part of their waiver claim, there had to be a corresponding move. The odd man out for the Tigers was Drew Hutchison, who was designated for assignment on Tuesday.

The Detroit Tigers should tip the cap to Drew Hutchison, one of the many starting pitchers used throughout the 2022 season. Drew Hutchison may not have earned himself a Cy Young or pitched at an all-star level, but he did the job several times when called upon.

He came out and overachieved in 2022, as many would have likely expected Hutchison to have been gone already with the other failed starters who could not get the job done. Even though the final stats are not super pretty, he was able to step in when needed.

It’s not a shocking move for the Tigers to move on from Hutchison, but it marks the beginning of a busy offseason. There will be big-picture moves and some more menial changes, but the Tigers will look much different come Spring Training of 2023.

Hutchison pitched in 28 total games for the Tigers in 2022, where he made 18 total starts, totaling 105.1 innings pitched. Overall, he pitched to a 4.53 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP in the 2022 season. As a starter alone, he only had one game where he allowed more than four runs.

While giving up four runs is not great, I’m scaling this to the level of the Tigers’ pitching staff. Given the Tigers were nearly operating with players off the Single-A roster being vaulted to the big leagues, even a fringy starter like Hutchison had some leeway.

Fourteen of his 18 starts saw him allow three runs or less. The bottom line is Hutchison got the job done given the circumstances. While this is a business and it’s understandable why Hutchison is not being kept around.

But he did a great job with what was asked of him in 2022, and the Tigers should be more than happy with what he produced. Hutchison being DFA’d is only the beginning. The landscape of this team is going to change considerably, and the fans should be ready to see some familiar faces be on the way out.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was “up” on Hutchison based on how well he performed. He embraced the “next-man-up” mentality and got the job done. While he may not be a fan favorite or anything crazy, there will be some of the more well-known players on the way out before this offseason is over.

President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris is going to do what he needs to do to start building a winning ball club, even if that means parting ways with some players who have been here for a while.