AJ Hinch makes drastic pitching decision for Tigers with trade deadline acquisition

The Detroit Tigers didn't technically need another starting pitcher at the trade deadline, but they went out and got two anyway. Detroit traded for Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins first, right before announcing that Reese Olson's regular season was over with a shoulder strain. Then the Tigers brought Charlie Morton over from the Baltimore Orioles on deadline day.

Troy Melton and Keider Montero could've slotted in at Nos. 4 and 5 in the rotation, but Melton was sent back to the bullpen and Montero was demoted to Triple-A instead.

Paddack and Morton were questionable acquisitions (which seemed to be the theme of Scott Harris' trade deadline). Paddack left the Twins with a 4.95 ERA, Morton's 5.42 was even worse. Since the deadline, they've proven to be just as unreliable as fans feared, pitching to 5.40 and 5.81 ERAs respectively.

Critics of Harris' trade deadline strategy were somewhat vindicated on Tuesday, when Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported that the Tigers would be moving Paddack, who last threw a 3⅔, three-run outing against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 29, to the bullpen until further notice.

AJ Hinch announces Tigers trade deadline acquisition Chris Paddack will move to bullpen

Both Paddack and Morton got off to great starts in their Tigers debuts, but the bloom has quickly come off the rose. Paddack's two biggest blowups (both against his former team) yielded 12 runs in 9 ⅔ innings, including five homers. Morton has been worse — he gave up six runs, four on a grand slam, to the New York Mets on Monday — but for some reason the Tigers seem to think he'll be a more valuable starter through the stretch run and maybe in the postseason.

The question now is who will fill Paddack's spot in the rotation, if anyone. This time last year, Hinch was more than comfortable staging multiple bullpen games as part of the Tigers' pitching chaos strategy.

There are clear candidates, including Melton, Montero, and Sawyer Gipson-Long, who was just recalled on Tuesday, but it wouldn't be surprising if jack-of-all-trades reliever Tyler Holton gets a few more one- or two-inning starts with Melton and Gipson-Long in long relief behind him.

The Tigers have made do with much less than they currently have; last year, they basically only had two starters for a stretch of the season. If we had to guess, we'd say Hinch probably isn't stressing about this switch. No matter how confusing the Tigers' recent bullpen moves have been, there's no question that there are any number of pitchers who can fill in, even if it's not in the most traditional sense.

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