Only Tigers are to blame for Dillon Dingler's clear struggles right now

As the Detroit Tigers seem to be slowly slipping out of playoff contention, one of the guys they really needed to get them across the finish line has struggled. Catcher Dillon Dingler has had a great year, but as his production falls off, the Tigers have no one to blame but themselves.

Dingler is hitting .253/.319/.483 on the season with 26 home runs and 82 RBI. It’s been a breakout year for the 27-year-old backstop and he was a deserved All-Star, but if you drill down on his recent numbers, it’s been ugly.

In the month of August he is hitting .181/.253/.313. Not only had his bat cooled off, but he’s been making some uncharacteristic defensive mistakes and odd ABS challenges behind the dish even though he still grades out positively as a pitch framer, and when it comes to throwing out runners on the bases.

Still, it seems pretty clear that the Tigers have exhausted him at this point. He’s played in 120 of the team’s 130 games this season so he has only had 10 days off which feels a bit light for a catcher. They did give him a day off over the weekend against the Kansas City Royals and they have used him as a designated hitter at times, but it wouldn’t be a shock if his legs are a bit worn out after being in the squat for most of the year.

He only played in 126 games total last year so he’s likely to eclipse that mark this season. It may not seem like a big deal, but for catchers, that matters. His body probably isn’t used to this sort of wear and tear deep into a season.

Tigers have been forced to play Dillon Dingler a ton

The problem is, the Tigers haven’t had much of a choice. They’re trying to win games and stay in the playoff picture and Dingler has been one of their best players all season. It’s really hard to take him out of the lineup, but if they continue to drive him into the ground, it’s not going to get better.

Perhaps they wish they still had Jake Rogers in the fold. They traded him ahead of the deadline and he’s gone on to have an odyssey since then but just hit a walk-off home run for the Chicago White Sox.

Maybe if the Tigers slip further out of the playoff hunt they can be more careful with Dingler the last month of the season. No matter what though, they need to invest in a solid backup option so they are able to rest him earlier in the year going forward to prevent a second-half drop-off. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow