Kenta Maeda's transition to the bullpen could actually be change Tigers needed

On July 4, a dejected Kenta Maeda spoke to the media after the Detroit Tigers' ugly 12-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

"I feel bad," Maeda said in Japanese, though interpreter Daichi Sekizaki (via Detroit Free Press). "I feel like I let the team down. I think that was the result of my body language."

He had allowed nine runs on nine hits and three walks with just three strikeouts across 3⅔ innings, throwing 88 pitches. The command on his pitches had all but disappeared. He had squandered a three-run lead. He knew the loss was his fault.

"I have to put away guys, especially with two strikes," Maeda said. "Those pitches with two strikes need to be better. My strikeout rate has gone down this year. Hopefully, if I can get those pitches back, that will go up."

Fast forward 10 days to Sunday, July 14. The Tigers had moved Maeda to the bullpen, and he was making his first relief appearance at Comerica Park against his former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was electric, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and no walks with five strikeouts en route to a 4-3 Detroit victory. As he left the game, the Tigers faithful gave him a standing ovation.

With Sunday's win, the Tigers entered the All-Star break on a high note with eight wins in their last 10 games. A lot can change in 10 days.

Kenta Maeda's transition to the bullpen could actually be change Tigers needed

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch announced Maeda's move to the bullpen on Thursday, saying that he will remain there "for the foreseeable future" with no timeline to return to the starting staff.

"Coming out of the break, he will not be in the rotation," Hinch said (via Detroit Free Press), "We'll have to figure out whether we're going to do bullpen days or what our game plan is going to be. We got a lot of time for that to happen."

In 16 starts this season, Maeda has vastly underperformed on the two-year, $24 million contract he signed with the Tigers last November. He is currently 2-5 with a 7.26 ERA. He's given up 81 hits, walked 23 batters, and allowed 15 homers in 65 ⅔ innings. The $14 million he will earn this season ties him for the second-highest salary on the team, behind the $25 million being paid to shortstop Javy Báez.

Maeda, 36, said folllowing a 9-8 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday that he has not experienced a slump this bad in his eight-year MLB career. Perhaps a temporary – or permanent – move to the bullpen could be just what the doctor ordered for him and the Tigers.

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