Tigers lose struggling reliever, former top prospect to Pirates claim after DFA

Joey Wentz's arc with the Tigers has been a sneakily sad storyline for Detroit over the last few years. He was a Competive Balance Round A pick by the Braves in 2016 and was traded to the Tigers in 2019, where he was a top-15 prospect for four seasons before showing signs that he could be an effective middle-rotation starter for Detroit upon his first seven major league starts in 2022.

Despite not performing very well in spring training in 2023, the Tigers made him a full-time member of the rotation during the regular season, and he made 19 starts with some relief outings mixed in toward the end of the year. All told, he had a 6.90 ERA across 105 2/3 innings, so it was no surprise that the Tigers moved him to the bullpen entirely in 2024.

He hasn't improved much this season, pitching 55 1/3 innings for a 5.37 ERA. Understandably, with Casey Mize returning from the IL, the Tigers decided to part ways with Wentz.

He was DFA'ed on Aug. 30 and picked up by the Pirates on Tuesday. He's officially no longer with the Tigers following Pittsburgh's waiver claim.

Former Tigers top prospect Joey Wentz claimed off of waivers by Pirates

Wentz showed signs of improvement during spring training this year, when he pitched just over 15 innings for a 2.93 ERA, which probably saved his roster spot despite the fact that he was pushed out of the rotation with the Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda signings (and Mize's return). Through April and into May, it seemed like Wentz did actually figure some things out. By May 8, he had a 0.61 ERA and had pitched more innings than Jason Foley, Alex Lange and Andrew Chafin. However, things took a quick downturn, and he ended up with a 9.95 ERA in May.

On Aug. 29, the day before his DFA, he was hit by a comebacker off Taylor Ward's bat and limped off the field, so the Tigers would've been hard-pressed to choose a more brutal time to let him go. It's unclear whether or not the Pirates will move Wentz to the IL immediately, but if they don't, maybe he'll be able to finish the season on a strong note in Pittsburgh. Tigers fans probably won't miss him all that much with how good the bullpen has been of late, but they'll be wishing him all the best now that he's in the NL.