Tigers News: Former first-round pick traded to Phillies, AJ Hinch on 6-man rotation

The Detroit Tigers are trying to claw their way back into relevance after a tough start to the season. They’ve been playing better as of late but they need to play consistently solid ball if they aim to compete in meaningful games coming down the stretch.

Amidst this effort, there are some news nuggets that fans may have missed. And it all starts with a trade involving a former Tiger.

White Sox trade former Tigers first-round pick Derek Hill

Tigers fans may remember outfielder Derek Hill from his days with the team in the early 2020s. Hill was selected out of Elk Grove High School by Detroit with the 23rd overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft.

It took him a long time to make his big league debut as he didn’t get called up until 2020 when he was 24 years old. His tenure with the Tigers was not that impressive as he hit a collective .240/.291/.339 with four home runs, 17 RBI, and nine stolen bases across three seasons with the team.

He’s bounced around a ton since the Tigers designated him for assignment in 2022, playing for the Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, Miami Marlins, and division-rival White Sox.

This season with the White Sox, Hill was hitting .213/.284/.375 with four homers and eight RBI. He was just traded to the Philadelphia Phillies who are badly in need of outfield help after Adolis Garcia went down with an injury. 

Hill now has an opportunity to take advantage of with his new club, so maybe he can realize the potential the Tigers saw in him all those years ago.

AJ Hinch doesn't rule out 6-man rotation for Tigers

The Tigers’ starting rotation has been banged up for most of the season, but with guys coming back from injury manager AJ Hinch seemed to commit to a six-man rotation.

Hinch said the following when asked about a potential six-man rotation: “I think that makes the most sense eventually. That's the most logical way as it stands today, with the caveat of just getting to that spot where we actually have everyone healthy and all systems go."

That rotation would most likely consist of Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Justin Verlander, and Troy Melton or Keider Montero.

Obviously, Hinch’s stipulation about everyone being healthy is an important one because that is far from guaranteed. But if they did get everyone back it would make sense to take pressure off the collective and provide extra days of rest to try to have a less taxed rotation going into the second half.

The Tigers have to focus on getting everyone healthy first, though. Then they can worry about the rotation configuration. At the very least, it's on Hinch's mind, and it could be a unique solution for the Tigers to get back into the playoff picture.

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