Is Alex Bregman an option for Detroit Tigers at trade deadline?
Mike Ferrin, co-host of Power Alley on MLB Network Radio, explores the possibility of the Tigers trading for Alex Bregman this season.
- Casey Mize, after overcoming hamstring injuries and prior surgeries, has been named to his first MLB All-Star Game.
- Mize’s performance post-injury mirrors his pre-injury success, boasting a 2.72 ERA since returning.
Casey Mize’s hamstrings have been through a lot the past couple of years.
The Detroit Tigers right-hander missed nearly two months with a left hamstring strain in July 2024, putting him on the sideline 15 starts after returning from an elbow surgery and a back surgery that kept him out for much of 2022 and all of 2023.
Mize wasn’t sharp when he returned, putting up a 5.32 ERA in 23 ⅔ innings over six games, the last two in relief. He didn’t make an appearance in the Tigers’ AL wild-card series win against the Houston Astros and was left off the ALDS roster entirely, relegating the 2018 No. 1 overall pick to a spectator in the team’s first playoff appearance since 2014.
Mize’s strong start in 2025 was then interrupted by another hamstring strain (to the same leg) on May 10, putting the righty back on the injured list. Same injury, same leg … same result?
Not quite.
Mize was named to his first MLB All-Star Game roster on Friday, July 11, with his midseason résumé solidified by his post-injury performance looking very similar to his pre-injury performance.
Prior to May 8, Mize’s last start before a stint on the 15-day IL, he ran a 2.53 ERA over 42 ⅔ innings pitched in seven starts. Since returning on May 24, Mize has a 2.72 ERA in 43 innings pitched, and has looked especially good in his most recent stretch.
Over his last four starts, all resulting in Tigers wins, Mize has a 1.82 ERA while striking out 18 batters in 24 ⅔ innings pitched. This includes his most recent start against the Cleveland Guardians, arguably his best start of the year, where he pitched seven scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory in Cleveland.
Though the results have been better than the last time he returned from a hamstring strain, it hasn’t been easy according to him.
“Obviously I wanted to get my health back, and even when I came back, I wasn’t quite as sharp as I wanted to be,” Mize said.
To come back strong, he said he reminded himself of what was working earlier in the season when he was pitching effectively, while also “resetting” other aspects.
“I was able to do that. I’ve had a good month or so since. So, obviously, I’m looking forward to keeping that rolling tomorrow and throughout the second half as well,” he said.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said he had a lot of fun notifying Mize of his All-Star selection via phone the evening of Thursday, July 10.
“These guys know I’m not messing them when I do it,” he said of his phone call. “I think I had to repeat it again that he was an All-Star, and he’s like, ‘Of course I’ll be ready.'”
Hinch also recognized the challenges Mize has had to overcome in his pro career, from the expectations of a No. 1 overall draft pick to Tommy John surgery sidelining him in 2023 to the hamstring injuries bothering him in 2024 and 2025.
“The pride that I know he has with not only what he’s done, but the journey to get here, and then being rewarded with a trip to Atlanta with his best friend Tarik Skubal, his teammates that have watched him have an incredible season thus far…it’s hard in this sport sometimes to get those moments,” he said.
Tarik Skubal starting the All-Star Game?
Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet announced on Friday that he was pulling out of the All-Star Game to get some extra rest. That provided an extra roster spot for Mize, and it also may solidify an opportunity for another Tigers pitcher.
With New York Yankee’s pitcher Max Fried also bowing out of his All-Star invitation, it’s leaving few pitchers that American League All-Star manager Aaron Boone could reasonably choose other than Tigers ace Tarik Skubal to start the game.
Skubal was named to his second All-Star team on Sunday, July 6, and is seemingly the best choice to start the game as he leads all MLB pitchers in ERA (2.02) and WHIP (0.810) as well as fWAR (4.7) entering his start on Friday, July 11, against the Mariners. If Skubal makes the start, he would become the Tigers’ first All-Star starting pitcher since right-hander Max Scherzer in 2013.
That decision will ultimately be left to Boone, however, and Hinch wouldn’t reveal what he thought the Yankees manager would do.
“I have pretty good insight though,” Hinch said with a smirk.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
