DETROIT – When Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Casey Mize was summoned to manager Ron Gardenhire’s office on Monday and saw the club’s general manager and assistant manager waiting inside, he knew he was about to receive some news, good or bad.
Turns out it was the latter.
Mize was among 19 players sent to Toledo on Monday to work at the club’s satellite camp this summer.
Toledo had always been Mize’s most likely destination, but the past few days probably made him wonder if he had a chance to break camp with the major league club. Projected starters Daniel Norris (COVID-19) and Jordan Zimmermann (forearm) are injured. Michael Fulmer (Tommy John surgery) is back, but he may not be ready to jump into the games.
Mize, the Tigers’ No. 1 overall pick in 2018, has never pitched above the Double A level, but few doubt he can pitch in the big leagues at the moment.
But for a variety of reasons, many beyond his control, Mize received the news that he didn’t want to hear.
“(Mize) talked to us about some of his thoughts, and that’s what you want and that’s what you want from a young man like that,” Gardenhire said. “You are on the right track. This organization said a few years ago, this is how we will do it and stand firm. It will go down and launch and be ready when needed if we need it. The boy has many things for him, he is a very good pitcher, he is a class act and he handled himself very well in the office when we told him he was not going to start with us. “
Tigers general manager Al Avila said Mize was a “professional” and “handled himself very well” at Monday’s meeting.
“From the day we selected him, that’s why we did it 1/1, we thought he was a very special pitcher,” said Ávila. “He works very hard. We have high expectations of him. He has high expectations of himself. And he is on the right track. I know he will prepare for when it is needed. That is what he is doing now. He has the right mindset, he will prepare, he will continue working and he will be ready when the time comes. “
Why isn’t that time now?
The answers are largely practical.
1. The Tigers already have headlines.
This argument is less compelling now than it was a few weeks ago, but it is still partially true.
The Tigers have three determined starters: Matthew Boyd, Ivan Nova, and Spencer Turnbull, and fourth and fifth places are likely to be filled with a combination of Tyler Alexander and Fulmer, perhaps with the help of a “little pig still to be determined.” -back “boot.
The Tigers hope that Norris will return soon, although it will take time for him to get on the court.
2. List challenges.
Mize isn’t on the 40-man list, and the Tigers are already dealing with all kinds of list-related headaches. It seems likely that they will err on the conservative side and try to avoid releasing players so early in the season that they want to preserve depth in the event of injuries.
3. Service time.
This is the problem, even if Ávila doesn’t want to talk about it.
* If Mize made it to the big leagues from Day 1 in 2020 and remained with the team uninterrupted, he would have six years of service-time service after the 2025 season, making him a free agent.
* If the Tigers raised Mize for about a week this season (or later), and he kept the team uninterrupted, there would simply be below six years of service after 2025, meaning he would not become a free agent until after 2026.
Now, there are no guarantees in baseball, even for the best prospects. Therefore, there are many “yess” in those scenarios. But the bottom line is simple: A very small short-term sacrifice now will pay dividends in the future.
For the record, here was Avila’s response to a question about service time: “I’m not going to go into that, because it really isn’t a thought process for me right now.” My thinking process right now is to put a team on the field, maintaining the depth of the organization to where it benefits us as we move forward this season. When we feel our young players are ready to come and contribute, we will raise them at the right time, when we feel they are ready, and when we feel we have the greatest need. ”
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