[Biggp07]

The Office of the Commissioner told us this morning that our claim for Caleb Ferguson from the New York Yankees has been approved. Now that he’s part of our team, we’ll add him to the active roster right away since he last pitched 4 days ago, so he’s rested enough to help us tonight if we need him.

Since RP Chris Stratton has a $4.5 million player option this coming off-season, I think we should put him on waivers to bring Ferguson to the bullpen to finish out the year in a setup role, replacing Stratton. Stratton has pitched well for us this year, but he’s also becoming too costly for the off-season salary I want to handle. The less I try to justify keeping him on at arbitration, the better I’ll feel about next year's spring training. We have trimmed the roster enough to build on for next year.

I’ve had to remind the front office that my off-season plan is to have Ragans, Singer, and Wright recover from their season-ending injuries with a new team trainer. The lower the salary we commit, the easier it is to sign a legendary trainer who might be available on the personnel market.

RP Jordan Lyles is a player I’m considering moving on from since he’ll be a free agent after this season. I don’t expect strong demand for him, but I’m interested to see how negotiations unfold. Currently, he’s performing adequately in relief and has been serving as an opener for Alec Marsh until I’m confident Marsh can throw 100 pitches.

Game Summary – August 4th – Tigers Bridle Royals, 3-2



Comerica Park hosted an exciting game between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals. Detroit Tigers starter Reese Olson pitched well against the Royals, leading his team to a 3-2 victory—though, to be fair, they might have lost if the rain hadn't conveniently helped seal the win. The Tigers now hold a record of 52-61. First baseman Spencer Torkelson delivered a big at-bat, going 1 for 3 with a home run, adding 2 RBI, and scoring once. In the bottom of the first, with a runner on first, he hit a 2-run homer. His 11th home run of the season gave Detroit a 2-0 lead.
"Winning the game is always the first objective," Olson said, perhaps implying the rain did a little extra work.

I’m not upset that we lost; I’m upset because we didn’t finish the game. I believe the outcome would have been different if we had been able to complete it. But we’ll never know now. Unfortunately, we lost Veneziano after the first inning due to a mild, day-to-day calf strain that should keep him out for about three days. It shouldn’t affect his pitching, so we might give him another start sooner to ensure he gets a full game’s work. Since Lyles replaced Veneziano, that means Marsh gets the no-opener start tomorrow against the Red Sox at home. It will be a good test of his mettle. We are still ahead in the series with Detroit 4-3, with 3 more games left to play next month.

GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Reese Olson
Ballpark: Comerica Park
Weather: Cloudy (78 degrees), wind blowing in from the right at 11 mph
Start Time: 1:40 PM ET
Time: 3:17
Attendance: 25123
Special Notes: SP Anthony Veneziano was injured while pitching. The game was called in the 7th inning due to bad weather.