Tigers place veteran third baseman on injured list

The team announced that third baseman Gio Urshela had been placed on the Tigers’ 10-day injured list. Urshela is dealing with a right hamstring strain that forced him out of Friday’s 5-4 win over the Twins in the second inning.  Infielder Buddy Kennedy was called up from Triple-A Toledo to take Urshela’s spot on the active roster.

Urshela looked to be in discomfort after trying to run out a grounder, and he was replaced at third base by Matt Vierling in the bottom of the second.  Vierling and Zach McKinstry could simply handle third base duties in a platoon until Urshela is healthy, though with Andy Ibanez also on the 10-day IL, Detroit’s infield depth is now further thinned out by the loss of Urshela for at least the next 10 days.  Kennedy also figures to get into the mix, and his first in-game appearance will mark his Tigers debut after being claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks in February.

The hamstring strain is another unfortunate injury setback for Urshela, who missed most of the 2023 season recovering from a pelvic fracture.  Urshela hit .299/.329/.374 over 228 plate appearances for the Angels but didn’t play again after June 15 due to his recovery.

Looking to rebuild his value, Urshela signed a one-year, $1.5M free agent deal with the Tigers over the offseason and has quickly stepped in as Detroit’s regular third baseman. While Vierling, McKinstry and Ibanez have gotten some work at the hot corner, Urshela has started 14 of 20 games and hit .298/.310/.333 over 58 PA.  A .362 BABIP has greatly aided that production, as Urshela has continued to show the same lack of power that plagued him in 2023.  Urshela’s walk rate is only 1.7%, which would be the worst of his career if continued over the full season.

Despite these concerns, Urshela has actually been one of the more respectable hitters on a Detroit team that has struggled to generate offense. Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Mark Canha are all hitting well, but pretty much the rest of the lineup has ranged from average to mediocre, as the Tigers have been carried by their pitching to their solid 11-9 start.