DETROIT – At least Detroit Tigers fans can always remember May 28, 2023.
It was a magical time. The Tigers had just won three of four games against the division-rival Chicago White Sox to pull within one game of .500. They were only one game behind the Minnesota Twins for first place.
Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson were living up to their prospect hype. Eduardo Rodriguez had the second-best ERA in the American League. The back-end of the bullpen was dominant. For one fleeting moment, this long-suffering fan base felt a glimmer of hope.
We should have known it would all come crashing down.
The week that followed couldn’t have gone much worse. Not only did the Tigers lose five of six games, they lost three in a row to those same White Sox -- twice on walk-offs. They scored three total runs during that three-game series in Chicago.
Meanwhile, the already-thin roster has been gutted by injuries.
The most irreplaceable player on the team, Rodriguez, appears to be headed for multiple months off the field with a finger injury. He was joined on the injured list days later by fellow starter Alex Faedo.
Greene, fresh off the best month of his MLB career, is also facing an extended absence. It’s not just a crushing blow to this year’s team, but another hiccup in his overall development, reminiscent of last year’s broken foot.
Matt Vierling is also on the shelf, and though it’s not expected to be as long of an absence, the timing couldn’t be worse. The outfield is now without its two most consistent all-around contributors.
These injuries wouldn’t be nearly as devastating if the Tigers weren’t already playing without so many key pieces. Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Matt Manning, and Spencer Turnbull were supposed to be MLB fixtures by now, but none even have a firm timetable for returning to the mound.
Austin Meadows is on the 60-day injured list due to anxiety, and Kerry Carpenter, a rare power source in the Detroit lineup, has been out for more than a month.
Detroit took advantage of a May against weak competition to claw within one game of .500, but squandered all that hard work in just one week against the Rangers and White Sox. Now, a grueling June looms, with 17 of the next 23 games coming against first-place teams.
Rodriguez is no longer much of a trade chip because of his injury and contract opt-out. Javier Baez has fallen off a cliff once again after finally providing a few weeks of solid production. Miguel Cabrera, Jonathan Schoop, and Nick Maton have legitimately been three of the worst hitters in baseball.
Throughout this rebuild, the Tigers have had some surprising early season surges. But they all eventually gave way to long losing streaks and disappointing summers. Is that what’s in store for Detroit once again?
We’ll know soon, as the Tigers head into a tough month without many of their best players.
Either way, at least we can always remember May 28. When the team almost got back to even.