Detroit Tigers’ Matt Vierling explains why he drives 2012 Ford Escape
Detroit Tigers player Matt Vierling reveals on the “Days of Roar” podcast that he drives a 2012 Ford Escape — and why he won’t buy a new car.
Detroit Tigers outfielder/third baseman Matt Vierling is slowly returning from a right shoulder injury.Vierling is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo, focusing on mirroring his major league role.While his hitting has been positive, the Tigers are carefully monitoring his defense and throwing ability before activating him.
The Detroit Tigers won’t rush outfielder/third baseman Matt Vierling in his return from a right shoulder injury.
The 28-year-old has already played four games on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo, which began May 4. While he might not return to the Tigers until May 19 at the earliest, he must be activated by May 24 at the latest.
“Just slowly but effectively mirror what he’s going to do when he comes back here,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said May 11, providing an update on the plan for Vierling’s rehab assignment. “We’ll gather information along the way and decide how long he needs to do that in order to be ready to come back.”
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Vierling is scheduled to play right field for Toledo on May 11, ahead of the Mud Hens’ off day on May 12. He will play back-to-back outfield games on May 13-14, including center field, then he is expected to play one more game at designated hitter around May 15. From there, Vierling will split time between third base and outfield, possibly from May 16-18, to mirror the multi-positional role he fills with the Tigers.
The Mud Hens’ next off day is May 19.
To this point, Vierling spent his first four rehab games as the designated hitter — hitting .300 (3-for-10) with two home runs, five walks and four strikeouts in 15 plate appearances.
“Obviously, he’s swinging the bat pretty well,” Hinch said. “The at-bats, recognizing pitches, the spring training-type workload from a hitting standpoint, he’s doing really, really well. Now we need to watch the defense.”
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Vierling — diagnosed with a strained rotator cuff muscle in his right shoulder — has been sidelined since Feb. 24 after appearing in just one spring training game. The injury occurred Feb. 17 during the first day of full-squad workout in camp.
The Tigers need to ensure Vierling is fully ready to throw from both the outfield at third base.
So far, his progression is positive.
“His throwing has been good,” Hinch said.
Still, the Tigers won’t rush Vierling (or his right shoulder) back into action at the MLB level until they’re confident he’s completely ready for throws from all angles.
Sawyer Gipson-Long update
Right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long is making his comeback from a labral repair in his left hip and an ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in his right elbow.
The 27-year-old completed his first start May 8 in a rehab assignment with Low-A Lakeland, throwing 1⅓ scoreless innings with two strikeouts. He tossed 21 of 31 pitches for strikes.
“It’s nice that we got him on the mound,” Hinch said.
Gipson-Long had a 2.70 ERA in four starts for the Tigers at the end of the 2023 season. When healthy, his changeup is an elite pitch. He underwent Tommy John surgery on April 2024, then he underwent hip surgery in July 2024.
“We’ll gradually build him up,” Hinch said. “He’ll change levels. We’ll start to increase intensity, to go along with improved experience of play when you move up the minor leagues and continue to build his pitch count. We expect him to have that start build-up like we do in the spring, and as long as he continues to recover well and bounce back, he’ll be on a pretty regimented program.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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