Minneapolis — This move was coming.
Brant Hurter could sense it and manager AJ Hinch hinted at it before the game on Saturday.
“He’s been searching,” Hinch said. “His rhythm, his tempo, his feel. He’s done a little bit of extra mound work between outings. He’s dug in with our pitching group to try to find his cues. … We’re all aware it’s not been consistent.
“When he is consistent, he’s really tough to hit. When he’s not, there are stressful innings, even if they are scoreless innings.”
Sunday, on the day right-hander Brenan Hanifee was eligible to be recalled from his option to Triple-A Toledo, Hurter was optioned back.
The move also coincides with the Tigers opening a series against the Houston Astros on Monday, a predominantly right-handed offensive team.
“We need to get Brant Hurter sync’d up,” Hinch said. “Baseball is weird. Even though he wasn’t giving up a ton of runs, he wasn’t executing the way we need him to and the way he wants to.”
Case in point: He’s covered 14.2 innings in his last nine outings without allowing an earned run. But, in that span, he walked eight batters and hit four.
“When I talked to him last night, he fully understood,” Hinch said. “He’s got to get right and sync’d up. His misses were big. The walks and hit-batters to lefties were starting to increase and that’s his specialty, dominating left-handed hitters.
“We’re going to give him a reset and hope he can get himself synced up so he can come back and help us.”
Walking into the clubhouse Sunday morning, Hanifee was sound asleep on a couch with towels over his head. It had been a long night. The Mud Hens game in Toledo was delayed an hour because of rain.
He got the call during the ninth inning, which was after 11 p.m. By the time he got himself together and drove back to Detroit, it was 1 a.m. and he had a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call to catch a flight to Minneapolis.
“Tough night, but that’s the call you want,” he said.
Hanifee was a victim of his own optionality. His demotion to Toledo on Aug. 2 was not performance-based. It was roster-based. The club had added veterans Rafael Montero and Charlie Morton and Hanifee was one of the few pitchers with minor league options.
“It is what it is,” he said. “Just part of the game. When there is roster flexibility, they are going to use it any way they can. It’s just one of those things you have to deal with. You move on and come back ready to go.”
Hanifee has been a trusted presence for Hinch since last August. His ability to control right-handed hitters and his 53.6% ground-ball rate has been an important element of the bullpen construction.
Before getting nicked for an unearned run and a loss in Philadelphia on Aug. 1, he’d had a nine-game stretch (10.2 innings) where he didn’t allow an earned run.
“He wasn’t sent down for a specific focus,” Hinch said. “It was need-based and there were a lot of moving parts at the time he was sent down. He had a few outings down there and he’s done fine. He’s having a good season. It wasn’t an option that involved a ton of developmental focus.
“We were counting the days to getting him back.”
The Tigers certainly will continue to cycle pitchers, series by series, based on matchup needs. The depth, in this case, is a weapon.
“Our guys are on board,” Hinch said. “We’re expanding the pitching staff. This has happened a few times. If the guys focus on what they can control, they’re going to be really good and Hanifee is a perfect example of that.”
For both Hanifee and Hurter, the expectation is for them to be major pieces of the bullpen going down the stretch and into the playoffs. As Hinch said, the best version of the Tigers’ bullpen has both in it.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky