Should Detroit Tigers call up MLB’s No. 2 prospect Kevin McGonigle?
On “Days of Roar,” Evan Petzold invites Chris Brown of “Tigers Minor League Report” to debate when the Tigers should call up their No. 1 prospect.
Detroit Tigers left-handed reliever Drew Sommers has been called up from Triple-A Toledo.
The corresponding moves?
To add Sommers, the Tigers optioned right-handed reliever Alex Lange to Triple-A Toledo to open a spot on the 26-man roster and designated for assignment utility player Ryan Kreidler to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
“Drew has been on the radar now for a while,” manager A.J. Hinch said Friday, Aug. 22, before the opener of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. “The stuff has been real. The performance has been good. We’re excited about him. He can help us win.”
The notable news: Tommy Kahnle — a struggling right-handed reliever who signed a one-year, $7.75 million contract in free agency — remains in the bullpen, despite not pitching in the past five games. The 36-year-old has a 5.10 ERA over 47⅔ innings in 50 games, including 22 runs in his last 14⅓ innings.
Kahnle hasn’t pitched since Aug. 15 for a five-game absence over six days, even though the Tigers could’ve forced him into three blowouts in the last four games: an 8-1 loss, a 10-0 win and a 7-2 win.
Hinch explained.
“Maybe the last inning of the last game, I chose (Rafael) Montero over Kahnle,” Hinch said, “but generally, we didn’t really have any innings available in the last series, and we had the off day, so it looks worse on paper than it really is. In the meantime, he has been working on somethings, but that’s not why he’s been out of the game. It’s just been the way we had the game situated.”
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Lange, 29, pitched one game for the Tigers.
He returned to the Tigers from the injured list after a 14-month recovery process after undergoing right lat surgery. In his return, he tossed a scoreless ninth inning on two hits, one walk and one strikeout in a 10-0 win over the Houston Astros on Monday, Aug. 18, at Comerica Park.
“He is definitely still in this mix,” Hinch said. “He is still all the things that we talked about before, where he’s trending up, the stuff has gotten better.”
Lange will be wearing a Mud Hens uniform when he makes his next appearance.
He won’t be eligible to return to the Tigers until Sept. 6 because pitchers who are optioned must stay in the minor leagues for at least 15 days.
“We want him to go continue to work on his usage and being able to throw a strike when he wants to throw a strike,” Hinch said. “He’ll tackle that because of the way he is. He is not forgotten. He’s just not on the team right now.”
As for Sommers, the Tigers called him up and put him in their bullpen for matchup reasons, joining Tyler Holton as the only lefties among their eight relievers. The Tigers play the next three series against teams with plenty of left-handed hitters, facing the Royals twice and the Athletics once.
Both the Royals and Athletics have five left-handed hitters among their 13 position players.
“We needed a second lefty,” Hinch said.
“He can be really tough, especially on lefties,” Hinch continued. “I’m excited to get him in the mix and balance out our bullpen. We weren’t going to go very long with one lefty. It turned out to be only one series. It’s important that we get more balance.”
In 2025, Sommers registered a 2.53 ERA with 16 walks and 63 strikeouts across 57 innings in 42 games between Double-A Erie (15 games) and Triple-A Toledo (27 games). For the Mud Hens, he posted a 3.31 ERA with 14 walks (10.1% walk rate) and 41 strikeouts (29.7% strikeout rate) over 32â…” innings.
His sinker induces ground balls, and his slider generates whiffs.
“Unique physical presence,” Hinch said. “The stuff coming out of his hand, it’s mid-90s, it’s movement, the sweeper is really good. Big, physical body, so it’s hard to see, and the first time you see him, it’s tough. I’m excited to get him in the game.”
Parker Meadows ahead of Matt Vierling, but not ready for rehab assignment
Outfielders Parker Meadows (right quad strain) and Matt Vierling (left oblique strain) have been ramping up their return-to-play activities, but they’re not ready for rehab assignments with Triple-A Toledo.
“There’s talk of it,” Hinch said, “but nothing that we can really share yet because they haven’t been fully tested.”
Meadows, 25, is completing his running progression; Vierling, 28, is completing his hitting progression. Of the two, Meadows is ahead of Vierling in the rehab process.
“We’re still not cleared full-speed running yet,” Hinch said of Meadows, “and it’s hard to put Parker on the field until he can go and chase down a fly ball in the gap and leg out a double or a triple and use his legs. As a speed athlete, he really needs to be able to let it loose and not have any fear. We’re getting there.”
Meadows hasn’t played for the Tigers since June 27, while Vierling has been sidelined since Aug. 9. It’s unclear when they’ll begin rehab assignments.
“I hope it’s sooner rather than later,” Hinch said of Meadows. “He hopes it’s sooner rather than later.”
Paul Sewald: First bullpen session
The Tigers acquired right-handed reliever Paul Sewald from the Cleveland Guardians at the July 31 trade deadline, but he has been on the injured list since July 12.
The 35-year-old is scheduled to throw his first bullpen session Saturday, Aug. 23, at Comerica Park — a significant step forward in his rehab process.
Sewald isn’t eligible to return from the injured list until Sept. 10 because the Tigers put him on the 60-day injured list after acquiring him from the Guardians.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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