{"id":845438,"date":"2026-11-04T11:39:35","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T11:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/845438\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T11:39:35","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T11:39:35","slug":"detroit-tigers-rj-petit-returned-by-colorado-rockies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/845438\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Tigers RJ Petit Returned by Colorado Rockies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Tigers are getting a familiar pitcher back, and this move won\u2019t cost them a spot on their crowded 40-man roster.<\/p>\n

Right-handed pitcher RJ Petit is returning to Detroit\u2019s organization from the Colorado Rockies, who announced the move Tuesday<\/a>, less than a year after they selected him in the Rule 5 Draft.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-8 reliever is returning as a non-40-man roster player after missing the entire 2026 season following Tommy John surgery in March.<\/p>\n

For president of baseball operations Scott Harris, it\u2019s an opportunity to regain an intriguing arm without making another difficult roster decision.<\/p>\n

\"DetroitDetroit Tigers right handed pitching prospect RJ Petit throws during minor-league minicamp Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, at TigerTown in Lakeland, Florida.<\/p>\n

Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect (Reuters)<\/p>\n

RJ Petit Returns to Detroit Tigers Organization<\/p>\n

Petit was selected by Colorado with the first overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10, 2025, after Detroit left him unprotected, as Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The former 14th-round selection had put together an impressive 2025 campaign in the Tigers\u2019 minor league system, posting a 10-2 record with a 2.44 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 66\u2153 innings<\/a> between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo.<\/p>\n

His performance made him an attractive target for Colorado, which hoped to add his powerful fastball and developing slider to its bullpen.<\/p>\n

\"\"Related coverageMinor League System Check-In: Tigers prospect named Minor Leaguer of the Week, one prospect finally gets the callRead more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

However, Petit\u2019s opportunity with the Rockies was derailed before the regular season began.<\/p>\n

The right-hander suffered an elbow injury during spring training and underwent Tommy John surgery in March<\/a>, ending his season before he could make his Major League debut.<\/p>\n

Colorado subsequently reported that Petit resumed throwing in August<\/a>, with his recovery targeting a potential return in 2027.<\/p>\n

Now, his next opportunity will come back with the organization that originally drafted him.<\/p>\n

Tigers Add Pitching Depth Without Using 40-Man Spot<\/p>\n

The timing is particularly interesting considering Detroit\u2019s recent roster moves.<\/p>\n

As we reported following Monday\u2019s major roster shakeup<\/a>, Harris removed four players from the 40-man roster while addressing the club\u2019s offseason roster crunch.<\/p>\n

The Tigers<\/a> also entered the week facing several important roster deadlines<\/a>, including the November 17 deadline to protect eligible prospects from the Rule 5 Draft.<\/p>\n

Bringing Petit back without placing him on the 40-man roster gives Detroit another pitching prospect to develop without sacrificing an immediate roster spot.<\/p>\n

Of course, Petit still faces a lengthy recovery following surgery, and there is no guarantee he will contribute at the Major League level in 2027.<\/p>\n

But considering his impressive 2025 minor league numbers and the fact that Colorado thought enough of him to make him the first selection in the Rule 5 Draft, this is a worthwhile addition for Detroit.<\/p>\n

The Tigers lost RJ Petit last winter. Now, they\u2019re getting another chance to see what he can become.<\/p>\n

About the author<\/p>\n

Richard Knight<\/p>\n

DSN Staff Writer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Detroit Tigers are getting a familiar pitcher back, and this move won\u2019t cost them a spot on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2405],"tags":[5,167,52,4316,4,63655,168,3195],"class_list":["post-845438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-colorado-rockies","tag-baseball","tag-colorado","tag-colorado-rockies","tag-coloradorockies","tag-mlb","tag-rj-petit","tag-rockies","tag-scott-harris"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}