Sawyer

Gipson-Long

Gipson-Long suffered an oblique injury at the end of spring training and was working his way back from that when he was pulled from a Triple-A start on May 2nd with “discomfort.” He was then shut down for almost a month, but there has still not been any report about what he was dealing with. On Thursday, he allowed just three baserunners in five innings, walking two and allowing one hit, while striking out five. He threw 42 of his 75 pitches for strikes, so there remains some rust to shake off, but the Tigers are also getting Tarik Skubal and Justin Verlander back, so Gipson-Long figures to remain at Triple-A for the forseeable future.

As of now, we don’t yet know what injury Gipson-Long is dealing with, but he was removed from his start on Friday and is now sidelined indefinitely. With both Casey Mize (adductor) and Tarik Skubal (elbow) on the IL, Gipson-Long would have been the next man up, but this Tigers rotation is in a brutal spot with injuries right now.

Gipson-Long will be shut down, according to manager A.J. Hinch. The 28-year-old could be an option for Detroit at some point in 2026, but obviously he’ll need to get healthy before that can take place.

No word yet regarding how much time Mize will miss after undergoing an MRI that revealed an adductor strain. The 28-year-old was lifted from Tuesday’s start against the Braves with groin tightness after just 2 1/3 innings. He holds a strong 2.90 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 35/11 K/BB ratio across 31 innings this season. It’ll likely be Sawyer Gipson-Long taking his spot in Detroit’s rotation since Justin Verlander (hip) isn’t close to returning from the injured list.

Mize is likely to undergo further evaluation and imaging to determine whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list. The 28-year-old righty left Tuesday’s start with a trainer in the third inning after allowing two runs over 2 1/3 frames. It would likely be Sawyer Gipson-Long taking his rotation spot, but that’s purely speculative at this point. There should be some clarity on his status in the coming days.

Gipson-Long will remain stationed at Triple-A Toledo as organizational depth after concluding a rehab assignment. The 28-year-old hit the shelf with an oblique injury at the end of spring training. He holds a pedestrian 5.44 ERA across 51 1/3 innings over 12 appearances for the Tigers since 2023.

Gipson-Long was placed on the 15-day IL a few weeks ago and seems to be progressing well. Assuming there are no setbacks, he figures to rejoin the Tigers in late April at the latest.

Long will get some additional time to ramp up after suffering an oblique injury in the early stages of spring training. He’ll be an option for the Tigers as a swingman or long reliever at some point soon.

Gipson-Long, who ended last year on the injured list with a neck injury, has been delayed to start spring training with an oblique injury. His return to the mound on Friday is a good first step. With Troy Melton (elbow) sidelined and Reese Olson out for the season, Gipson-Long’s health could be important for the Tigers early in the season.

The 27-year-old suffered the injury during Thursday’s disastrous outing against the Yankees. Probably from whipping his neck around too quickly to watch all of the hard-hit balls off the Yankees’ bats against him. No word on how long he’ll be shelved for. José Urquidy was activated from the 60-day injured list to take his place on the Tigers’ active roster.