Right-hander Tyler Owens has re-signed with the Tigers on a minor league deal, reports Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group. Detroit recently released Owens but the two sides have quickly reunited.
Owens, 24, was designated for assignment a week ago when the Tigers acquired Rafael Montero. At the time he was designated for assignment, Owens was on the minor league injured list due to a hip injury. Teams aren’t allowed to place injured players on outright waivers. Once Owens was in DFA limbo, the club had to either trade him or release him.
They eventually went with the latter option. Owens had a few days to field interest from all 30 clubs but decided to return to the Tigers on a new pact, a fairly common sequence of events in situations like this. He gets to stay in a familiar place while the Tigers get to keep the player without him taking up a roster spot.
Owens had a limited major league track record. He made his big league debut earlier this year by pitching three innings for Detroit, allowing one earned run. His recent minor league numbers have been solid. From the start of 2023 to the present, he has tossed 147 1/3 innings on the farm with a 3.73 earned run average, 23.1% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and grounders on about half the balls in play he allowed.
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images
