Detroit Tigers cut ties with Daniel Schlereth – MLB Update
Daniel Schlereth, who was once considered a potential relief pitcher, was told Friday by the Detroit Tigers that he will not be offered a contract in 2013. The 26-year-old was a first round draft pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009 but the Tigers think
he did not pitch well enough to earn a place on their big league roster.
There are several reasons why the Tigers would have wanted to cut ties with the relief pitcher. Owner Mike Ilitch is reaping rewards for working with one of the most influential and powerful baseball agents in history of the game, Scott Boras.
Tigers have some of the finest hitting and pitching talent on their roster. The starting rotation, in particular, has been labelled as the best in the American League. Ace Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello all had a great time
on the mound last season. Except for Jose Valverde, every relief pitcher lived up to the expectations in 2012, explaining why the Tigers did not offer a contract to Schlereth, who missed most 2012 recovering from a shoulder injury.
"It's too bad, because I love Detroit and I love the guys on the team," Schlereth said during a Friday phone conversation from his Colorado home, "but they probably felt I wasn't healthy enough to pitch or to be as effective as the other guys they have coming
in.”
"I understand their decision. I'm a little upset, because I really liked playing there. I'm gonna miss it, for sure. But it's a new chapter," he further added.
Overall, Schlereth was 4-2 with a decent 3.98 ERA in 73 games in his three year tenure in Detroit. He also had some excellent stretches along the way. He pitched ten scoreless games in the 2011 season but declined from there on.
After making an awful start to the 2012 season, he was sent to Triple A Toledo, where he spent most of the season on the Disabled List. The doctors decided against injury, forcing him out of the game for a considerable amount of time. Schlereth returned
to make three more appearances in August 2012 and two of them did not go well.
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