Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize is ready for the next challenge in his rehab program.
The 2018 No. 1 overall pick, who underwent elbow surgery and back surgery during the 2022 season, is scheduled to face live hitters for the first time Saturday at Comerica Park. His pitch count will reflect a one-inning workload.
“That’ll be good for him,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Friday. “I know he’s been waiting to do that for a while now. We’re finally lifting the reins a little bit, and he’ll get to see a hitter. It’s not a ton different than the bullpens other than the intent with the hitter in there. It’ll be short, but it’s the next step for him. He’s certainly earned it with the work he’s put in.”
Hinch appeared on MLB Network before Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to discuss the Tigers’ success in August. He mentioned Mize “is about to go out on a rehab assignment here in the not-too-distant future.”
Mize needs to complete at least a few live batting practice sessions before beginning a rehab assignment. His return to the Tigers, at least in the 2023 regular season, appears unlikely because there are only 35 games remaining.
Hinch praised Mize for sticking to the schedule of his rehab program.
“I think it’s hard to be patient,” Hinch said. “Guys want to get out here and do some things. They see guys that are competing. They see innings available. It’s hard to stay disciplined for an entire season. We’ve asked Casey to do that coming off two injuries. He’s been really diligent in his work. He’s been super open with us. He’s had the standard bumps in the road that you would normally have as you ramp things up. But this is the next step for him. It’s the next challenge.”
Mize has a 4.29 ERA with 56 walks and 148 strikeouts over 188⅔ innings in his 39-start career, spanning parts of three MLB seasons. The former top prospect posted a 3.71 ERA across 150⅓ innings in 30 starts in 2021, but suffered an elbow injury after two starts in 2022.
He underwent Tommy John surgery June 15, 2022.
“Casey is going to be fired up,” Hinch said. “We’re probably going to see the best version of him to date once he gets on a game mound and we put a hitter there with a bat in his hand. I don’t even know if the hitter is going to swing. But it’s the next step for him. He’s going to do a few of these before we do anything else.”
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Javier Báez returns
Shortstop Javier Báez returned to the Tigers for Friday’s series opener against the Astros after missing two games because of an illness. He also used Thursday’s off day to rest and recover.
The Tigers put Báez in the No. 8 spot in the batting order for Friday’s game.
“We’ve had that sickness go around our entire clubhouse and through our coaches,” Hinch said. “But he’s feeling fine. We texted about it yesterday. I think he could have played the day before the day off, but I chose not to do that. He’ll be ready to go.”
The 30-year-old is batting eighth for the 90th time in his 1,119-game career over parts of 10 seasons. He hasn’t been that low in the batting order since June 20, 2018, with the Chicago Cubs. After that game, Báez hit .313 with 20 of his 34 home runs in his final 92 games that season.
Báez is hitting .223 this season with eight home runs across 113 games.
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Max Clark to Low-A Lakeland
The Tigers promoted outfielder Max Clark, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft, from the Florida Complex League to Low-A Lakeland for the remainder of the season. The 18-year-old played 12 games in the Florida Complex League and hit .283 with two home runs, nine walks and 10 strikeouts.
The first home run of his professional career — a walk-off three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Keiner Leon — occurred Aug. 8 to complete an Aug. 1 game, the second game of his career, that was suspended for a week due to lightning.
Clark logged a .411 on-base percentage and .954 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in the Florida Complex League. He finished 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the eighth inning and two strikeouts Thursday in his Lakeland debut.
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The Tigers promoted five other position players from the Florida Complex League to Lakeland: catcher Josue Briceño, outfielder Brett Callahan, infielder Clayton Campbell, shortstop Kevin McGonigle and shortstop John Peck.
Briceño, an 18-year-old whom the Tigers signed out of Venezuela in January 2022, hit .325 with seven home runs, 23 walks and 28 strikeouts over 44 games in the Florida Complex League.
Storm brings back whales
The whale mural on Broderick Tower, which can be seen from most of the seats in Comerica Park, is fully visible for the first time since November 2021 after damage from Thursday night’s storm in Detroit.
The storm split the smiles mural, an advertisement, down the middle. The smiles mural, printed on vinyl and installed by Rocket Companies, has covered the whale mural since Nov. 16, 2021.
Robert Wyland, a Madison Heights native, painted the whales in 1997.
Phillip Simpson, a Detroit native, painted the smiles mural in 2021.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.