The sidearmer joins a taxed bullpen in need of some backup.
With the Detroit Tigers dealing with a taxed bullpen, they made a move for some reinforcements on Tuesday afternoon. Starting pitcher Keider Montero, who spelled the rotation as the sixth man the last two turns through, has been optioned back to Triple-A Toledo. In his place, the Tigers have called up right-handed reliever Chase Lee.
The Tigers acquired the sidearming 26-year-old in a deadline trade last July with the Texas Rangers . He was originally drafted by the Rangers back in the 2021 amateur draft as their sixth round selection. The Tigers added him to the 40-man roster and protected him from December’s Rule 5 draft, and Lee acquitted himself decently in spring training other than one outing where he surrendered a flurry of home runs.
Unlike most low velocity side arm pitchers, Lee has posted pretty even splits in his minor league career. The Tigers will probably task him mainly with right-handed hitters, but he is reasonably versatile.
Against right-handers, Lee will use more sinkers to go with his fourseam fastball and sweeper. Lefties see a heavier dose of the fourseamer as he looks to jam them in on their hands, and then run the sinker away. The sweeper, checking in at 80 mph, is actually a pitch Lee uses to steal strikes and get weak contact against. He’ll collect some whiffs with it, but his 90 mph fourseamer is actually his best whiff generator this season. The deception in his delivery and the movement from that angle helps it play up, and Lee has continued to command it more effectively since coming over in the trade.
The strikeouts have remained plentiful for Lee at the Triple-A level. He holds a 30.2 percent strikeout rate that is basically the same average as last season at that level. He generally keeps the walks under control, and home runs have rarely been a big problem for him. He’ll give up less than one homer per nine innings, and shouldn’t take much more damage than that at the major league level unless his command fails him.
Lee has an ERA of 6.75 for the Mud Hens so far this year, but that’s all BABIP driven. His strikeout, walk, and home run rates all say he should be an effective reliever, if perhaps not yet a real high leverage option for A.J. Hinch.
The Tigers certainly need the help. With Beau Brieske and John Brebbia hitting the injured list in the past week, their best relievers, Tyler Holton, Tommy Kahnle, and Will Vest, have been a little taxed in the midst of a long stretch of games with minimal off days. Jason Foley got hurt right as he was likely to be recalled. Brenan Hanifee and Brant Hurter have stepped up to handle more of the load, but Kenta Maeda remains pretty unusable in any close game. Lee should be a little more effective, at least. Meanwhile, most of their potential relief options at the Triple-A level are injured.
As for Montero, he continues to showcase good stuff but not enough command of it. He’s still young and showed enough last year to think he’ll continue to improve, but right now it isn’t the rotation that needs help. Still, getting a pair of starts from Montero may pay dividends over the long haul by getting the five regular starters two extra rest days early in the season when most major pitcher injuries tend to occur. It’s also nice to know they have him, and potentially Alex Cobb, as depth options.
The pitching remains in good shape overall, but the Tigers will have to hope that the injury to Brebbia is minor. Brieske’s minor ankle injury should resolve pretty quickly with rest, and in the meantime, Chase Lee will look to make his big league debut and try to establish himself enough to hold down a roster spot for the long haul.