Rogers to DL, Tata Recalled

According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Free Press, Kenny Rogers was placed on the disabled list today with left elbow inflammation. Rogers originally came back strong from surgery for a blood clot that caused him to miss most of the first half of the season. In his first three starts, he allowed just 2 earned runs in in 17 1/3 innings. However, he allowed 17 runs over 15 innings in his last 3 starts and did not have his usual good control. Also, Billfer used enhanced game day charts to show that Rogers did not have as much movement on his pitches in his last start as he did in one of his earlier good starts. I mentioned after his last start that he did not seem to be a full strength and apparently that was the case. Overall, he had a 5.32 ERA in his 6 starts.

Jordan Tata was recalled from Toledo to take his place on the roster and will get his first Major League start on Monday night at Oakland. After missing several weeks at the beginning of the season with a sore shoulder, the 25 year old right-hander posted a 3.29 ERA in 11 starts and had a 30/19 K/BB ratio in 63 innings pitched. Tata had a 6.14 ERA in 14 2/3 innings for the Tigers last year after jumping from A ball to the opening day Major League roster.

Tata was ranked by Baseball America as the 5th best Tigers prospect at the beginning of the year. He has a low 90s fastball, a good knuckle curve and a change-up. He does not have dominating stuff as evidenced by his low K/IP ratio this year so he needs to have good control.

As for Rogers, it sounds as if he will return this year but I'm not counting on him being a major contributor down the stretch. With their bullpen already paper thin, the injury to Rogers and the struggles of Nate Robertson are now creating concerns about the starting staff for the rest of the season. At 42 years old and his contract up after the season, the left-hander's future is also in doubt.