The Tigers put the right hand The Will Vest on the 15-day injured list due to right arm inflammation. That’s right Ricky Vanasco‘s contract was optioned to Triple-A Toledo in the corresponding move, along with the right-hander Yoniel Curet designed to make room for Vanasco on the Tigers’ 40-man roster.
Vest was last suspended on April 26, with manager AJ Hinch telling reporters (including the Detroit Free Press’s Evan Petzold) that “there were times in the last three or four days when we thought we were going to get through and get him. [But]he continues to report the same despite our efforts to get him back on the field.” Testing hasn’t revealed any structural problems with Vest’s arm, so the reliever may be playing the waiting game until the swelling subsides.
It may seem like Vest maybe tried to fix or wait out the pain, but without enough improvement to ensure a quick return to the mound, the decision was made to let Vest fully recover with a proper IL trip. More details about the details of Vest’s arm problem should emerge from Hinch today when the captain meets the media.
Vest has been a key part of the Tigers’ “throwing chaos” approach to relief since 2022, and has 23 saves as the team approaches 2025. Although he has an extraordinary 6.17 ERA over 11 2/3 innings this season, Vest’s SIERA is more than Stadium’s respectable 3.30.
The only real red flag is an 11.5% walk rate that is worse than Vest’s 7.8% career average. Vest’s .313 BABIP isn’t overly high, however it carries more weight as Vest produces grounders at a whopping 66.7% rate, so even bad batted ball luck has an impact.
Despite Vest’s absence, the Tigers also noted that Kenley Jansen day by day because of a problem in his right hip/abdominal area. Jansen has been tagged with two runs in each of his last two outings, moving his ERA from 1.35 to 6.14. The closer hasn’t pitched since Wednesday, and it’s likely that Detroit will have to put Jansen on the IL again to keep the team from being too short in the bullpen.
Kyle Finnegan looks to now be the Tigers’ top arm almost automatically, depending on how long Jansen is sidelined. Finnegan again Brent Hurter both posted strong ERAs this season but with shaky secondary metrics, which is the opposite of Vest’s situation. With the starting rotation also heavily affected by injuries, Vest is the ninth pitcher in Detroit’s IL.
Vanasco can at least cover some innings, as the righty has gone longer than an inning in six of his 10 Triple-A games this season. Height is only one aspect of a video game-esque set of results for Toledo, as Vanasco has a flawless 0.00 ERA over 15 innings, a 6.8% walk rate, and a 47.5% strikeout rate (striking out 28 of the 59 batters he faced).
Attracting hits has never been a problem for Vanasco, but he has battled control issues during his eight minor league seasons. Injuries have also been a frequent hindrance to Vanasco’s career, and his MLB resume consists of just four games and three innings with the Dodgers and Tigers through the 2024 season.
Curet is still waiting for his first taste of the majors after spending his first five professional seasons in the Rays farm system and the 2026 campaign in Toledo. In between, the Phillies acquired Curet from the Rays in a trade back in December, and Detroit claimed Curet on waivers in mid-April. Curet has played just one game for Triple-A Toledo, and was charged with one earned run on three doubles in the third inning Thursday.
