The Detroit Tigers placed right-hander Jack Flaherty on the 15-day injured list on Saturday because of a strain of the peroneal tendons along the outside of his left ankle and foot.
The Tigers lost the starting pitcher’s services just as ace Tarik Skubal, who had left elbow surgery, was activated from the 15-day IL and made his first start since April 29 in a 3-1 loss to host Cleveland Guardians.
Flaherty, 30, last pitched on Friday, allowing two runs on three hits in three innings against the Guardians before exiting because of the left leg injury.
He had fallen on the mound while facing Chase DeLauter in the first inning — Flaherty’s left cleat appearing to slip on his follow-through.
“Kind of tightened up between the first and second,” Flaherty said Saturday. “Didn’t feel great. When I went over to cover first, it tightened up on me even more. … I wasn’t finishing the same way after the first. My mechanics weren’t the same. There was a lot of discomfort.”
Flaherty changed his cleats for the third inning, when he lunged for a comebacker to retire Kyle Manzardo for the final out of the inning as Detroit went on to lose 3-2.
“He slipped on the mound. We all saw that,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “And then he was able to recover and tolerate it. He talked a little bit about it in the second inning, and then the (comebacker in the third) really irritated him. We’re going to get tests and get him worked up and looked at and all that.”
Flaherty is 1-8 this season, tied for the major league lead with eight defeats and 15 starts. He has a 5.35 ERA with 34 walks and 78 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings.
For his career, Flaherty is 64-64 with a 3.89 ERA, 385 walks and 1,208 strikeouts in 1,056 1/3 innings in 205 regular-season games (199 starts) for the St. Louis Cardinals (2017-23), Baltimore Orioles (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2024) and Detroit Tigers (2024, 2025-present). He is also 2-6 with a 5.05 ERA in 13 playoff games (11 starts).
In other moves on Saturday, the Tigers optioned right-hander Ty Madden to Triple-A Toledo and recalled infielder Hao-Yu Lee from Toledo.
Madden, 26, was 0-0 with a 3.15 ERA, five walks and 23 strikeouts in 20 innings over seven games (one start) this season for Detroit.
Lee, 23, is batting .212 (18-for-85) with two home runs and nine RBIs in 33 games this season with the Tigers.
Starting right-handed pitcher Casey Mize (adductor) is expected to come off the 15-day IL and start Sunday against Cleveland, Hinch said on Friday.
