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The possibility of Tarik Skubal getting traded has loomed over the Tigers all season. But another key Detroit starter and impending free agent, Casey Mize, also could swap out uniforms if the Tigers choose to sell before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Mize could be making his last appearance with the club when the Tigers host the Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old right-hander has battled groin tightness at various times this season, but when he\u2019s been on the mound, he has delivered quality innings. Mize (4-6, 2.79 ERA) has allowed two or fewer runs in 11 of his 15 starts.<\/p>\n
Mize had his latest start, his first after the All-Star break, cut short when a comebacker from Los Angeles Angels\u2019 Jo Adell struck his left wrist. He exited after 3 1\/3 innings but didn\u2019t have any lingering effects from the injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m good,\u201d Mize said, according to the Detroit News. \u201cI (am) looking forward to Saturday. We\u2019ve been checking all the boxes that we need to and I\u2019m feeling good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mize, who gave up one run and five hits and a walk with five strikeouts in Anaheim, Calif., is not dwelling on the trade speculation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere we are as a team makes that more simple (to deal with),\u201d Mize said. \u201cThere are so many unknowns. We\u2019re in a 10-game sprint right now, and it takes tons of focus on what we\u2019re doing here and now, day to day. That\u2019s kind of how I\u2019ve always played, so that makes it pretty easy to focus on that instead of the other stuff. I\u2019m just leaning on that and really caring about what we\u2019re doing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mize hasn\u2019t faced the Royals this season, but he has made more career starts against them than any other club. He is 3-2 with a 4.97 ERA in 13 starts vs. Kansas City. Royals catcher Salvador Perez has a .424 average with five extra-base hits against him in 33 at-bats.<\/p>\n
Michael Wacha (5-7, 3.66) will start for the Royals. Wacha was sharp in his first start after his All-Star appearance, holding San Francisco to one run and three hits in six innings on Monday.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old right-hander had one of his best outings of the season against the Tigers on May 9, tossing seven scoreless innings. He only allowed two hits and two walks while striking out six.<\/p>\n
In 11 career starts against Detroit, he is 3-3 with a 2.95 ERA.<\/p>\n
Like Mize, Wacha is a potential trade candidate, as is another veteran Royals starter, Seth Lugo. Wacha is signed through next season with a club option for 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be open-minded to anything,\u201d Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. \u201cBut we have to be very, very pointed on what we want to get out of any one of those two. And it\u2019s also, they made a commitment to us, and that\u2019s big. And I think that\u2019s important to the morale of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tigers have won three straight, including the first two games of the current four-game series. Skubal struck out 12 in 7 1\/3 innings of one-run ball during the Tigers\u2019 2-1 victory on Friday.<\/p>\n
Kansas City had won three straight prior to visiting Detroit, while the Tigers have won three in a row.<\/p>\n
\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n