The Tigers have placed right-hander Will Vest on the 15-day injured list due to right lateral forearm inflammation. Righty Ricky Vanasco‘s contract was selected from Triple-A Toledo in the corresponding move, and right-hander Yoniel Curet was designated for assignment to create space for Vanasco on the Tigers’ 40-man roster.
Vest last pitched on April 26, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including the Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold) that “there were times in the last three or four days that we thought we were going to get a breakthrough and have him available. [But], he continues to report the same soreness despite our efforts to get him back on the field.” Tests haven’t revealed any structural issues with Vest’s forearm, so the reliever may just be playing the waiting game until the inflammation subsides.
It would seem like Vest probably tried to work through or wait out the soreness, but without enough improvement to ensure a quick return to the mound, the decision was made to let Vest fully heal up with a proper IL trip. More details on the specifics of Vest’s forearm issue should come from Hinch today when the skipper meets with the media.
Vest has been a key part of the Tigers’ “pitching chaos” approach to relief pitching since 2022, and saved 23 saves as the team’s closer in 2025. While he has an uncharacteristic 6.17 ERA over 11 2/3 innings this season, Vest’s SIERA is a much more respectable 3.30 and his Statcast numbers are largely above average.
The only real red flag is an 11.5% walk rate that is much worse than Vest’s 7.8% career average. Vest’s .313 BABIP isn’t overtly high, yet it carries extra weight since Vest is generating grounders at a whopping 66.7% rate, so even a bit of bad batted-ball luck is having an impact.
On top of Vest’s absence, the Tigers also noted that Kenley Jansen is day-to-day due to a problem with his right groin/abdominal area. Jansen has been tagged for two runs in each of his last two outings, rocketing his ERA from 1.35 up to 6.14. The closer hasn’t pitched since Wednesday, and it may be that Detroit will have to put Jansen on the IL as well to keep the team from being too short-handed in the bullpen.
Kyle Finnegan looks to now be the Tigers’ top high-leverage arm almost by default, depending on how long Jansen is sidelined. Finnegan and Brant Hurter have both posted strong ERAs this season but with shaky secondary metrics, in an inverse of Vest’s situation. With the starting rotation also hit even harder by injuries, Vest is the ninth pitcher on 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 outings this season. The length is only one aspect of a video game-esque set of results in Toledo, as Vanasco has a spotless 0.00 ERA over 15 innings, a 6.8% walk rate, and a 47.5% strikeout rate (whiffing 28 of 59 batters faced).
Inducing strikeouts has never been an issue for Vanasco, but he has battled control problems during his eight minor league seasons. Injuries have also been a frequent obstacle over Vanasco’s career, and his MLB resume consists of only four games and three innings with the Dodgers and Tigers during the 2024 season.
Curet is still waiting for his first taste of the majors after spending his first five pro seasons in the Rays’ farm system and the 2026 campaign at Toledo. In between, the Phillies acquired Curet from the Rays in a trade back in December, and Detroit claimed Curet off waivers in mid-April. Curet has pitched in only one game for Triple-A Toledo, and he was charged with one earned run on three walks over two-thirds of an inning on Thursday.
