The Detroit Tigers have been floundering a bit over the last month of baseball. After the All-Star break, the Tigers' lead in the AL Central has dropped to just 6.5 games over the Cleveland Guardians.
While things have been a bit better as of late, with back-to-back series wins over the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels, there's one player whose struggles have led to a few of the team's losses during their rough last month.
Evan Woodberry of MLive Media Group shared comments from Tigers manager A.J. Hinch on the struggles of Tommy Kahnle in recent weeks. Hinch's comments were scathing, and he didn't hold back in criticizing the veteran reliever.
"He doesn't get to pitch for free," Hinch said of Kahnle. "The situation is going to dictate whether the innings are there for him. We try to get him in as low-leverage or low-pressure situations as possible so he can work on things... But we've got to compete on the field. This is not practice."
A.J. Hinch on Tommy Kahnle's struggles:
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) August 13, 2025
"He doesn’t get to pitch for free. The situation is going to dictate whether the innings are there for him. We try to get him in as low-leverage or low-pressure situations as possible so he can work on things...But we’ve got to compete on…
It's a brutal string of comments from Hinch on Kahnle. The 36-year-old right-hander started off the year strong, but has cratered in recent outings. Through June, across 34 games, he had a 1.77 ERA, eight saves, 11 holds, and allowed four home runs while striking out 31 and walking nine.
His beginning of the year was great, but across the next 15 outings, he's been significantly worse. In less than half the outings he had to begin the year, he's allowed four home runs, walked 13, struck out just eight, and has an ERA of 16.36.
While the comments from Hinch are brutal for Kahnle, based on his performance, it's not unwarranted. Kahnle has been one of the worst relievers in baseball since the beginning of July, and his season ERA jumped up to 5.27 after such a brutal stretch.
There could be a reason behind his struggles this season: his usage. He's pitched 46.2 innings this season, which is the most he's pitched since 2019 with the New York Yankees.
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With a month and a half of the 2025 season left, he's already pitched the fourth-most innings he has in a season in his career. Combined with his age, the Tigers reliever could be burnt out.
The 11-year veteran might not be in his best shape come the postseason if he continues to pitch. Instead of trotting him out there, the Tigers should find a way to dramatically limit his innings.
When he's on, he's a very solid reliever. But his struggles lately are too much, as Hinch's comments indicate he's just about done experimenting with Kahnle. The veteran reliever's struggles are too detrimental, and the Tigers could pivot in another direction.
It's a tough decision, especially after how great he was to begin the year. But, based on Hinch's comments, Kahnle is on thin ice in Detroit and could see his time with the team come to an end soon.
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