The Tigers have designated righty reliever Francis Beltran for assignment. He pitched in only 11 games (0 starts) for the Tigers this season and he was 1-0 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. It’s interesting that the Tigers didn’t give Beltran much of a shot to prove himself when you consider the condition of the bullpen right now.

The Tigers have placed righty reliever Todd Jones back on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder. Jones has pitched in 45 games (0 starts) this season for the Tigers and he is 4-1 with 18 saves, a 4.97 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. The Tigers have recalled 31-year old righty reliever Gary Glover from AAA to replace Jones in the bullpen. Glover pitched in 29 games (0 starts) earlier this season for the Tampa Bay Rays and he was 1-2 with a 5.82 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. He will likely be used in middle relief for the Tigers. Glover has now pitched in 245 games (47 starts) in his major league career and he is 28-25 with 3 saves, a 5.06 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Losing Jones will deplete an already weak Tigers’ bullpen as their season continues to go down the commode.

The Tigers figured that Brandon Inge would do a good enough job behind the plate that they traded Ivan Rodriguez to the Yanks for Kyle Farnsworth. But, Brandon Inge has not been hitting well since given the starting job behind the plate. Inge has played in 14 games this August and he is only 8 for 46 (.174 avg, .587 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. Inge’s overall numbers for the season are also nothing to write home about. Inge has played in 76 games for the Tigers this season and he is 49 for 227 (.216 avg, .735 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 10 homers and 36 RBIs. The Tigers need Inge to start hitting better period because they don’t have anyone behind him.

The Tigers have promoted 25-year old lefty starting pitcher Dontelle Willis to AAA-ball. He has pitched in 9 games (8 starts) in A+AAA ball this season and he is 1-4 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. If he pitches well in his first couple of starts the Tigers will likely give him another chance. Willis was awful for them earlier this season as he pitched in 5 games (4 starts) in which he was 0-1 with a 10.32 ERA and a 2.47 WHIP. He walked an amazing 21 batters in only 11.1 innings with the Tigers. That will not be tolerated if he gets another chance soon with the Tigers.

The Tigers have placed righty reliever Joel Zumaya on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder. He has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Tigers this season and he is 0-2 with 1 save, a 3.47 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP. Zumaya has been very wild this season walking 22 batters and whiffing 22 in only 23.1 innings. It seems as if the Tigers might think of shutting Zumaya down for the season. The Tigers have recalled 28-year old righty reliever Francis Beltran to replace Zumaya in the bullpen. Beltran has pitched in 36 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 2-5 with 3 saves, a 4.81 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Beltran has also pitched in 5 games (0 starts) with the Tigers earlier this season and he was 1-0 with a 5.79 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP. He was always a highly thought of reliever but he has never backed up that thinking at the major league level. Beltran has now pitched in 61 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 3-2 with 1 save, a 5.86 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He has struck out 63 batters in his career in 66 innings but he has walked a stunning 47 batters! Don’t look for Beltran to pitch too well for the Tigers the rest of the way.