The Trevor Rosenthal experiment appears to be over for the Tigers.
Despite showing signs of his former self during his short stint with the team, Rosenthal was designated for assignment following Detroit's loss to the White Sox Wednesday in which he was charged with two runs over 2/3 of an inning.
The former All-Star, who's still trying to bounce back from Tommy John surgery in 2017, made 10 appearances for the Tigers and posted a 7.00 ERA. He was undone by his lack of control, issuing 11 walks in 12 innings.
On the plus side, he allowed just three hits and racked up 12 strikeouts. His fastball routinely hit triple digits.
The Tigers may have kept Rosenthal around longer, but their compromised pitching staff needs arms that can deliver longer outings. Rosenthal isn't up to that task.
"We need innings eaters," said Ron Gardenhire. "We need length. We can't keep going one inning here, one inning there right now. I think you guys see that. We're stretching people out probably as much as we possibly can. We just have to have innings right now."
The Tigers have seven days to either trade Rosenthal, release him or place him on waivers. If he clears waivers, the Tigers may decide to send him to Triple-A Toledo in hopes he continues to improve.
"He's worked his way through it. He's gotten better and better," Gardenhire said. "His arm's there, he's just gotta continue working on it. That's what we've talked about, and we think he's on the right path coming back from Tommy John. Eventually he'll get there. That's a power arm that can really throw the ball.
"Like I said, the big thing with him is it's one inning at a time, and we just have a hard time keeping one-inning-at-a-time (guys). We need multiple-innings guys."
Detroit also optioned pitcher Eduardo Jimenez to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday, and will announce two corresponding moves Thursday.