Farmer gets first start of 2018 in place of Turner
Triple-A pitcher did not clear 10-day DFA period
MINNEAPOLIS -- Buck Farmer made his first start of the season in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Twins in place of Jacob Turner, who was orignially scheduled to start.
Detroit announced on Sunday morning that Farmer would get the nod and left-hander Daniel Stumpf had been recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take the spot of Zach McAllister, who was designated for assignment following Saturday's 7-5 win.
The Tigers had originally penciled in Turner to start on Sunday, announcing on Saturday that they had purchased his contract. But later that night, the club realized that Turner, who had been designated for assignment on Aug. 10 and optioned to Toledo on Aug. 13, had not yet cleared the 10-day DFA period and thus could not rejoin the big league club.
"We had actually discussed before either going with a bullpen day or going with a starting pitcher," Detroit general manager Al Avila said. "And it just so happened that Turner's day to start fell today. So we put that into action. Then [Detroit director of baseball operations Sam Menzin] calls and said, 'Hey, I just checked, and Turner hasn't been down 10 days.' So at that time, we reversed everything."
Farmer worked 2 1/3 innings in his start on Sunday, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out two batters.
Stumpf tossed the fifth and sixth innings for the Tigers on Sunday and held the Twins scoreless. The 27-year-old struck out three batters and walked one on 27 pitches, 15 of which were strikes.
Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said the club planned for Farmer to throw two or three innings, then the majority of Detroit's bullpen would be available. Only Victor Alcantara and Joe Jimenez, who both pitched on Saturday, are off limits.