Detroit Tigers send Keider Montero to bullpen: 'I'm always available'
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HOUSTON – The Detroit Tigers have sent right-hander Keider Montero to the bullpen.
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He had worked exclusively as a starter through his first 13 appearances this season.
The 25-year-old will be available as a reliever for the Tigers on Tuesday, June 16, in the second of three games against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park.
"I don't know how it's going to be," Montero said in Spanish before Tuesday's game, interpreted by team employee Carlos Guillén, "but whatever it is, I'm available. I'm always available for helping the team, regardless of if it's one, two, three or five innings. You name it, I'm always ready."
The Tigers are committed to keeping Montero in the bullpen for the current series against the Astros and the upcoming series against the Chicago White Sox.
After that, the Tigers will reconsider his role.
"We'll see how it all sorts out," manager A.J. Hinch said before Tuesday's game. "That feels like forever from now."
With Montero in the bullpen, the Tigers are lined up with a traditional five-man rotation: Framber Valdez on Tuesday (vs. Astros), Casey Mize on Wednesday (vs. Astros), Tarik Skubal on Friday (vs. White Sox), Troy Melton on Saturday (vs. White Sox) and Justin Verlander on Sunday (vs. White Sox).
The Tigers expect Melton to make Saturday's start, even though he was scratched from Monday's start against the Astros with general back tightness.
"For Montero's next outing, it's almost assuredly going to be out of the bullpen behind one of those guys," Hinch said, referencing Skubal, Melton and Verlander. "That lays out the next two series, which is as far as we've gone."
Jack Flaherty isn't eligible to return from the injured list until June 28, as he remains sidelined with a strain of the peroneal tendons along the outside of his left ankle and foot.
Once Flaherty returns, there could be another decision point with Montero's role.
For now, Montero will pitch out of the Tigers' bullpen.
"There's not a big change," Montero said. "I'll give 100% of myself every time I go out on the mound, and I'll focus on every hitter, one after the other. It's nothing different."
This story will be updated.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers send Keider Montero to bullpen after 13 starts