Tigers starter out for the season after getting hit by line drive

Tigers starter Matt Manning fractured his right foot during Wednesday night’s loss to the Yankees, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. A Giancarlo Stanton line drive that left the bat at a blistering 119.5 mph hit Manning’s foot in the first inning. While he fielded the ball and recorded the out, Manning was replaced at the start of the second frame.

It’s astoundingly poor luck for Manning, who also broke a bone in the same foot when he was struck by a comebacker in April. McCosky notes that this fracture occurred in a different area, but that’ll be of little consolation with his third MLB season being cut short.

Manning has battled injuries in each of the last two seasons. He lost time with shoulder and forearm injuries a year ago. The foot issues are more clearly fluke occurrences, but they’ll cost him reps just the same. Manning made 14 starts this year, logging 77 innings of 3.62 ERA ball.

The former ninth overall pick hasn’t missed many bats at the big league level. He struck out under 16% of batters faced this season and has fanned only 16.1% of opponents for his career. Manning has shown above-average control and posted consecutive sub-4.00 ERA seasons, though, so he should have a rotation spot secure for 2024.