It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal gave up hits to the first two New York Yankees he faced on Tuesday. His usual catcher, Jake Rogers, was a late scratch from the lineup, meaning it was the first time since 2023 that the 2024 AL Cy Young winner threw to any other catcher.
Rogers, who caught Skubal’s last 37 starts, has left oblique tightness and the Tigers have since placed him on the 10-day Injured List.
Skubal has had a rough start to the 2025 season after winning the pitching triple crown last year, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Coming into Tuesday, he was 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA as his walk rate jumped and strikeout rate dropped.
But it’s early in the season and two starts is hardly a reason to panic. And after Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice reached to start the game for New York on Tuesday, Skubal calmly struck out reigning MVP Aaron Judge as the first of 15 straight batters he retired.
Tigers recall Tomas Nido after Jake Rogers suffers oblique injury
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With Rogers headed to the 10-day IL, the team has recalled Tomas Nido from Triple-A Toledo to replace him.
Nido has spent the bulk of his MLB career with the New York Mets, serving as a backup catcher from 2017 to 2024, when New York released him midseason. He then caught on with the Chicago Cubs, where he spent the rest of the season, and signed with the Tigers over the winter.
With Dillon Dingler likely shifting to the starting role in Rogers’ absence, Nido should play sparingly as his backup. Dingler has already made the most of his opportunity, homering for the Tigers in Tuesday afternoon’s game. He was 6-19 in 2025 coming into the game with a triple and homer.
As for Nido, he’s known as an excellent defensive catcher, though he’s never really hit in the majors. But backup catchers aren’t coveted for their hitting. Baseball Savant rates him as having an exception pop time and ability to catch runners stealing. He also rates as an above average pitch framer and blocker.
Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.
