BALTIMORE — Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch plans to schedule regular off days for 21-year-old rookie Kevin McGonigle to help him manage the workload of a 162-game season. The decision comes as the Tigers have lost seven straight games and 15 of their last 17.

McGonigle is hitting .285 with three home runs, 31 walks and 29 strikeouts across 50 games, registering an .812 OPS. In his first 31 games, he hit .328 with a .935 OPS, while over his past 19 games he has hit .214 with a .609 OPS. Defensively, he has posted six defensive runs saved in 428 innings, with 29 starts at shortstop and 20 starts at third base.

"A lot of the workload stuff is being proactive and not reactive. We haven't been able to be proactive with where we're at," Hinch said. "He's performing fine. He's moving fine. He looks fine."

Hinch described the strain on the roster during the slide. "We're playing the same nine to 10 players every day with a couple of bench players, which is different than how we've been able to spread the playing time out over the last couple of years. It's no secret we're not in a great place on multiple fronts, and we're trying to work through it," he said.

In Friday's loss, McGonigle hit a solo home run in the first inning and committed a fielding error in the third inning that allowed three runs. McGonigle said he remains confident the team will turn things around. "Everyone has their heads on the right way, and they're ready to go out each and every day and play for each other. It's a little tough right now, but I know we'll come out of it," he said.

After 52 games, the Tigers had a 20-32 record, tied with the Colorado Rockies for the second-worst record among MLB's 30 teams, behind only the Los Angeles Angels. They sit 10½ games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central. The Tigers entered the 2026 season with aspirations to win the World Series.

The 2024 Tigers went on a 31-11 run to secure an American League wild-card berth after a 55-63 start. Several teams have recovered from similarly poor starts: the 2005 Houston Astros went from 18-32 to finish 89-73 and reach the postseason; the 2009 Colorado Rockies went from 20-30 to finish 92-70 and reach the postseason; and the 2019 Washington Nationals went from 19-31 to finish 93-69 and win the World Series in seven games over the Astros.