After struggling mightily for the last month or so, David Purcey was finally designated for assignment by the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday afternoon. The Tigers made the move to create room on the roster for David Pauley, who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the Doug Fister deal.
In his first 10 appearances with the Tigers after being traded from the Oakland Athletics in the Scott Sizemore deal, Purcey pitched pretty well. Although he had an issue with walking batters, he allowed only one earned run in his first 10 outings.
His last nine outings, on the other hand, were downright horrendous. Purcey allowed a total of 14 earned runs, and four times he allowed three earned runs or more in a single outing. His last appearance with the Tigers came this past Thursday, and Purcey allowed three earned runs on one hit and two walks. He didn't record a single out and his ERA jumped up to 5.61.
Based on how bad Purcey pitched in July, I think it's safe to say the Tigers would like to go back in time and undo the deal to trade away Sizemore. Many questioned the move when it was made, and it's pretty clear now it was a mistake.