One year after trade, Daniel Norris returns to Detroit Tigers on minor-league contract
The Detroit Tigers signed left-hander Daniel Norris to a minor-league contract Tuesday, the team announced. The agreement became official 361 days after the organization traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Norris, 29, pitched for the Tigers from 2015-21.
He will report to Triple-A Toledo.
"He's going to start a few games in Triple-A to build up his pitch count and endurance," manager A.J. Hinch said Wednesday. "We've used 14 (starters) already. We're going to use 15 or 16 by the end of the year, that's my guess."
THE CANDY MAN: Why Jeimer Candelario's future with Tigers depends on his finish in 2022
The Tigers, stocking up on pitching depth ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline, also signed right-handers Chi Chi Gonzalez and Jacob Barnes to minor-league contracts. Gonzalez and Barnes have been assigned to the Mud Hens, too.
At last year’s trade deadline, the Tigers traded Norris to the Brewers in exchange for pitching prospect Reese Olson. For Double-A Erie, Olson has a 4.44 ERA with 25 walks and 116 strikeouts across 79 innings in 18 games (17 starts).
HOW IT HAPPENED: Daniel Norris reflects on career with Tigers after trade: 'A lot of mixed emotions'
JEFF SEIDEL: How MLB lockout helped Tigers prospect Reese Olson become a strikeout king
Norris, who became a first-time free agent after 2021, appeared in 27 games with the Chicago Cubs this season, posting a 6.90 ERA with 21 walks and 43 strikeouts across 30 innings. He had a 6.64 ERA with 15 walks and 18 strikeouts in 20⅓ innings with the Brewers last season, failing to earn a spot on the postseason roster, before reaching the open market in the offseason.
The nine-year veteran signed a major-league contract with the Cubs on March 19 but was designated for assignment July 17 and released July 22.
For the Tigers, Norris had a career 4.59 ERA in 139 games (77 starts). He joined the Tigers — alongside left-hander Matthew Boyd — from the Toronto Blue Jays in the David Price trade at the 2015 trade deadline.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers bring back Daniel Norris one year after trade
