Tigers add veteran RHP Austin Adams; he joins battered bullpen Monday

Detroit — The Tigers have replaced one pitching project with another.

The team announced Sunday it had claimed right-hander Austin Adams off waivers from the Minnesota Twins, and assigned him to the Tigers' 40-man roster. Adams will join Detroit for the three-game series in Baltimore, which starts Monday.

Left-hander Matt Hall, just called up from Triple A, was sent back down following the Tigers' 4-3 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday.

The Tigers had an opening on their 40-man roster after they designed for assignment Reed Garrett earlier this month, and then returned the Rule 5 pick to the Texas Rangers.

Adams, 32, spent much of this season at the Twins' Triple-A affiliate before being called up. In two outings, he was roughed up pretty good, and the team DFA'd him. In 2.2 innings, he allowed five runs on four hits, including two home runs.

The Tigers are his fourth stop in organized baseball, after he was drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Indians in 2009.

He pitched in parts of three seasons with the Indians in the majors, his best season coming in 2015, when in 28 outings, he posting a 3.78 ERA, albeit a 1.500 WHIP.

Adams was a big strikeout pitcher early in his career in the minor leagues, but hasn't been much of one the last few years, during his major-league stops. He began his professional career as a starter, before shifting to relief in 2013.

Garrett, 26, had an 8.22 ERA over 13 outings, with 24 hits allowed in 15.1 innings, during his time with the Tigers, before he was DFA'd. Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said he likes Garrett's arm, but the command was so erratic that Garrett became unusable in almost any situation.

In Garrett's first outing with Texas' Triple-A affiliate, he struck out one in a clean inning.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984