The Joey Wentz era is over.

The Detroit Tigers designated Wentz, a left-handed reliever, for assignment before Friday's game against the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park, thus removing Wentz from the 40-man roster. Cutting Wentz opened spots on the 26-man and 40-man rosters for right-hander Casey Mize to return from the 60-day injured list.

Wentz, 26, posted a 5.37 ERA with 27 walks and 60 strikeouts in 55⅓ innings in 38 relief appearances in 2024. He threw 20 strikes in a row to end his tenure with the Tigers, including 17 strikes in two scoreless innings Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels.

"That's tough because Joey has put a lot of effort in here," manager A.J. Hinch said. "His opportunity just ran out. He's going to be a good pitcher. He's been adaptable in the bullpen, and there are parts of what he's done that I think are really intriguing, but we think this roster is going to be harder to make and harder to sustain in situations like this."

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Wentz is out of minor league options, which is why the Tigers couldn't simply send him to Triple-A Toledo. He will be available to the 29 other teams on waivers, but he won't be postseason eligible if claimed. If he clears waivers, he will be outrighted to Triple-A Toledo because he doesn't have enough service time to reject the assignment.

It's worth noting that Wentz is set to become a minor-league free agent after the 2024 season.

"We'll see what happens with Joey moving forward," Hinch said. "If we keep him in the organization, great. If another team claims him, then they'll be getting a good pitcher to work with."

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Wentz struck out three batters in Thursday's outing of two scoreless innings against the Angels. He was hit with two comebackers in a span of three pitches, on his left wrist and on his right shin.

After the game, Wentz confirmed he was healthy while walking (without a limp) to the showers.

"I'm fine," Wentz said.

Less than 24 hours later, Hinch and president of baseball operations Scott Harris met with Wentz before Friday's game to inform him of the roster move. The Tigers are down to two left-handed relievers, Sean Guenther and Tyler Holton.

Essentially, the Tigers opted to cut Wentz as opposed to dumping Guenther or right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee.

"It's a competition at all times," Hinch said. "It just didn't go in Joey's favor. If they would give us an extra pitcher, it would. I know September and all the conversation about the next couple of days, but we were pressed timing-wise to accomplish all that we wanted to. ... It cost somebody, and we didn't feel comfortable optioning somebody that we feel had earned a spot here."

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In July 2019, the Tigers acquired Wentz (and outfielder Travis Demeritte) from the Atlanta Braves for right-handed reliever Shane Greene. The Braves selected Wentz with the No. 40 overall pick in the 2016 draft.

Wentz, who made his MLB debut in May 2022, appeared in 70 games (26 starts) across his three-year MLB career with the Tigers, posting a 5.81 ERA in 193⅔ innings with a 9.9% walk rate and a 21% strikeout rate.

"I thanked him for his time," Hinch said. "He thanked us for the work that we put in. Things just haven't clicked consistently for him quite yet, but it doesn't mean they won't."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers reliever Joey Wentz designated for assignment