Germany’s Markus Solbach has signed a Minor League contract with the Detroit Tigers. The well-traveled starting pitcher, who has taken the mound in Australia, Germany, and Italy, joins his fourth MLB organization after stints in the farm systems of the Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and, most recently, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 30-year-old Solbach spent the 2021 season in the Dodgers organization, making a combined 18 appearances across two Minor League levels, with all but one appearance coming for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers.
In 51.1 innings of work, Solbach commanded the strike zone (43 K, 18 BB) but allowed 12.3 H/9 on his way to being the pitcher of record in six defeats. He had a 7.89 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.
The rough 2021 campaign ended a string of successful seasons for the tall righty (196cm) that included a combined 17-6 record over two summers (2016-17) with the Rockford Boulders of the Can-Am League, a 2018 German Bundesliga regular season with the Bonn Capitals in which he allowed just two earned runs in 48 innings, and an MVP trophy with Adelaide in the 2018-19 Australian Baseball League.
That sustained success in the independent leagues brought him to the attention of the Dodgers, who signed him in 2019. Solbach continued to pitch well at Double-A Tulsa that summer, with his numbers — a 5-1 record, 3.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP — showing that the German’s stuff worked in affiliated baseball as well.
He will now try his luck with the Tigers.