3 relief pitchers the Detroit Tigers should sign right now
By Tyler Kotila
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The Detroit Tigers cannot go into the 2022 season without bringing in a few veteran relievers to help with the workload. While it seems that the organization is undecided on what to do with Michael Fulmer, he should be kept in the bullpen as a vital piece there.
Gregory Soto will likely continue to be the Detroit Tigers’ effective “closer” for the time being. While he was not horrible, the Tigers should have been taking a flier on a player like Kirby Yates, who signed a two-year deal with the Atlanta Braves.
Though, there are plenty of other free agent arms to consider. As things stand right now, here is the very general landscape of the Tigers bullpen:
- Gregory Soto – Closer
- Michael Fulmer – Setup
- José Cisnero – Setup
- Kyle Funkhouser – Middle Reliever
- Alex Lange – Middle Reliever
- Joe Jiménez – Depth
- Miguel Del Pozo – Depth
- Rony García – Long Reliever
According to the FanGraphs depth chart, the Tigers also have Bryan Garcia, Jason Foley, and Angel De Jesus on the 40-man roster that are considered bullpen arms. Looking at that, there’s plenty of room for improvement and additions.
Given the landscape of the free-agent market, the Tigers need to go out there and get the players that they are looking for. The bullpen could easily be improved; it’s just a matter of actually signing the players they feel will bring value.
It’s clear that the Tigers need to do something though, that’s a scary backend to the bullpen right now. While it has been worse and looked much worse before, there have to be some improvements made before the 2022 season begins.