The first half of the 2025 MLB regular season is slowly coming to an end as the All-Star break is right around the corner in a few weeks.
For teams like the Detroit Tigers, they’re trying to make one more final push as they hope to set themselves up for a playoff push for the second half of the year. The Tigers, like the other teams in the majors, are making various roster moves every week in hopes of finding a player who could help fill a need on the 26-man roster.
However, when you find that player, someone else on the roster has to be put on the chopping block and potentially designated for assignment. The Tigers just DFA’d a left-handed reliever on Thursday, and now a former Detroit pitcher has suffered the same fate with his new team.
Ex-Tiger Michael Fulmer Sent Packing by Chicago Cubs
On Thursday, the Chicago Cubs announced that they designated former Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer for assignment.
Today’s roster update presented by @NuveenInv: pic.twitter.com/JvgPBcfvqE
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 26, 2025
The veteran right-handed reliever was just called up from Triple-A Iowa earlier this week by the Cubs. Fulmer signed a minor league pact with the Cubs on April 22 after the Boston Red Sox released him on April 21.
This was the 32-year-old pitcher’s second stint with the Cubs, as he appeared in 58 games with them in 2023. With Fulmer getting DFA’d for the second time this season, the Cubs will have a week to trade him or if he goes unclaimed through waivers, the ex-Tiger will become a free agent.
The right-handed relief pitcher began his career with the Tigers as Detroit acquired him and Luis Cessa in a trade from the New York Mets for Yoenis Cespedes in July 2015.
Fulmer made his MLB debut in 2016 and went on to pitch for six years in the Motor City. He had a 32-43 record and 3.90 ERA across 178 appearances (89 starts). The veteran pitcher started out in the rotation for the first four years of his Tigers’ career, excluding the 2019 season as he was sidelined by Tommy John surgery.
Fulmer was eventually converted into a reliever in 2021, which has been successful for him in his MLB career. While things haven’t gone his way this season, it wouldn’t be surprising for the former Tiger to find a new team in the next week or so.