If the Detroit Tigers falter after their strong start, the bullpen could be one of the main culprits. This season, the relief corps ranks 15th in WHIP (1.29) and 19th in ERA (4.19), and the front office showed limited urgency to improve the group at the trade deadline, aside from acquiring two key stars.
The Tigers took another step to address the issue by designating reliever veteran star for assignment and calling up top star from Triple-A Toledo.
President of baseball operations Scott Harris can point to these moves as evidence they made an effort, but parting ways with veteran star could have lasting consequences as Detroit pushes through the final stretch of the season.
No Tigers fan is likely to disagree with the decision to DFA Luke Jackson. After signing with Detroit on July 26, the right-hander allowed four earned runs, issued more walks (five) than strikeouts (four), and struggled through just three appearances. Still, while cutting ties was the right move, the Tigers may have waited too long.
As Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press pointed out, the Tigers could have released Jackson at the trade deadline—when they brought in Kyle Finnegan and Rafael Montero—rather than later. Doing so would have allowed them to keep right-hander Brenan Hanifee on the active roster and left-hander PJ Poulin in the organization.
Poulin, who owned a 3.38 ERA over 35 games at Triple-A Toledo, was DFA’d to make room on the 40-man roster. The Washington Nationals quickly claimed him, and since joining them, he’s given up just one earned run in 2.2 innings.
Hanifee remains in the Tigers’ system but was sent down despite being named “Reliever of the Month” for July alongside Tyler Holton. In 46 appearances this year, he’s posted a 3.10 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, yet the transaction rules kept him from returning for at least 10 days.
Instead of keeping Hanifee in the mix, Detroit gave Jackson a brief farewell—two scoreless innings against the Twins on Aug. 5—before DFA’ing him days later.
The sequence makes it seem as if president of baseball operations Scott Harris is pulling any available lever to patch up the bullpen, even at the risk of parting with arms that could help later this year or next. With Detroit’s AL Central lead down to six games heading into Monday, this could be the kind of roster misstep that lingers during their pennant chase.