Detroit Tigers Links: Bullpen upgrade unlikely, Arizona Fall League star Tigers prospects

Detroit Tigers fans continue to pine away and hope for a reunion with Andrew Miller and the club, but as the days tick away in free agency, that looks less and less likely.

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We present two stories this Tuesday morning and the first one looks at the bullpen. The Tigers feel they will be able to rework the bullpen with a (hopefully) healthy Bruce Rondon and Joel Hanrahan. But those are two big “what-ifs.” Dave Dombrowski and the Tigers went into 2014 with a lot of hope that the bullpen would somehow be better and it was worse–much worse.

On the other hand, high priced bullpen additions are not always the answer. PAGING JOE NATHAN. Teams have had a lot of success, most recently the 2013 World Champion Boston Red Sox, by cobbling together a collection of players that had potential and each has career years.

On the other-other hand, that was the same logic that went into this past off-season for Detroit and it didn’t work out so well.

Next we look at the Arizona Fall League. The fall ball is winding down in the desert and three Tigers’ prospects have done very well in the process.

Despite bullpen struggles in 2014, Detroit Tigers seem unlikely to add high-priced relief help – Chris Iott, Mlive

"Dombrowski seems to be more open to the idea of using young starting pitchers as relief pitchers. Guys like Kyle Lobstein, Robbie Ray, Buck Farmer, Kyle Ryan and Drew VerHagen might compete for the final spot in the Tigers’ rotation this spring. The Tigers could call upon anyone in that group to fill out some bullpen roles as well."

Tigers’ Moya, Ray, Mantiply impress in fall league – George Sipple, Detroit Free Press

"Moya, 23, hit 35 home runs with 105 RBIs in 133 games at Erie this past season. He also hit .375 over 11 games for the Tigers.Ray was 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts in the AFL. He gave up nine hits, six walks and three runs in 11 innings with 13 strikeouts. Ray, 23, was 1-4 with an 8.16 ERA in nine games for the Tigers this past season. He was also 7-6 with a 4.22 ERA in 20 games at Triple-A Toledo.Mantiply was 0-1 with one save and a 2.57 ERA in 11 appearances in the AFL. He allowed 12 hits, two walks and four runs over 14 innings with 15 strikeouts. Mantiply, 23, had a 2.40 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 711/3 innings at Class A West Michigan. He also had a 3.38 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 102/3 innings at Double-A Erie this past season."