Detroit Tigers Claim Donn Roach, Designate Jeff Ferrell for Assignment

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila has made his first acquisition of August, claiming pitcher Donn Roach off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. The 26-year-old will head to Triple-A Toledo.

Detroit Tigers relievers have generally been dependable this season, with new acquisitions Francisco Rodriguez and Justin Wilson thriving in the Detroit bullpen. Shane Greene, who is also new to the bullpen, has also been solid in relief.

Now, with the non-waiver trade deadline in the rear view mirror, Tigers general manager Al Avila has added a depth option to the mix.

Detroit’s official Twitter account announced the move, tweeting, “The #Tigers have claimed RHP Donn Roach off waivers from Seattle today and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo.”

The Tigers also announced the corresponding move via the same Twitter account, tweeting, “To create room on the 40-man roster for Roach, the #Tigers have designated for assignment the contract of RHP Jeff Ferrell.”

Originally a third-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2010, Roach and Alexi Amarista were dealt to San Diego for Ernesto Frieri in May of 2012.

The 26-year-old former third-rounder would go on to make his Major League debut for the Padres in 2014. Roach went on to make 16 appearances for San Diego, pitching to a 4.75 ERA and an identical 4.75 FIP in 30.1 innings pitched. He struck out 17 batters, while allowing 17 runs and 15 walks. All told, the former Mariner started one game and finished five.

The 2015 season saw the 26-year-old claimed on waivers by the Cubs. With Chicago, Roach made just one appearance, a start against the Cardinals in late June. St. Louis tallied eight hits, four runs and a walk against the pitcher in just 3.1 innings pitched.

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After being claimed off waivers by the Reds and Blue Jays, Roach landed in Seattle during the offseason. In four appearances for the M’s this season, the Las Vegas native logged 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits, five runs and two walks.

Despite some Major League numbers that aren’t exactly award winning, Roach has the potential to be a solid contributor. During his time with the Padres, Cubs and Mariners, opposing hitters registered a sky-high .343 BABIP against Roach. What’s more, the former Cub owns a career SIERA of 3.98.

If he can continue to post solid numbers at the Triple-A level, where he has posted a 4.03 career ERA in 328 career innings, he could find himself pitching for the Detroit Tigers at some point this season.

Could Jeff Ferrell slip through waivers?

It is purely speculative, but some rebuilding club in need of future arms like the Braves or Angels could conceivably put a claim on him to see if they can find a potential long-term asset.

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Although, Ferrell could end up slipping through the waiver process and staying with the Tigers organization given his numbers in limited action (4.76 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched, including a 7.36 ERA in 7.1 Triple-A innings) this season.