Detroit Tigers: Candidates for final 40-man roster spot

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ARLINGTON, TX – JULY 25: John Axford #61 of the Oakland Athletics throws against the Texas Rangers in the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on July 25, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

External Candidates

John Axford

Cut loose by the Oakland Athletics after pitching to a 6.43 ERA and a 5.71 FIP in 21 innings, Axford still has the potential to be effective.

He can still miss bats, with 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings this year. What’s more, Axford was effective in the Majors as recently as last season, with a 3.97 ERA, a 3.99 SIERA and 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 10.6 swinging strike percentage that was the second-best mark of his career.

Axford also has 144 saves under his belt, making him an ideal candidate to step in as a closer when Shane Greene is unavailable.

Christian Bergman

The former Colorado hurler has 23 career starts in 66 lifetime outings in the Majors, including eight with Seattle this season.

Bergman was designated for assignment after notching a 4.91 ERA and a 5.63 FIP in 51.1 for the American League West club.

While those numbers aren’t anything to gawk at, Bregman’s numbers were largely marred by two poor starts.

He was tagged for 14 hits and 10 runs in four innings against the Washington Nationals on May 23, and surrendered 10 hits and nine runs in 2.2 frames against the Minnesota Twins on June 13.

Take those two starts out, and Bregman actually had a 1.83 ERA in 44.2 innings. That’s not the largest sample size in the world, but it isn’t the smallest either.

If Anibal Sanchez continues to hemorrhage runs and Daniel Norris remains sidelined on the disabled list, the Tigers should take a flier on Bregman to make a handful of starts down the stretch.

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