Detroit Tigers free agency primer: Seung-hwan Oh intriguing buy-low add

1 of 4

DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 4: Al Avila laughs during a news conference at Comerica Park after he was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager on August 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. Avila replaces Dave Dombrowski who was the Tigers’ general manager since 2002. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Detroit Tigers fans could conceivably see the team sign veterans to short-term deals in order to help the franchise’s younger players develop. One potential fit could be Seung-hwan Oh.

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila and the rest of the front office need a number of veteran, stop-gap options picked from the free agent market to bolster the team.

Ideally, all of these stop-gap veterans will be signed to short-term deals.

This way, there isn’t much of a long-term financial hit on the books while at the same time leaving a long-term place open for one of the team’s prospects or younger players.

With a number of young relievers coming through the system, some of whom have already broken into the Majors, it may seem prudent for Detroit to add a veteran reliever to the mix.

State of the bullpen

Joe Jimenez made his debut earlier in the 2017 season, while the likes of Jairo Labourt, Victor Alcantara and Zac Reininger joined him later in the season.

Additionally, the likes of Bryan Garcia, Paul Voelker, Mark Ecker and Adam Ravenelle could all join them at some point in 2018.

With a host of other inexperienced and underperforming options in the bullpen—not to mention the fact that closer Shane Greene, setup man Alex Wilson and perhaps Daniel Stumpf are the only established options among relievers—another option or two could provide helpful.

In a perfect world, the Detroit Tigers will sign a reliever to a one-year deal who can effectively pitch late in games.

The team would then trade him in July while the likes of Labourt, Garcia and others establish themselves in the Majors.

Of course, that’s all easier said than done. However, one reliever who is a fit is Seung-hawn Oh.

The ex-Cardinals closer will hit the free agent market this winter after a two-year stint in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS, MO – JULY 8: Seung-Hwan Oh #26 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the New York Mets in the ninth inning at Busch Stadium on July 8, 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

National League Central stay

It was very much a tale of two seasons with the Cardinals for Seung-hwan Oh, who pitched to a 2.6 fWAR, a 1.92 ERA, a 2.13 FIP and a 2.88 xFIP over 79.2 innings in his debut season.

The closer also tacked on 11.64 punch outs per nine frames, a 40.0% ground ball percentage and 19 saves.

Things were a bit different in 2017, as the hurler saw his ground ball percentage plummet and his run-prevention stats balloon.

In 59.1 frames, the right-hander turned in a 28.7% ground ball percentage, a 4.10 ERA, a 4.44 FIP and a 5.04 xFIP.

Some of this is obviously due to a rise in BABIP.

While not over the moon, Oh’s .319 batting average on balls in play was significantly higher than his .270 stat in 2016.

What’s more, the Cardinals reliever didn’t miss as many bats, with 8.19 strikeouts per nine innings.

He also saw a spike in home runs, with nearly a home run more allowed per nine innings in 2017 (1.52) than in 2016 (0.56).

A move to spacious Comerica Park would certainly help in that regard.

This is all speculative mind you, but if the Cardinals do move on in the offseason, Oh would be an excellent rebound candidate in the Motor City.

ST. LOUIS, MO – JULY 28: Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals congratulates Seung-Hwan Oh #26 of the St. Louis Cardinals after Ho pitched out of a run-scoring situation against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on July 28, 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

Potential trade chip

The nature of singing these kinds of veterans to one-year deals is a win-win situation.

Not only does it allow the rebound candidate a chance to rebuild his value ahead of another shot at free agency the next winter, but it gives the Detroit Tigers a potential trade chip if said player regains their past form.

That being said, if the player struggles, the Tigers aren’t out much over the long haul if they are cut loose.

Taking all that into account, Seung-hwan Oh is the perfect rebound candidate for the Detroit Tigers.

If he can pitch to a stat line somewhere between his 2016 and 2017 numbers and continue to miss bats, he’d likely be a valuable commodity at the trade deadline.

However, if he can find that 2016 form again in Detroit, the Tigers stand to benefit greatly in a trade.

Trade markets can change from season to season based on needs, but teams tend to be valuing pitching more and more these days.

More specifically, teams want deeper bullpens.

2017

As recently as July, rental relievers were able to fetch their employers multiple prospects in trades.

Joe Smith netted Toronto a pair of prospects from Cleveland while Pittsburgh acquired the same number of minor leaguers for Tony Watson.

Meanwhile, the Mets and Phillies were both able to extract three prospects out of the Red Sox and Rockies in respective trades for Addison Reed and Pat Neshek.

While not a prospect, the Mariners were able to acquire a useful Major League piece in Erasmo Ramirez in exchange for Steve Cishek.

ST LOUIS, MO – JUNE 11: Seung-Hwan Oh #26 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches in the ninth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium on June 11, 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals defeated the Phillies 6-5. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Hypothetical fit with the Detroit Tigers

Oh notched a 18.0 swinging strike percentage in 2016. That number dropped to a 12.0 in 2017, but it would still be a vast improvement over many of Detroit’s relievers.

Of Tigers bullpen arms with at least 10 innings pitched last season, just four had a swinging strike percentage over 11. Those four would include the since-traded Justin Wilson (14.3), the since-demoted Bruce Rondon (12.2), Jimenez (11.8) and Drew VerHagen (11.4).

Seung-hwan Oh would also give the team some flexibility in the ninth inning. He’d initially give the Tigers a veteran setup man to build a bridge to Shane Greene.

However, if Oh is successful, Detroit’s new manager could look to utilize Greene in a multi-inning role at times.

The former starter would still be the team’s primary closer, but Oh’s presence would allow more flexibility in the bullpen, something that could net the Tigers a few extra wins.

Adding the ex-Cardinals closer would also allow Detroit to use Greene or Oh in the ninth innings of tie games.

Next: You could see these 5 prospects on Opening Day roster

Last season in high-leverage situations in the ninth inning the Tigers gave up the fifth-highest wOBA in the league. They also checked in at 20^th in terms of WHIP in the same situations.

Home / Detroit Tigers News

Detroit Tigers free agency primer: Seung-hwan Oh is intriguing buy-low candidate