Detroit Tigers relief pitchers struggled to miss bats in 2017

Detroit Tigers executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager Al Avila and the rest of the front office are in need of extra bullpen options.

Detroit Tigers fans once again saw the bullpen struggle in 2017.

Not only did Detroit relief pitchers hemorrhaged runs (30^th in ERA, FIP, xFIP and SIERA) and allowed base runners in drones (1.56 collective WHIP was also last in the league, while their 10.1 walk percentage checked in at 23^rd), but the team’s relievers struggled to miss bats.

Only the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles’ respective bullpens had a lower cumulative strikeouts per nine innings rate than Detroit’s 7.92 stat.

Elsewhere, the Tigers finished dead-last in swinging strike percentage with a 9.4% stat. They also registered the lowest strikeout percentage in baseball with a 19.6% stat.

Contract-oriented relievers can find plenty of success in the Majors.

However, the fact is that outs via the strikeout out are the best way to limit damage and rallies in games.

While top prospects like Bryan Garcia, Paul Voelker, Gerson Moreno, Adam Ravenelle and Mark Ecker could help change things in the near future it remains to be seen when any of the quintet will debut in the Majors.

Elsewhere, Detroit could benefit from improved showings from Joe Jimenez, Victor Alcantara, Zac Reininger and Jairo Labourt in terms of strike outs.

However, each has limited Major League experience so far.

It may yet take time for everything to click.

How to fix it

Simply put, Detroit Tigers relievers need to miss more bats.

This is obviously easier said than done, but the more outs the team gets via the punch out, the less of a chance that a bloop double falls, or that an inning extending, ground-ball single finds a hole.

The incumbent relievers may not fix the issue by themselves, but adding a veteran or two from the free agent mix would certainly help things.

The free agent market

Detroit isn’t going to splash the cash on someone like Wade Davis (22^nd in swinging strike percentage) or Greg Holland (24^th), but there is value to be found elsewhere on the free agent market.

Right-handed bullpen arms Luke Gregerson and Sergio Romo finished 18^th and 26^th respectively in swinging strike percentage with a 15.8 and 14.9 swinging strike percentage respectively.

The duo finished ahead of the likes of Chad Green, Corey Knebel and Addison Reed.

Fellow free agents Tony Barnette and Seung-hwan Oh also ranked relatively highly in swinging strike percentage, checking in at 48^th and 51^st respectively.

Now, obviously swinging strike percentage isn’t the entire picture where bullpen pitchers—and pitchers in general—are concerned, but it is a prominent piece of the puzzle.

Signing a player like Gregerson, Romo, Barnette or Oh on a short-term contract would give new manager Ron Gardenhire a late-inning-caliber reliever arm to pair with Alex Wilson in building the bridge to Greene.

Signing a player like one of the aforementioned quartet would also give the Tigers some much-needed insurance should the team’s current closer switch uniforms via trade.

Add in a pitcher like Jimenez or Rondon starting to make good on their potential, and Detroit’s bullpen will be in much better shape moving forward.

Next: In his first piece for Motor City Bengals, Andy looks at low-cost relievers who could be fits for Tigers

Not just from an overall standpoint, but also from a missing bats standpoint.