Detroit Tigers should sign RHP Brian Ellington

The Detroit Tigers have an opportunity to sign flame-throwing right-hander Brian Ellington, whom the Marlins released on Monday.

While the Detroit Tigers have been a pleasant surprise so far this season, the bullpen still has some work to do. Buck Farmer and Alex Wilson have combined to give up nine earned runs in only 10.1 innings of work. Shane Greene‘s ERA is nearly 5.00. Joe Jimenez and Daniel Stumpf have been two bright spots, but the team could consider a shakeup, particularly if things get worse.

One option they could pursue would be 27-year-old right-hander Brian Ellington, whom the Marlins just released on Monday.

From 2015-2016, Ellington tossed 58 innings with a 2.64 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, a 7.8 K/9 and a 149 ERA+. He averaged a blistering 98.2 miles per hour on his fastball and looked well on his way to becoming a top tier reliever.

Then, things went south in 2017. He posted an unsightly 7.25 ERA in 44.2 innings of work. While his K/9 increased to 9.7, his BB/9 was an egregious 7.1. Ellington completely lost sight of the strike zone. When batters did make contact, they hit the ball harder than they had before. He surrendered seven home runs in just 44.2 innings, good for a 1.4 HR/9.

Analytics on Ellington

While a lot of Ellington’s 2017 struggles were his own doing, he did suffer from some bad luck. His 63.1% strand rate was below the league average, and his 5.80 FIP, while still bad, is much better than his actual ERA.

A big change from 15/16 to 2017 was Ellington’s slider. He saw positive results with the pitch in 2016, generating a 23.5% swinging strike rate. He also posted a 41.9% o-swing rate, which means that batters swung at sliders outside of the strike zone 41.9% of the time. That dropped tremendously in 2017, as he only posted a 13.2% rate.

Basically, Ellington attempted to get hitters to chase his slider out of the zone a lot in 2017, but they didn’t bite. This caused him to get behind in a lot more counts, which lead to more walks and more home runs.

If, and this is a big if, Ellington can start to touch the corner with his slider more often and get more hitters chasing, there’s reason to believe he can become that high-leverage stud reliever once more. At age 27, he has a lot of life left on his arm.

Ellington in Detroit

Since Ellington was straight up released, he is free to sign any type of contract. The Tigers do not have to add him to their big league roster right away, but can instead offer him a minor league deal and (if he accepts) plop him in Triple-A Toledo.

He is currently battling a bicep injury that cost him time during spring training. The extent of the injury is unknown, but if he is back to full strength soon it would make sense for the Tigers to give him a chance. 100 mile per hour fastballs don’t come around all that often, and pitching coach Chris Bosio has a nice reputation for helping flame throwers hone in their control. Ellington would be a worthwhile project for Bosio to take on, especially for a rebuilding team.

Next: Could the Tigers trade for Blake Swihart?

The Detroit Tigers could always use more bullpen depth. Ellington represents a gamble, but a low-cost one. If he can paint the corners a touch more, his 98 mile per hour heater will play up nicely. He is just the type of player for a team like Detroit and a coach like Bosio to take on.