Brant Hurter showing why he won fierce competition for final Tigers bullpen spot

Emma Lingan

Detroit Tigers v Seattle Mariners / Stephen Brashear/GettyImages

Southpaw Brant Hurter has already picked up a pair of saves for the Detroit Tigers in this young season, and he's not even their primary closer. In fact, he almost wasn't even on their roster.

Hurter wasn't guaranteed an Opening Day roster spot out of camp, particularly after the Tigers signed Andrew Chafin to a minor league deal in February. Hurter, Chafin and Brenan Hanifee were essentially competing for one final opening in Detroit's bullpen, but Hurter ultimately won the job.

Hurter was one of the faces of the Tigers’ "pitching chaos" strategy last season, often starting games as an "opener" and sometimes lasting five or six innings – a traditional starter's workload. However, with a full five-man rotation to begin 2025, the Tigers didn't need Hurter in a traditional starter role.

Instead of squeezing him off the active roster, Detroit found a unique and creative role for Hurter in the bullpen – a role in which he is already excelling.

Brant Hurter showing why he won out in fierce competition for final Tigers bullpen spot

A starting pitcher by trade, Hurter gives the Tigers some length in the bullpen to help manage the workloads of their starters early in the season – something that has already made him incredibly valuable this season. He earned his second three-inning save of the season on Tuesday, getting the final nine outs of the game in the Tigers' 5-0 shutout of the New York Yankees.

Yes, three innings really earned Hurter a save; his first such save came on March 31 in Seattle. According to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, Hurter is the first Tigers pitcher to record two saves of at least three innings since Drew Smyly did it in 2013. He is also the fourth to do it in the last quarter century (Gary Knotts and Esteban Yan both did it in 2004).

Hurter is also a slick defender, as evidenced by his effortless behind-the-back catch off the broken bat of Trent Grisham in Tuesday's win over the Yankees. His unique skillset has helped him carve out a one-of-a-kind role in the Tigers' bullpen, and manager A.J. Hinch and his staff deserve plenty of credit for giving him the chance to do it.

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). A native of Washington, D.C. and current resident of Nashville, Tenn., she is also entering her seventh season as a credentialed NHL media member and currently covers the NHL’s Nashville Predators for The Hockey News. When she's not watching hockey, baseball or football, she enjoys podcasting, reading, going to the gym, consuming large amounts of coffee and taking long walks with her dog, Minkah. You can follow her @Emma_lingan on Twitter and Instagram.