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Detroit Tigers News: Former Twins and Dodgers relievers signed to minor-league contracts, John Keating

Emma Lingan
Emma Lingan

Motor City Bengals

Los Angeles Dodgers v Los Angeles Angels / Steph Chambers/GettyImages

While the Detroit Tigers have remained infuriatingly silent on the MLB free agent market this winter, they did make another pair of minor-league signings over the weekend (What else is new?).

The first move occurred Saturday, when the Tigers signed left-handed reliever Matt Gage. The 31-year-old former San Francisco Giants draft pick, who spent the 2024 season at the Triple-A level in the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets organizations, has also earned a non-roster invite to spring training. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, he will earn $800,000 if he makes the major league roster.

Gage posted a 4.10 ERA with 22 walks (12.2% walk rate) and 51 strikeouts (28.3% strikeout rate) across 41 2/3 innings in 40 relief appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City (20 games) and Triple-A Syracuse (20 games) in 2024. For now, he has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo.

The day after Gage's signing was confirmed, Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media reported that right-hander Jordan Balazovic had also agreed to a minor-league deal with Detroit. A former top-100 prospect, Balazovic last appeared in the majors when he threw 24 1/3 innings in relief for the Minnesota Twins in 2023. He returned to Minnesota on a minor-league deal last season before signing with the Doosan Bears of the KBO.

Balazovic returns to North America after a 2024 campaign in Korea that saw him post a 4.26 ERA and a strong 27.6% strikeout rate in 57 innings with the Bears across 12 games (11 starts). He has also been assigned to Triple-A Toledo.

Former Tigers host John Keating retiring after 45 years of broadcasting

John Keating, a longtime TV commentator and host for the Detroit Red Wings and Tigers, announced via social media last week that he is retiring from broadcasting at the end of the 2024-25 Red Wings season.

Keating has spent more than four decades as the face of Detroit sports in both the NHL and MLB, winning more than a dozen Emmy Awards during his time with FOX Sports Detroit and later Bally Sports. In addition to being a pre- and postgame host for the network, he has also served as a color analyst and play-by-play commentator.

The NHL regular season is set to conclude on April 17, 2025, and playoffs typically run from mid-April until late June. For now, Keating's final home broadcast for the Red Wings is set for April 14 against the Dallas Stars, and the final broadcast of his career is set for April 17 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Emma Lingan

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.