Former Tigers reliever could rejoin 2025 bullpen after Angels release

If you don't remember that Carson Fulmer was a Tigers reliever back in 2020, no one would blame you. He was a former first-round draft pick for the rival White Sox in 2015 but started to stumble in the minors when he reached Double-A. He debuted with Chicago in 2016 and stayed there until 2020, but never got more than 32 1/3 innings in the majors.

He was finally DFA'ed by the White Sox in late July of 2019 and was claimed off of waivers by the Tigers just a few days later. He stayed on the major league roster for a little less than a month but only pitched 6 2/3 innings out of the Tigers bullpen with a 6.75 ERA. He was DFA'ed again and moved further east after being picked up by the Pirates.

He's jumped around the league since then but finally landed with the Angels in 2023. He moved into a bigger role as a multi-purpose reliever this season, pitching 86 2/3 innings. However, he was outrighted from the roster on Oct. 24 and elected free agency instead of accepting a reassignment to Triple-A. Fulmer finished the year with a 4.15 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 81 strikeouts.

Former Tigers reliever Carson Fulmer is a free agent after splitting with Angels

The Tigers will be looking for pitching this offseason, and Fulmer could be an option as a guy with experience in both spot starts and closing games, though the latter duty will fall to Jason Foley in the high-leverage spots. Being called an innings-eater usually isn't a compliment, but it wouldn't hurt the Tigers to have a guy who could bear the brunt of a few innings to rest the bigger guns.

Although Fulmer might have to accept a minor league deal wherever he goes next, the Tigers could also add a little depth by throwing him down to Triple-A and calling him up in the event of injury to one of the big league relievers. After all, the Tigers promoted a handful of completely unknown Triple-A relievers in the late part of the season this year, and that actually didn't end up being a disaster for them.