Tigers continue dumpster diving with another minor-league KBO addition

Tigers fans have a love-hate relationship with Scott Harris, but lately it's been veering fully toward the latter.

Sometimes he'll say exactly what Tigers fans want to hear — "We can win without Alex Bregman" or "We know where we went wrong this year and we'll make changes to keep being competitive" — and then he'll turn around and sign ... Drew Anderson? Keep the Tigers open to a Tarik Skubal trade?

Harris really established a penchant for barrel-scraping at the trade deadline, when the Tigers were one of the most active buying teams but bought a lot of players who ended up being terrible, and he's keeping it going with a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training for former Marlins reliever Enmanuel De Jesus. He'll get $1.3 million if he reaches the majors.

Like Anderson, De Jesus has spent his last few years in the KBO as a starter. He pitched his 2024 season with the Kiwoom Heroes, twirling 171 1/3 innings for a 3.68 ERA, and then 2025 with the KT Wiz, for a 3.96 ERA in 163 2/3 innings.

Tigers sign former Marlins reliever Enmanuel De Jesus to a minor league deal after two-year stint in KBO

De Jesus signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent at just 16 years old in 2013 but never got his major league debut with them. He went to the Giants organization for a spell and then the Marlins, where he got his debut in 2023 but gave up eight runs in just 6 1/3 innings and elected free agency at the end of the year before heading to Korea.

It's hard to complain too much about a minor league deal, but the incentives definitely raise some yellow flags if the Tigers even kind of expect to call up a guy with a career 4.01 ERA in the minors and completely average numbers in the KBO.

Other than the addition of Kenley Jansen, which was a deal that Tigers fans mostly liked, this will largely be a same-look bullpen in 2026 unless Harris has a trick up his sleeve (and he probably doesn't, because that would require spending money). Detroit may have some more structure at the back end of games but still little in the way of solid depth, and De Jesus will do absolutely nothing to reassure fans if he manages to work his way up to the majors.