Tigers potentially upgrade bullpen by reuniting with fan favorite lefty

The Detroit Tigers clearly aren't done adding even with spring training underway. This is what smart teams do. They continue adding at the margins and prepare themselves in the event of an emergency. Compiling depth saves teams over a 162-game season.

Andrew Chafin has always done good work as a Tiger, and he's made himself into something of a fan favorite thanks to his striking resemblance to Danny McBride in Eastbound & Down (he's just got a very notable mustache).

He first joined the team in 2022, pitching 57 1/3 innings out of the bullpen for a 2.83 ERA, which actually made him Detroit's best reliever that year, and he rejoined in 2024 before the Tigers dealt him to the Rangers at the trade deadline.

He struggled a bit with the Rangers in the second half of the season, but it's a little confounding that he managed to stay on the market as long as he did, especially when you can never really have too many trustworthy, lefty arms. However, everyone else's loss could be the Tigers' gain.

They re-signed Chafin for a third time on Monday, but this time to a minor league deal. They announced that he would be joining the team in Lakeland as a non-roster invitee.

Tigers re-sign Andrew Chafin to minor league deal with invitation to spring training

Last year, the Tigers signed him to a one-year, $4.75 million deal with a club option for 2025, which the Rangers declined at the beginning of the offseason to make Chafin a free agent again. He pitched 37 innings in Detroit last year for a 3.16 ERA, but wavered when he got to Texas, pitching 19 1/3 innings for a 4.19 ERA.

The Tigers used him in late innings and as an occasional closer last year before he was dealt as part of their sale on veterans at the deadline. His chase and whiff rates are still elite, his strikeout rates aren't far behind, and his slider is still deadly.

Detroit doesn't have a ton of room open in their bullpen this season after many of their relievers proved their worth at the end of last season, but 40-man roster guys like Brendan White and Alex Lange could get a push if the Tigers want to bring Chafin back to the majors. Ty Madden and Brant Hurter are also still relatively untested rookies who could be optioned back to the minors if they need more time to develop.

Though there's no guarantee we'll see Chafin on the Opening Day roster, this is a solid pickup for the Tigers to add some more depth to the bullpen.