Tigers sign former Mariners and Yankees pitchers to minor league deals for depth help

With the exception of Kenta Maeda, all of the Tigers' active relief pitchers have sub-3.00 ERAs. The bullpen was always going to a strength for them, given what they were able to do at the end of last season and, although they did get tossed around a little in their series against the Astros, they still look solid through the first month of the season.

But it never hurts to keep a little bit of reassurance in the minors. The Tigers' bullpen hasn't been immune to the injury bug — Beau Brieske and John Brebbia are currently on the IL — and there are a few arms in Triple-A that they could call up in the event of more (Andrew Chafin, fellow minor league signing Jordan Balazovic).

The Tigers added more on Wednesday in pitchers Nick Margevicius and Ryan Harvey, two names that no one would be blamed for not knowing. Margevicius has pitched 110 1/3 major league innings with the Padres and Mariners, but not since 2021, and Harvey, an 11th-round pick for the Yankees in 2022, has yet to pitch above Single-A.

Tigers sign pitchers Nick Margevicius and Ryan Harvey to minor league deals

Margevicius got his major league debut with the Padres as a starter, making 12 sporadic starts for a 6.41 ERA before he was kicked back to the bullpen later that year. He was DFA'd in the 2019-2020 offseason and picked up by the Mariners, where he continued to occasionally be used as a starter in 2020 and 2021, but his 5.40 ERA over both of those seasons got him DFA'd in 2022, before he made his season debut. He spent another year in the Mariners organization before he was released during spring training in 2023.

He signed a minor league deal with the Braves but continued to struggle and didn't resurface in the majors, then went overseas for a season in the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2024 and a season in the Mexican League in 2025. He posted a 0.87 ERA in 10 1/3 innings for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos, so the Tigers must've seen enough promise to give him another shot in MLB.

Harvey has a 4.79 career ERA in Rookie ball and Single-A and was released by the Yankees organization on Feb. 18 after dealing with multiple injuries throughout his first two seasons.

We probably shouldn't expect to see Margevicius or Harvey in the majors anytime soon, but maybe Chris Fetter and the Tigers' coaching staff can work a little of their magic if they do come up this season.