Tigers snatching victory from jaws of defeat shouldn't distract from dire offseason need

On Wednesday night, for the first time in a long time, the Tigers gave fans a reason to believe they were going to win well before the last out.

After suffering two blowout losses to the Twins, Detroit got ahead early with rookie John Peck's first major league hit and first two RBI. The offense continued to pull away in the fifth and sixth, with RBI from Hao-Yu Lee, Riley Greene, and another from Peck to give them a 6-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.

Drew Anderson gave up one more run before he was pulled, then Tyler Kinley pitched 1 1/3 scoreless ... and then Drew Sommers came in for the eighth.

Sommers has been much better as of late, but his good luck ran out in Minnesota. He gave up a leadoff single, then hit a batter, then another single to load the bases. Kenley Jansen replaced him to try to mop up the situation with one out, then let the Twins tie the game with a bases-loaded walk and a two-run single.

The Tigers offense pulled off a miracle in extra innings. After trading blows to keep the score even at six apiece going into the 12th, a five-run rally courtesy of Spencer Torkelson and Javy Báez earned Detroit just their fifth win in their last 20 games.

It was exactly the kind of outburst the Tigers were waiting on, but it shouldn't keep the elephant in the room from being addressed. This bullpen needs a makeover in the offseason.

Tigers' offensive miracle shouldn't distract from the bigger problem at hand

Right now, the Tigers are carrying Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Holton, Jacob Waguespack, Tyler Kinley, Sommers, Yilber Díaz, Andrew Sears, and Beau Brieske in their bullpen. Jansen and Kinley will both be free agents at the end of the year. With their departures, only four names left here are actually worth keeping.

The Tigers might need to bite the bullet and non-tender Finnegan. Díaz might get a few more chances, but he already looks like a disaster. Brieske isn't the same pitcher he was when he was a critical cog in Detroit's 2024 run.

Keep Holton, Waguespack, Sommers, and Sears. Move Anderson back to the bullpen in 2027. Hope that Will Vest is ready by Opening Day. Sign two late-inning relievers to replace Jansen and Finnegan.

This is easier said than done, of course. Scott Harris' track record with signing free agent pitchers is about as bad as it gets. But there are a couple of strong options who will be available on the market — Raisel Iglesias, David Bednar, Adrian Morejon.

Even if the Tigers' biggest moves of the offseason end up being bullpen additions, that might be good enough for Tigers fans given their failures this season.

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