The Tigers’ decision last week to decline their option on Kenley Jansen for next season was the first step in a bullpen makeover. Whether it includes another proven closer in Jansen’s place remains to be seen, but if president of baseball operations Scott Harris gets his priority, it will include more relievers who can get pitches past hitters.
“Pitching is going to be the focus throughout this winter,” Harris told reporters on Tuesday at Major League Baseball’s General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas. “I think first off, we want to add more swing-and-miss to the back end of our ‘pen. We want to add a stable, veteran presence who can get righties out and lefties out, and add a little bit more leadership to our clubhouse. If we can find that, that would be great.”
The Tigers averaged 8.36 strikeouts per nine innings out of their bullpen in 2026, third lowest in the American League and 23rd out of 30 MLB teams. Among Tigers relievers with more than 30 innings of relief, only Jansen (10.2 K/9), Drew Sommers (14.1) and Drew Anderson (10.5 as a reliever) averaged better than a strikeout per inning. Jansen’s 26.6 percent whiff rate was still just above average among MLB pitchers, according to Statcast. Anderson is expected to compete for a rotation spot next season, Harris said.
“He's much more comfortable preparing as a starter,” Harris said. “It doesn't mean he can't also perform in the ‘pen. I thought he got better in the ‘pen over the course of the season as he got more comfortable, but we liked what we saw out of him in the rotation.”
Tyler Holton was effective despite the lowest whiff rate of his career (23.4 percent). Kyle Finnegan saw his whiff rate creep over 25 percent for the first time since 2022, a bright side in a bit of a down season (4.30 ERA), but still ranked in the middle of the pack on Statcast (49th percentile). Will Vest posted the highest whiff rate of his career (27.5 percent), but tossed just 26 2/3 innings before injuries derailed his season. He underwent hip and elbow surgeries in late summer, but is on track to be ready for next season.
“He looks good,” said Harris, who said he watched video of Vest’s workouts a few days ago. “He's getting after it, as if that was ever going to be a question. He can't really sit still. He looks good. He feels good. All the reports we've gotten have been really positive, and so we're expecting him to be good to go.”
The free-agent market is not deep in closers, and two of the top free agents – David Bednar and Raisel Iglesias – are coming off seasons in which their whiff rates went down from their career averages, though both still ranked in the high percentiles. Two of the best high-whiff, high-strikeout free agents on the market, lefty Adrian Morejon and righty Bryan Abreu, are traditional setup men.
Role, however, might be secondary.
Asked if closer is a priority, Harris said, “My job's just to fill the roster with really good arms and let [manager] A.J. [Hinch] sort it all out. I think in terms of what we're looking for, we feel a little deeper on the left-hand side of our ‘pen with both the development and the top-end performance from some of our guys. We want to add right-handed relievers, preferably ones that can throw strikes, miss bats and get lefties and righties out. And if we can find some of those this winter, I think it'll be a successful winter.”
Longer term, Harris wants to find more answers internally.
“Medium and long term, we've got to develop pitching,” he said. “We've got to find ways to strengthen our pitching pipeline and produce the type of homegrown arms that can fill out a rotation but also fill out a bullpen. I like where we're at now. I think we took big steps over the last 12 months to strengthen that pitching pipeline. It's not quite there yet, so we're going to have to find different acquisition avenues to add to our ‘pen right now. But longer term, we want to be able to produce homegrown bullpens that can pitch together, stay together and get better. …
“Drew Sommers, his breakout this year is a really big development for the present and the future of our bullpen. But we need more of those stories.”