The Tigers’ bullpen has been a shaky part of the 2026 season, and the group has already absorbed enough damage to make the middle and late innings a nightly headache. Detroit entered the year with expectations around veterans Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan, plus Will Vest, but that plan has not held together.
Jansen has a 3.98 ERA and nearly coughed up the lead in the series opener against the Cleveland Guardians. Finnegan owns a 3.49 ERA, but his 1.57 WHIP and 12.00 ERA in August tell a rougher story.
Vest, meanwhile, is done for the season after two surgeries.
There have been some encouraging signs from other relief options, including Enmanuel De Jesus and Drew Sommers, but Detroit still needs a dependable arm it can lean on in the stretch of games that matter most. That’s why Brant Hurter’s return has become such an important development.
Hurter has been one of Detroit’s quieter success stories since 2024. He played a key part in the miracle 2024 team and kept pitching well in 2025.
This season has been interrupted by injury, but when he has been on the mound for the Tigers, he has remained one of A.J. Hinch’s more trustworthy relievers.
Before landing on the 60-day injured list in late May with lumbar spine inflammation, Hurter had put together a 2.84 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP across 25.1 innings. He also surrendered just one home run before the injury. For a bullpen that has been searching for stability, those numbers stand out.
Hurter has now made two rehab appearances for the Toledo Mud Hens. On Saturday, he threw one inning, giving up two hits, two runs and one earned run while walking one batter in 23 pitches. His latest outing, though, looked much sharper.
On Wednesday night, Hurter worked a scoreless inning on just eight pitches, five of them strikes. The one concern, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck, was that his fastball sat at 89.7 miles per hour. Even so, that should climb as he continues building back.
MLB.com's Tigers injury report says Hurter could be activated sometime this week, with the upcoming series against the Chicago White Sox mentioned as a possibility. If that changes, he could join the club on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals.
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