The Tigers are heading into an offseason where the bullpen has to be addressed, and the market may actually make that easier than usual. Relievers tend to be the cheaper end of free agency, which gives Scott Harris a realistic path to add more than one arm rather than spend big on a single position player.
Detroit has already taken a first step. Jacob Waguespack was brought back on a one-year major league deal, while Kenley Jansen was let go.
Waguespack joins Kyle Finnegan, Will Vest, Tyler Holton, Drew Sommers, Ty Madden, and Beau Brieske in the current mix, though Madden and Brieske could still be pushed out of the picture. With that kind of uncertainty, there’s room for the Tigers to add, and they need to.
The depth behind the big league bullpen looks thin, too. After a large chunk of the Triple-A roster headed for minor league free agency, Jackson Wolf - the pitcher acquired in the Casey Mize trade - is the only arm there who seems like a plausible Opening Day option.
That’s why an old trade deadline target is worth circling again. MLB.com Tigers insider Jason Beck reminded fans that Detroit had interest in former Pirates and Yankees closer David Bednar before last year’s deadline.
The Yankees wound up landing him instead, sending three prospects to Pittsburgh. Now Bednar is back on the market this offseason, assuming he declines New York’s qualifying offer.
And if the Tigers are looking for a bullpen upgrade with real closing experience, Bednar sits near the top of the conversation.
The price tag is steep. The Athletic projects him at three years and $57 million, MLB Trade Rumors has him at four years and $68 million, and ESPN lands at three years and $60 million.
That puts him in the $17-20 million AAV range, which would be a major commitment for Detroit. The Tigers have never paid that much for a reliever.
That kind of number could steer them toward a different tier of arm, maybe someone like Bryan Abreu or Alex Vesia, both of whom are projected around $22 million over two or three years. Still, Bednar’s track record is hard to ignore.
Outside of an awkward 2024 season with the Pirates, he’s been lights out since 2021. He ranks eighth among active pitchers in career saves and converted 35 of 39 chances in 2026.
It may be asking a lot for the Tigers to go that high for a reliever, especially if they’re committed to Drew Sommers as their future closer. But the fit is obvious, and unlike at the trade deadline, Harris wouldn’t have to part with prospects to make it happen.
In Other News...
Tigers Just Got Back A Bullpen Arm Worth Watching
RJ Petit is back in the Tigers organization after a brief Rule 5 detour with Colorado, a reminder of how quickly a bullpen arm can go from protected asset to roster casualty and back again. The Rockies took Petit first overall in the 2025 Rule 5 draft, betting on a pitcher who had already flashed real promise in Detroits minor league system before Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2026 season.
For the Tigers, the return adds an intriguing name to a bullpen pipeline that could use depth and upside. Petits path has been interrupted by injury and roster churn, but the underlying appeal has not changed much: he was good enough to draw Rule 5 attention in the first place, and now Detroit gets another look at what he can become once he is healthy and settled again. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Suddenly Face A Triple-A Depth Problem This Offseason
The Tigers have already started patching together the organizational pitching and depth picture this offseason, adding former Orioles right-hander Nick Raquet on a two-year minor league deal, acquiring former Pirates prospect Tsung-Che Cheng from the Red Sox, and bringing back Jacob Waguespack on a one-year major league contract. Those moves help, but they also come against the backdrop of a much bigger turnover problem in the system, one that has left the club with a lot of roster spots to fill before spring training gets rolling.
Detroit lost 22 players to minor league free agency, including 13 from Triple-A, and that kind of drain can ripple through an organization quickly. Carl Edwards Jr., Jack Little, Tyler Mattison, Trei Cruz and James Outman were among the departures, leaving the Tigers to rebuild that level through more minor league free-agent signings and promotions from Double-A, a process that now looks like one of the quieter but more important tasks on the offseason to-do list. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Bullpen Search May Hinge On One Costly Waiting Game
The Tigers offseason bullpen puzzle got a little clearer when they declined Kenley Jansens 2027 contract option, opening up a real need for a new closer. David Bednar has quickly emerged as one of the more intriguing free-agent fits, thanks to his recent performance improvement and the kind of late-inning experience Detroit would like to add to the back end of its relief corps.
Bednar, though, comes with the kind of complications that can slow a pursuit before it even starts. Any team that signs him would have to weigh the financial commitment against draft pick compensation, and his market may not fully take shape until he decides whether to accept the qualifying offer from the Yankees before Nov. 17. For a Tigers front office trying to line up its bullpen plans, the timing of that call could matter as much as the price tag. [Read more 🡒]