The Detroit Tigers’ bullpen didn’t just have a rough year. It set a franchise mark for blown saves, and the number tells the story all by itself: 31.
That tops the previous high-water marks of 28 blown saves in both 2004 and 2008, and it came in a season where Detroit converted only half of its save chances. The Tigers wasted 32 of 64 opportunities, finishing at a rough 50% rate. They were close to being the worst bullpen in Major League Baseball by percentage, too; if the Los Angeles Angels’ relievers had not blown 55% of their 55 save chances, Detroit would have owned that distinction.
Kenley Jansen is the first name that jumps out, and for good reason. The 38-year-old veteran was at the center of the closer picture, but the damage went well beyond him. He blew only six chances and finished with 22 saves, just two shy of joining the group of closers with at least 500 saves in major league history.
The bigger issue was what happened when Jansen wasn’t available. In those spots, A.
J. Hich turned to Kyle Finnegan, Will Vest and Drew Anderson, and that trio was responsible for most of the chaos.
They handled 28 of the 32 remaining save situations and combined to blow 20 of them.
Finnegan shouldered the heaviest load, taking 10 blown saves and matching the franchise’s worst single-season mark set by Esteban Yan in 2004. Vest and Anderson had five blown saves apiece. That left plenty of chances for Detroit to protect leads, even with defensive issues and the drop in run production.
The Tigers finished 76-86, 10 games under .500 and nine behind the American League Central champion Cleveland Guardians, who finished 87-77 and avoided the Wild Card Series. The bullpen didn’t explain everything that went wrong, but it clearly played a major role in a season full of missed chances.
If Detroit is going to fix one thing first, the bullpen has to be near the top of the list. The late-inning stretch between the starters leaving and the relievers taking over became a problem area all season, and it’s the sort of leak that can sink a lot of games.
There’s one more wrinkle in those franchise-worst blown-save seasons. The 2026 Tigers did it with a much shakier starting staff than the 2004 and 2008 teams. In those earlier seasons, Detroit had more quality starts from its rotation, even while the bullpen was unraveling.
The comparison is stark:
2004: 69 quality starts, 32 saves, 42.6 QS%, 50.8 SV%
2008: 67 quality starts, 32 saves, 41.6 QS%, 50.8 SV%
Those numbers underline the difference. The Tigers had bullpen breakdowns before, but this year came with fewer reliable starts and a rotation that couldn’t always cover for what happened behind it. That becomes even more important with Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize not available from the start of the 2027 season.
In Other News...
Tigers Fans Have One Big Reason To Watch Cleveland This Winter
With Clevelands season ending in the ALCS, one name immediately surfaced as a possible winter domino: Steven Kwan. MLB insider Robert Murray floated the idea that the Guardians could explore moving the left fielder, a development that would naturally catch the Tigers attention after seeing how much Kwan helped tilt the postseason picture in Clevelands favor against them.
For Detroit, the intrigue is obvious. Kwan has been a problem in October and a steady presence for the Guardians, even if his career numbers against the Tigers are lower than his overall track record suggests. Nothing has been confirmed, and Kwan recently sounded upbeat about Clevelands direction, but his name alone gives Tigers fans a reason to keep one eye on the Guardians offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Fans May Need To Start Watching A Different Prospect Tier
If the Tigers are going to keep building toward the next wave of help, the attention may need to drift beyond the headliners and toward a younger layer of the system that is starting to look more intriguing by the month. Brett Callahan, Andrew Sears, Max Anderson, Thayron Liranzo and Izaac Pacheco all fit that under-the-radar tier, the kind of prospects who can slip past the louder buzz but still matter when a club starts mapping out its future.
The common thread is less about immediate pressure and more about possibility, with each player carrying a different path and a different reason to keep watching. Detroit has plenty of established names drawing the bulk of the conversation, but clubs often find real value when a lesser-known group starts pushing its way into the picture, and this one could be worth tracking closely as the 2027 horizon gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
Former Tigers Catching Prospect Is Fueling A Painful Rays Debate
The Tigers have already watched one former prospect swing a big bat for Tampa Bay in October, and another has quietly become part of the Rays postseason mix. Ryan Vilade supplied a go-ahead home run in the ALDS, while Liam Hicks has chipped in on both sides of the ball as Tampa Bay keeps moving through the bracket. For Detroit, it is the sort of familiar reminder that player development does not always end with the organization that first identified the talent.
Hicks path has been especially notable for Tigers fans to revisit. Detroit acquired him in a trade, then lost him in the Rule 5 draft before he eventually landed with the Rays and worked his way into a meaningful role in their playoff run. Even without a headline-grabbing bat every night, his steady presence has made him one of the more interesting ex-Tigers in this October story, and it leaves a little more room for debate over what might have been. [Read more 🡒]