Detroit Tigers reportedly interested in pitcher Joba Chamberlain

It has been a long time since Yankees (and free agent) pitcher Joba Chamberlain was a highly productive arm, but that hasn’t stopped a parade of teams from knocking on his door this winter. We’ve already given you reports of interest from the Diamondbacks and another that cited 12 different parties calling Chamberlain, but now, we’ve gotten another team jumping into the fray.

Tim Brown of Yahoo reports that the Tigers could be calling on Chamberlain, and that’s an interesting fit. First, the now 28-year-old right-hander hasn’t been particularly effective in recent seasons.

In 2013, Chamberlain missed about a month with abdominal issues, but his ERA of 4.93 over 42 innings (45 appearances) was a bigger problem than his injury troubles. Prior to that, he threw less than 50 innings in two combined seasons with New York, and the last time he was effective over a long stretch was in 2008, when he was a prized asset after throwing 100 innings with a 2.60 ERA and 10.58 K/9.

Simply put, that pitcher from 2008 probably doesn’t exist anymore, but Detroit does have a bit of a hole in their bullpen now that they’ve chosen to go with Drew Smyly as a starter. I’m not sure Chamberlain is the guy to fill that gap, but Detroit is certainly targeting him.