Detroit Tigers sign Mike Pelfrey to two-year deal
The Detroit Tigers added depth to their rotation when they signed right-handed pitcher Mike Pelfrey.
The Detroit Tigers’ intentions for the off-season have been very clear to date. The team has been dead set on adding starting pitching this off-season, and now they have added another arm to further their starting pitching depth.
According to Jon Heyman, the Tigers and right-handed veteran Mike Pelfrey have agreed on a deal. Pelfrey had spent the last three years with the Minnesota Twins, where he had struggled ever since he came off of Tommy John surgery on his elbow.
The deal for Pelfrey, will reportedly be for two years and $16 million.
Hear Pelfrey is 2 yrs at $16M with #Tigers pending physical
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 4, 2015
The Tigers grabbed headlines last week when they signed Jordan Zimmerman to be a top starter in their rotation alongside Justin Verlander. While Pelfrey is a far cry from Zimmerman, he has the potential to be a a valuable addition to the Tigers’ starting rotation if he can regain some of his form that he had when his fastball was on.
His time in Minnesota wasn’t good, but he showed last year that when he finds his velocity and hits his spots, he can be a very effective pitcher. The Tigers have clearly seen enough that they believe Pelfrey can be a good option at the back of the rotation for them.
After a down year, the Tigers are looking to climb back to the top of the American League Central and compete with the World Series Champions, the Kansas City Royals. It’s not going to be easy for the Tigers to get back to the level of dominance that they had in the past decade, but thus far new general manager Al Avila has shown that he’s very serious about making moves to put the Tigers right back on track to being a competitive team in Major League Baseball.
(h/t: mlbtraderumors)