Tigers Reportedly Reaching Out to Free Agent Reliever Trevor Rosenthal
By Brian Cass
With a lowly 26-50 record and standing in last place in the AL Central, the Detroit Tigers' season seems like it's already over before the All-Star break. They're not going anywhere this year, and most fans have chalked it up as a re-build.
But despite their current status, the Tigers are reportedly interested in free agent relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal in hopes of finding some hidden value.
Tigers are talking to Trevor Rosenthal about possible deal
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 28, 2019
With their season already seemingly over, it feels a bit odd that the Tigers would pursue a reliever at this point in the season. To be fair, the team's current bullpen arms have posted a pedestrian 63.64% save percentage this season, good for 19th in the MLB, so it's not like they couldn't use the help in that area.
All told, Rosenthal hasn't had at his best in live action this season, allowing 22 earned runs during his time with the Washington Nationals and their Double-A team before being released last week.
Trevor Rosenthal split 2019 between Double-A Harrisburg and the #Nationals.
— Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) June 28, 2019
22 ER, 22 walks and 16 strikeouts over 15.2 IP combined in 2019, prior to his release on June 23.
Some fans and pundits are speculating that he could be used as trade bait if he has a few good innings for Detroit, which would make sense given their record. That's got to be considered the best-case scenario at the moment.