The Detroit Tigers had the worst bullpen in the American League in 2017. Detroit’s relief corps had the highest ERA, the highest walk and home run rates, the highest fielding independent pitching (FIP), and the third-lowest strikeout rate in the league. Their relievers combined for -1.3 wins above replacement (WAR) as a unit for the 2017 season.
The Tigers bullpen showed improvement in almost every statistical category in 2018. The lone exception was strikeout rate, which held steady at 7.92 strikeouts per nine innings. Despite the improvement in so many categories, the Tigers’ bullpen still suffered gut-wrenching losses when they were given a lead to protect, blowing almost 40 percent of save opportunities and taking 31 losses when they took the ball while winning or in a tied game.