Phoenix — The Tigers on Tuesday handed the closer’s role to left-hander Justin Wilson, relegating Francisco Rodriguez, baseball’s active saves leader, to a low-leverage role in the bullpen.
The permanence of the move is dependent on what Wilson does with it.
“For right now, for the time being, we're going to use Justin Wilson to close out games,” manager Brad Ausmus said before Tuesday's game. “Hopefully we'll get Frankie into some softer situations, get his command back, get his stuff back to where it was.
“Because the truth is, we're a much better team and bullpen when we have both of those guys in the back.