Detroit Tigers relief pitching was once an area of concern for the team. Under the previous regime, which was led by Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers were never quite able to find the right mix of relievers. In fact, you could make the case that Detroit couldn’t really find the right relievers period.
However, new general manager Al Avila made it a priority to fix the team’s Achilles heel in his first winter in charge.
Francisco Rodriguez was brought in via trade to hold down the ninth, while Mark Lowe was signed as a free agent to pitch the eighth inning.