“Signing Justin Upton is great. Now what are the Tigers going to do about the bullpen?”
That was a friend’s reaction when two weeks ago news of the Tigers’ plan to sign a new marquee outfielder broke on social media.
It’s not that people don’t realize the Tigers went out and added three late-inning relievers this offseason. It’s that they don’t really attach a lot of positive thoughts to the players they added.
No reliever is going to make as big an impact as an everyday outfielder like Upton, or as a frontline starter like Jordan Zimmermann.