This group of relievers would be a boon to the backend of Detroit’s bullpen
The Detroit Tigers need bullpen help. Amidst a horrendous 2-12 stretch that saw the Tigers lose in a myriad of improbable fashions, the constant issue has been a rough bullpen. On the year, their 4.18 ERA ranks 20th and their 20.0 K% is a meager 28th. Colorado and Washington are the only worse bullpens, not exactly the kind of company a contender is seeking to keep.
While the surprisingly strong first-half offense has shown some expected weaknesses and the rotation has sprung a leak or two, the bullpen is really the area of greatest concern come playoff baseball.
Fortunately, relievers are the most fungible asset in the majors. Good ones, sometimes great ones, change hands every trade deadline, and the Tigers have already been connected to a few options.
With a bullpen this bad, almost any team is peddling a reliever that stands to upgrade upon someone in Detroit’s pen, but there are a few likely to be available that would slide into the backend mix with Will Vest. The Tigers haven’t been officially connected to these arms, but here are five of the most appealing arms likely to swap teams by Thursday, July 31.
Ryan Helsley, Saint Louis
For contending teams, Helsley is probably the single most appealing reliever on the market. His 2025 season has been more great than dominant, but since 2022, Helsley is 5th in relief ERA with a minuscule 2.03. That’ll play.
His average fastball hums in around 99 mph, his slider has hellacious bite, and his 26.1% K rate would be second only to Vest in Detroit’s bullpen mix. The reason he’s the most appealing, though, is he’s a free agent after the season ends. For teams increasingly unwilling to move top prospects, rental relievers are the dream.
The Tigers, however, may think differently about that and seem less oriented to short-term moves. For a top reliever, they would perhaps make an exception. Helsley is the top rent-an-arm available this year and presents the best bang for your buck for teams serious about winning in 2025.
David Bednar, Pittsburgh
We’ve talked about the Pirates reliever quite a bit in recent weeks, both because he’s very good and because he comes with team control through the 2026 season. The 34-year-old right-hander holds a 34.5 percent strikeout rate, a 6.8 percent walk rate, and boasts a 1.93 FIP over 37 innings with 16 saves.
He leads with a power four-seamer that has averaged 97.1 mph this season, backing it mainly with a tilting curveball in the upper 70s, and a solid splitter as a change of pace against lefties. If there’s a flaw here from the Tigers’ perspective, it’s that there isn’t really much to improve on.
Bednar, like Helsey, is a perfect plug-and-play option that would do wonders to improve the Tigers’ bullpen both by his performance and by allowing AJ Hinch and Chris Fetter to use their more average arms in more optimal situations than they’ve been able to lately.
As one of the top arms available and with a year of control remaining, he’s also going to be among the most expensive relievers on the market, though he can probably be landed without giving up one of the Tigers’ top six or so prospects.
Robert Suarez, San Diego
Suarez is a relatively late entrant to the relief market. You wouldn’t think a 56-49 San Diego team would be moving key relievers, but the Padres are strapped for cash and prospects, have major issues with their corner outfield and DH positions, and a very deep bullpen that could survive losing an arm.
The goal here would be to trade Suarez for either immediate help or to use the prospects acquired here to buy help from a more conventional seller. The Padres are in luck, because Suarez is quite good and won’t be coming cheap.
Armed with a 98 mph invisi-fastball he throws over 60% of the time, he is the modern take on a power reliever. He chucks a fastball, a sinker, and a hard changeup, all of which are designed to get weak flyballs and strikeouts. He hasn’t been as dominant as Helsey, so he’d be more of a bridge to Vest than a co-closer with him, but his 3.38 ERA and 26.6% K rate are still a strong upgrade for this bullpen.
The main sticking point is that Suarez has a player option this offseason and is likely to opt out of a 2 year, $16M contract.
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles
Tiger fans are familiar with Jansen; anyone who saw the 6-run, 8-hit drubbing on May 2nd probably wonders why anyone would want Jansen. However, since that date, he’s quietly been solid. From May 3 on, his ERA is 31st among all relievers at 2.17. He’s more of a soft-contact maven now than a strikeout arm, making him something like the best version of relievers we have rather than a different style.
Still, the cutter plays well and he’s been the anchor for championship bullpens in the past, so if the Tigers are prioritizing veteran experience, there’s few better than Jansen.
If there’s any concern, it’s that pre-season, he declared a preference to join a team he could close for, and he’s certainly not displacing Vest as a full-time closer. There’d have to be some buy-in, but you have to imagine the chance for another ring is incentive enough. Like the others here, he’s also a rental who should come cheaper than the rest mentioned here.
Rasiel Iglesias, Atlanta
Hear me out on this one. On the whole, Iglesias has been undeniably bad. An ERA over 5 is never a good starting point, and even his 4.27 FIP is more good than great. His velocity is down a tad, and the halcyon days of Iglesias in Cincinnati are all but gone. This is no longer an elite closer, but most of his peripherals suggest he’s a well-above-average arm getting some awful luck.
A brief rundown: his 27.1% K rate and 5.9% walk rate are borderline elite, his 32.1% hard hit rate is undeniably elite, and somehow he has the seventh-highest HR/9 among all relievers. Weird.
When Iglesias is on, he’s really on, and once every few weeks, he’s unwatchably bad. Chris Fetter has historically been pretty good at sequencing to prevent home runs, and Comerica Park certainly helps, so it’s pretty easy to think a change of scenery could help get Iglesias back on track. Once again, we’re dealing with a rental here, and his overall body of work probably suppresses his value compared to the true relief aces on the market.
Ultimately, the Tigers need a rather significant overhaul of the bullpen. Troy Melton or Sawyer Gipson-Long in relief might help, or an Alex Lange comeback, but there are just too many short spots in the pitching staff to feel comfortable with internal improvements only. They realistically need two good relievers to really be strong going into October; grabbing one of these and a solid setup-type is a great place to start.