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Tigers Need Veteran Relief Pitcher To Find Second Wind Down Stretch of Season

Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 26, 2025 1:00 PM ET

One of the areas of their roster that the Detroit Tigers were looking to upgrade ahead of the MLB trade deadline was their bullpen.

Adding a bona fide late-game option for manager A.J. Hinch to rely on was atop their to-do list. Ideally, that pitcher would be able to generate swings and misses as well. For everything that the Tigers’ bullpen had been doing well this year, striking out opponents was not one of them. Doing that is normally key to finding success in October.

Detroit was active ahead of the deadline, adding several relief pitchers to the mix. Alas, it felt as if the team had come up short, given some of the big names who were on the move. It was unrealistic to expect the Tigers to land someone such as Jhoan Duran from their American League Central rivals, the Minnesota Twins. But someone such as David Bednar, who went from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the New York Yankees, would have made a lot of sense.

Kyle Finnegan, Rafael Montero, Codi Heuer and Paul Sewald, acquired from the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Guardians, was the deadline haul. Not the splash fans were hoping for, but at least Finnegan comes with legitimate late-game experience. He has been an excellent late-game duo with Will Vest.

Can Tommy Kahnle Get Back on Track in Tigers Bullpen?

But, if this unit is going to live up to expectations and provide the kind of impact they’re capable of, they need some of their other players to step up. One who is under the microscope is Tommy Kahnle. He looked like the biggest steal of free agency to begin the year, but fell on tough times in recent months.

His production has fallen off a cliff. Getting him back on track would be huge for the franchise to give Hinch another reliable late-game option to turn to. He showed earlier this year he is capable of getting the job done, but his production regressed beyond the mean with a 19.64 ERA in July. August was brutal as well, but Kahnle has shown some signs of figuring it out again.

Finding spots for a struggling veteran to work out the kinks while still trying to win games isn’t easy. Hinch didn’t hold back when discussing that recently. Kahnle has to earn his opportunities, like everyone else, and is slowly but surely working his way back into the mix.

A reset was likely needed with the 36-year-old throwing his most innings since 2019, when he had 61.1. 2023 and 2024 were the first time in his career he threw 40+ innings back-to-back years, and he has already done it a third time in 2025. That heavy workload very well could have left him fatigued, but hopefully the scaled-back workload and a little more rest will have him looking more similar to the April version down the stretch than the July/August version.

This article first appeared on Detroit Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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