Tigers sign former first-round pick

The Tigers have signed Luke Jackson to a one-year, Major League contract, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.  Jackson signed a one-year, $1.35MM deal with the Rangers last winter and Texas is still responsible for most of the remaining salary still owed to the right-hander, with Detroit covering just the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.  Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment in the corresponding moves on the 26-man and 40-man rosters.  (The transactions were first noted earlier today by MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery and other members of the Tigers beat, who noted that Jackson had a locker and Hartlieb didn’t in the Detroit clubhouse.)

The Rangers just released Jackson yesterday following a two-day DFA period, so the righty not only quickly landed a new contract, but Jackson will get the opportunity to carve a niche for himself on a Tigers team in sore need of bullpen help.  Detroit has lost 11 of its last 12 games, and the relief corps’ 7.04 ERA over that stretch has been a lead cause in what has become a major slump.  Relief pitching is a clear priority heading into the deadline, and Jackson may be one of several bullpen additions that could be coming to Motown before July 31.

Jackson posted a 4.11 ERA and 53.8% grounder rate over 35 innings with Texas this season.  That excellent grounder rate, some decent batted-ball luck (.272 BABIP), and an above-average 7.5% barrel rate helped Jackson limit the damage despite strikeout (15.8%) and walk (12.5%) rates that ranked near the bottom of the league.  Control has long been an issue for Jackson, but the lack of whiffs is a surprise, as he had a 27.1 K% over 289 2/3 innings during the 2018-24 seasons.  His overall effectiveness has tended to hinge on the success of his slider, and Jackson’s primary offering has only a -1 in Statcast’s Pitch Value metric this season.

While Jackson hasn’t looked very sharp, groundball specialists tend to have an even wider range of variance than most relievers.  It was just in 2023 that Jackson had a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for the Giants, and his 1.98 ERA over 63 2/3 innings for the 2021 Braves played a key role in Atlanta’s path to the World Series.  At the cost of essentially nothing, there’s little risk for the Tigers in taking a flier on Jackson to see if a change of scenery can help him get on track.

Hartlieb signed a minor league deal with Detroit two weeks ago, and he had a 9.00 ERA over two appearances and two innings with the Tigers at the MLB level when his contract was selected two days ago.  A frequent visitor to DFA limbo, Hartlieb has been designated three times just within the last month — today’s move off the Tigers’ roster, and two previous instances when pitching with the Yankees.

Hartlieb declined outright assignments after clearing waivers in each of those two earlier DFAs and elected free agency, which is his right as a player who has been previously outrighted in his career.  Chances are he’ll elect free agency again, and perhaps either re-sign with the Tigers on another minors deal or look elsewhere for another landing spot.  Since Hartlieb is out of minor league options, he might well face more DFAs unless he can pitch consistently well enough to pitch in a big league bullpen.

Hartlieb has an ungainly 21.60 ERA in 3 1/3 total innings with New York and Detroit this season, boosting his career ERA to 7.95 over 82 2/3 innings with six different Major League clubs.  His 3.13 ERA over 37 1/3 Triple-A innings this year is much more palatable, and it could get Hartlieb another look from a team as at least minor league depth.