Chafin will report to Trriple-A Toledo after the Tigers informed him Wednesday that he won't be included on the Opening Day roster and will be reassigned to the minors, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Even though the Tigers unexpectedly had an extra spot in the bullpen available with Jason Foley surprisingly getting optioned to Triple-A coming off a 28-save season with Detroit, Chafin wasn't able to make the cut. While the 34-year-old lefty boasts a fairly long track record of success in the majors, a poor spring in which he yielded eight earned runs on seven hits and six walks over six Grapefruit League innings kept him from winning an Opening Day spot. Brenan Hanifee instead appears to have clinched the final opening in the Detroit bullpen.
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Tigers' Andrew Chafin: Jockeying for MLB roster spot
Rotowire
Chafin is still in the mix for Detroit's final bullpen spot to begin the regular season, along with Brant Hurter and Brenan Hanifee, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Chafin was invited to camp on a minor-league deal and is not on the 40-man roster, so the Tigers would have to clear room for him if they want to keep him around, but the veteran southpaw could give the team a boost against left-handed hitters. Hurter is also a lefty while Hanifee, a righty, posted a sub-2.00 ERA for Detroit last season, so the team has a tough decision to make. Ultimately, all three players could see time in the MLB bullpen at various points during the 2025 season, but none of them figure to have huge fantasy impacts.
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Tigers' Andrew Chafin: Re-ups on MiLB deal
Rotowire
Chafin signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers on Monday that includes an invitation to spring training.
A 34-year-old lefty, Chafin had a 3.51 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 56.1 innings in the majors last season split between Texas and Detroit. Tyler Holton and Sean Guenther are the Tigers' top left-handed relievers on big-league deals.
The Rangers declined Chafin's 2025 team option Monday.
Chafin signed a one-year deal with the Tigers in December of 2023, but he was dealt to the Rangers in late July. Across 62 regular-season outings with both organizations, Chafin posted a 3.51 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 70:31 K:BB across 56.1 innings. The 34-year-old southpaw should get plenty of interest on the open market from teams looking to add some veteran, left-handed pitching to its bullpen.
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