LOS ANGELES -- A.J. Hinch has had a running theme of not naming a closer in his tenure as Tigers manager. So though Jason Foley led the Tigers in saves last year, he never got the title. But when the Tigers open the season on Thursday against the Dodgers, Foley will be at Triple-A Toledo.
The Tigers provided a plot twist in their bullpen competition by optioning Foley, whose 28 saves last year was tied for fifth-most in the American League. The surprise move helped Detroit settle its eight-man relief staff.
¡°That was a hard conversation for him,¡± Hinch said, ¡°and a harsh reality that he does have some things to work on. And we need him to do it, because we need him. Our best pen can function in a lot of different ways, but being honest, we need a good Jason Foley. He can be a dominant reliever.¡±
Foley rose from an undrafted free-agent signing to the anchor of Detroit¡¯s bullpen last year. His 69 appearances tied for the team lead with Will Vest, while he recorded nearly twice as many saves as the rest of the Tigers bullpen combined (17). He was dominant during the Tigers¡¯ late-season run to the postseason, posting a 2.12 ERA and a .155 batting average allowed in 20 appearances from Aug. 15 to the end of the regular season.
Once the Tigers reached the postseason, however, Foley¡¯s role changed. He entered for the ninth inning in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series in Houston with a 3-0 lead, gave up three consecutive hits, then left following a sacrifice bunt. Beau Brieske finished the save, and Foley didn¡¯t pitch the rest of the postseason as Hinch -- wary of teams loading up with left-handed hitters against the sinker-baller -- turned to other relievers.
The strength of Foley¡¯s Spring Training performance depends on how you look at it. He allowed five earned runs on 10 hits over 7 1/3 innings, but all five runs and six of the 10 hits came in two early Grapefruit League outings against the Blue Jays and Yankees. He then tossed four scoreless innings with four strikeouts over his final four outings, and his 10-to-0 strikeout-to-walk ratio showed progress in getting swinging strikes rather than relying on soft contact.
¡°I go back to best execution and best stuff,¡± Hinch said. ¡°He had a hard time getting that going in the spring, and found himself starting the season in Toledo to go work on exactly those things and find his locations better and find his best stuff. And then we expect him to help us.¡±
Meanwhile, Brenan Hanifee -- another right-handed sinkerballer -- had a scoreless spring, posting 10 2/3 innings on seven hits with three walks and nine strikeouts. Hanifee also played a big role down the stretch last season, posting a 1.84 ERA in 21 appearances following his August promotion from Triple-A Toledo. He made his playoff debut in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series in Houston with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
¡°We¡¯re going to take a little bit of a hotter hand into the season,¡± Hinch said.
Foley wasn¡¯t the only veteran reliever sent to Toledo. Lefty Andrew Chafin, who returned midway through Spring Training as a non-roster invite, lost out to Brant Hurter for the second lefty relief spot. Chafin will accept an assignment to Toledo, where he is expected to work on regaining his velocity for a potentially quick call-up.
¡°He came into Spring Training a little bit later, and we don¡¯t think we saw his best stuff,¡± president of baseball operations Scott Harris said. ¡°But we expect to be able to see his best stuff soon. He¡¯s going to pitch for the Mud Hens and try to earn his way back here, and we think that he has a really good chance to. He still has above-average command and he still has a swing-and-miss slider from the left side, and it¡¯s really hard to find left-handed relievers who can really spin a slider the way that Andrew Chafin does.¡±