The 2012 Detroit Tigers had a mediocre, middle-of-the-pack bullpen. Despite this year’s edition lacking in name recognition, it could prove to be one of the most exciting bullpens in the league. With no clear closer and a lot of high-powered arms, Jim Leyland doesn’t have a go-to guy to rely on any longer.

While Jose Valverde racked up 35 saves and kept his ERA to 3.78 last season, his strikeout rate also plummeted and he is still presently looking for work. The Tigers are unsure of exactly how their pen will be set up, but it appears bringing Valverde back is not in the plans, at least according to Leyland. There has been speculation that the Tigers may look to make a move to solidify the back end, but nothing seems imminent.

Behind Valverde last year were a pair of very solid right-handed relievers, both of whom have a chance at save situations this year. Joaquin Benoit continued his stellar run as a late-inning man, posting a 29.2 K% and a 3.29 xFIP. Home runs were a bit of an issue, but his HR/FB rate was nearly double his career mark and is due for some regression. Octavio Dotel, meanwhile, had a strong season overall but simply can’t be trusted against lefties, making him a ROOGY of sorts for Leyland. This five-year trend of being shelled by lefties and shutting down righties should mean he sees a more extreme split in terms of batters faced, although the lack of lefties in the bullpen could convince Leyland to leave him in against them anyway, splits be damned.
Read the rest of this entry »