Detroit Tigers Newcomer Has Established Himself as Primary Closer

An offseason signing has seemingly established himself as the new closer for the Detroit Tigers.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tommy Kahnle (43) throws against Kansas City Royals during the eighth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, April 17, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers are following up their strong campaign in 2024 with a solid start to the season in 2025.

Coming into the year, the Tigers had some newfound expectations.

Last campaign, the team shocked the league with an impressive run in the second half of the season to make the playoffs.

Detroit didn’t stop there, though. They won their Wild Card round matchup and came just one win short of making the ALCS.

The success dramatically shifted the outlook for a team that was still seemingly in a rebuild.

This winter, with the team seemingly speeding up their timeline to compete, the front office was also aggressive in trying to help them improve.

With a lot of young talent on the team, there was expected to be some natural progression for some players. However, some of the glaring holes needed to be filled.

The Tigers did a good job filling those needs with some notable signings, and with the season almost a month in, one player in particular has been shining for the team.

Jason Beck of MLB.com recently wrote about newcomer Tommy Kahnle being the best of the additions to the team, filling an important role going forward.

“Manager A.J. Hinch doesn’t name closers, but Kahnle has effectively taken over primary duties, including back-to-back saves Thursday and Friday against the Royals.”

This past winter, Detroit made four notable signings; Kahnle, Jack Flaherty, Alex Cobb and Gleyber Torres. So far, two of the four have performed well, with Cobb not playing yet this campaign and Torres also missing some time.

Both Kahnle and Flaherty have had a significant positive impact on the team, but the slight edge on performing better went to Kahnle.

So far in 2025, he has totaled a 1.04 ERA with four saves. A.J. Hinch is certainly no stranger to shaking things up in the bullpen in terms of who closes out games, but it seems like their newcomer has taken over the closer role.

If the right-hander can firmly emerge as a trusted pitcher in the ninth inning, it will help solve a potential remaining need going heading toward the trade deadline.

Even though Kahnle has been performing well, Flaherty is right there with him.

This season, he has totaled a 2.53 ERA in four starts.

While the bullpen was really strong for the Tigers last year, the addition of the veteran right-hander has seemingly provided them with a new closer who has a ton of postseason experience.

Overall, with both Kahnle and Flaherty pitching well, those moves have emerged as solid so far.