Tigers Sign Experienced Veteran Relief Pitcher Ahead of Opening Day
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The Detroit Tigers have made an intriguing signing just days before Opening Day to bolster their depth in the bullpen following some injury news last week.
After news broke that Beau Brieske was going to beginning the season on the injured list, Detroit announced on Monday they were moving him to the 60-day IL and signing veteran right-hander Connor Seabold to a split major league contract worth $800,000 at the big-league level.
While Seabold is obviously added to the 40-man roster, it remains to be seen if he will be in the big leagues to start the season.
Seabold Brings MLB Experience to Tigers Bullpen
Since 2021, Seabold has made 40 big league appearances and is clearly capable of working in a swingman role with 19 starts to his name. Unfortunately, those appearances come with a 7.79 ERA attached alongside a 1.765 WHIP over 119 innings.
In 2025 he had just seven big league appearances and pitched to a 4.35 ERA, however he had a 6.07 ERA in 22 Triple-A appearances. Spending spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays, the numbers were not particularly impressive, but his velocity was up and he had one of the better whiff rates of the spring.
Detroit has had a tendency to take down and out pitchers and be able to squeeze some sort of value out of them, and the contract clearly indicates a belief Seabold can contribute in the big leagues.
Tigers Will Be Calling On Seabold to Provide Depth
In the marathon that is a Major League season, various arms are needed to get through the year, and Detroit in particular has a tendency to get a little bit creative when it comes to getting innings.
Given the way this team has operated for the last several years, seeing Seabold pitching in some big moments should not come as a surprise to anyone. The injury to Brieske seems to have been a bit more serious than initially suspected, so at worst, bringing in Seabold provides some minor league depth.
$800,000 while pitching at the big league level is a decent chunk of change for someone signed days before the season though, so count on the 30-year-old tossing some innings for the Tigers at some point sooner rather than later.
Time will tell if it's a high-value deal, or just another bullpen signing that does not work out well for Detroit.
Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.