Minor League Baseball

Veteran Reliever Heads Back to Detroit Tigers on Minor League Deal

Andrew Chafin, now 34, will return to the Tigers for his third tour of duty with the franchise.
Brady Farkas|
Detroit Tigers pitcher Andrew Chafin (17) pitches in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park in 2024.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Andrew Chafin (17) pitches in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park in 2024. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

In this story:

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers announced Monday that they signed veteran reliever Andrew Chafin to a minor league contract. He'll head to spring training.

Per Tigers PR on social media:

The Tigers have signed LHP Andrew Chafin to a Minor League contract. He will join Major League spring training as a non-roster invitee.

Now 34, Chafin is an 11-year veteran of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Tigers and Texas Rangers. This will be his third tour of duty with Detroit, having spent time with them in 2022 and 2024.

Lifetime, Chafin is 21-27 with a 3.42 ERA. He's always been a tough lefty and can present solid matchups for manager AJ Hinch if he's able to make the roster.

Detroit is coming off a season in which it finished third in the American League Central and advanced to the playoffs. The Tigers used a great six-week spurt at the end of the year to make the playoffs, defeating the Houston Astros before losing to the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS.

Detroit expects to be solid again this year as some of the young players continue to grow. In addition, they have the American League Cy Young Award winner in Tarik Skubal and added veterans Jack Flaherty and Gleyber Torres over the offseason.

Detroit will continue on in Grapefruit League action for the next five weeks, then open the regular season on March 27 against the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games to win the World Series last year.

Related MiLB Stories

BLUE JAYS PROSPECT GOES YARD: Orelvis Martinez, in the mix for the Blue Jays starting third base job, homered against the Yankees on Saturday. CLICK HERE:

BERROA INJURED: Prelander Berroa, once a solid pitching prospect for the Seattle Mariners, left the game early on Saturday for the White Sox with injury. CLICK HERE:

LIKE TONY GWYNN?: Tampa Bay Rays top prospect Chandler Simpson recently drew extremely high praise for something other than his speed. CLICK HERE:

Published | Modified
Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

Home/NEWS