Right-handed reliever Nick Sandlin was released from the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. It’s possible the righty had an opt-out provision in his deal, as he’d been pitching pretty well over the past couple months.
From 2021-24, Sandlin was a staple in the Guardians’ bullpen. He worked a combined 195 1/3 innings with a 3.27 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate, 11.4% walk rate and 43.6% ground-ball rate in that time. Metrics like SIERA (3.70) and xFIP (4.11) felt he was a bit fortunate, surely due to a .232 average on balls in play and an elevated 77.7% strand rate, but Sandlin was a generally solid middle reliever for several years in Cleveland.
In the two years since, however, Sandlin hasn’t come close to his prior levels of production. Cleveland shipped him to Toronto alongside Andres Gimenez in the trade that briefly brought Spencer Horwitz to the Guardians (before he was immediately flipped to Pittsburgh for Luis Ortiz). Lat and elbow injuries tanked Sandlin’s 2025 season. He managed only 16 1/3 innings, though he at least logged a sharp 2.20 ERA in that time.
Sandlin’s pair of 2025 injuries likely contributed to a career-low 91.4 mph average velocity on his four-seamer last year — three full miles per hour shy of the 94.4 mph at which he sat as a rookie in 2021. Between that velocity loss and the fact that he finished out the season on the injured list owing to elbow inflammation, Toronto opted to drop him from the 40-man roster rather than give him a raise in arbitration.
Sandlin became a free agent and signed with the Angels. He tossed 8 2/3 innings with Anaheim this season but was roughed up for 11 runs on nine hits and five walks. The right-hander also plunked three opponents and only punched out six of the 40 batters he faced upon being cut loose. His four-seamer and sinker sat at the same levels as 2025 — three mph off their peak velocities.
The 29-year-old Sandlin went on to sign a minor league deal with Detroit. After a rocky start to his time with the Tigers’ top affiliate in Toledo, he settled into a groove. Over his past 20 1/3 innings (dating back to June 24), Sandlin touts a 2.21 ERA. He’s fanned 24 of the 81 batters he’s faced (29.6%), albeit against a 14.8% walk rate (12 of 81). He’s also hit a pair of batters.
Sandlin’s velocity is still sitting around 91.5 mph in Triple-A, and his command is still clearly sub-par. However, every contending club is looking for bullpen depth this time of season, and options are few and far between. Sandlin has a decent track record in the majors and has been throwing well in Toledo for the better part of two months now. It wouldn’t be particularly surprising to see a playoff hopeful scoop him up and stash him in Triple-A.
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