Option decisions are among the first pieces of offseason business. Any club and player option provisions must be decided upon within five days of the end of the World Series. The vast majority of those will be formalities, obvious decisions in either direction based on the player’s walk year performance. That said, every year brings a handful of borderline calls.
The Tigers have two upcoming club option decisions — both on pitchers who’d be due eight-figure salaries. Kenley Jansen is a future Hall of Fame closer; Drew Anderson is a journeyman who pitched in Japan and Korea during a five-year odyssey between MLB stints. Detroit has a net $10MM call on both pitchers. Despite their wildly different career arcs, it’s Anderson who stands a better chance of getting a second season in Detroit.
Anderson signed a one-year, $7MM contract last December. The deal included a $10MM option for next season with no buyout. Anderson initially expected to compete for a rotation spot but was pushed to long relief by the subsequent Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander signings. He got out to a spotty start and never really pitched his way into a late inning role. Anderson got a handful of high-leverage assignments but also mixed in a decent amount of mop-up work.
Jansen, Will Vest, Kyle Finnegan and Brant Hurter (before a back injury in late May) all got bigger assignments in the early-season bullpen. An eight-figure salary for a medium leverage reliever seems a little rich. Yet Anderson took on a bigger role down the stretch, drawing into the rotation after the Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize deadline trades.
The 32-year-old (33 in March) started his final nine appearances and worked to a 2.84 ERA across 44 1/3 innings. The peripherals weren’t as impressive, as Anderson fanned a middling 20% of opponents against an 11% walk rate in that time. He gave up home runs at a higher than average rate and rarely turned a lineup over more than twice. Opponents who did see Anderson for a third time went 9-22 with two homers and doubles apiece.
While the results as a starter were mixed, Anderson showed a lot to like in his return to the majors. He averaged 95 mph on his fastball and missed bats with his curveball and a kick-changeup that he’d honed with the SSG Landers during his time in Korea. Anderson struck out almost 27% of his opponents when he worked out of the bullpen and fanned a quarter of batters faced overall. He combined for 108 innings of 3.67 ERA ball and was able to neutralize left-handed hitters behind the aforementioned changeup.
There’s a decent argument for Detroit bringing Anderson back despite the pay bump. They were willing to give him $7MM before they had proof of concept that he could retire big league hitters. The $10MM salary would match what Tyler Mahle and Zach Eflin commanded in free agency last winter coming off injury-shortened seasons. The Rays signed Nick Martinez, who’d been a swingman until this year, for $13MM. Other free agent pitchers who signed one-year deals in that range included Michael Lorenzen ($8MM), Michael Soroka ($7.5MM), and Dustin May ($12.5MM). Lorenzen is a career fifth starter, while May and Soroka were higher-upside plays with injury concerns.
Detroit is certainly going to be in the rotation market whether Anderson returns or not. Skubal and Mize are gone. Jack Flaherty is hitting free agency. Valdez is the projected staff ace but didn’t have an especially good first season as a Tiger. Troy Melton had the best year of their returning starters. Keider Montero pitched pretty well and could compete for a back-end spot. Jackson Jobe, River Ryan and Reese Olson all have upside but can’t be relied upon for 150 innings. Anderson could come to camp preparing as a starter with the potential to move back to relief depending on whom else Detroit acquires later in the winter.
The bullpen is going to require an overhaul as well. Vest and Finnegan had poor seasons. Jansen, whose deal comes with a $12MM option or a $2MM buyout, may or not be back. He struggled with the longball and went just 22-28 in save chances. Jansen’s 3.20 ERA and 28% strikeout rate were both strong marks, and (to his credit) he reeled off 12 straight appearances without an earned run to finish the season. The increasing home run rate and a spike in walks nevertheless make him feel a little shakier in the ninth inning at this stage of his career.
Jansen is two saves away from becoming the third player in league history to get to 500. He’s certainly going to want to be the full-time closer wherever he lands. Even if the Tigers are open to that possibility, they probably won’t want to commit themselves to that within the first week of the offseason. They could decline the option while keeping in touch with Jansen’s camp about a potentially cheaper deal once they see how the bullpen market takes shape.
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