Jason Foley DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Jason Foley (shoulder) will have season-ending right-shoulder surgery, according to manager A.J. Hinch. Foley recorded a career-best 28 saves for Detroit while also posting a 3.15 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 46:20 K:BB in 60 relief innings in 2024 in his fourth year in the big leagues. However, he was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to begin the year and then landed on the injured list in mid-April with a right-shoulder strain. Before being shut down, he threw 6 2/3 shutout innings with the Mud Hens with nine strikeouts and no walks in five relief appearances. Fantasy managers holding him in deeper leagues in hopes that he'd return to Detroit at some point this year in a high-leverage role can now cut bait in redraft leagues. The Tigers will move forward with Will Vest and Tommy Kahnle as their co-closers.

The Detroit Tigers optioned right-handed reliever Jason Foley to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday, the Detroit Free Press' Evan Petzold reports. Entering spring training, Foley was in the mix to save games for the Tigers to open the 2025 season, but that will have to be put on hold after he really struggled in spring training. The 29-year-old posted a 6.14 ERA and 1.36 WHIP while allowing five earned runs on 10 hits (one homer) with no walks and 10 strikeouts in 7 1/3 Grapefruit League innings. Foley led the Tigers with 28 saves a year ago, so he'll no doubt be back with the big club eventually after he irons out some issues in the minors. But with Foley starting on the farm, the Tigers will now look to some combination of Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Tommy Kahnle and Will Vest to close out games in the back of the bullpen. It's a messy situation for fantasy managers to navigate.

According to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, the Detroit Tigers may opt to use a combination of relief pitchers to navigate the late innings "regardless of who gets the save." Last week, the Tigers signed relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle to a one-year contract. Last season, Kahnle posted a solid 2.11 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP across 42 2/3 innings with the New York Yankees. He operated primarily as a setup man as he tallied 16 holds and one save. Throughout his career, he has only tallied eight saves. Last season, Jason Foley led the team in saves with 28 but did begin to lose some opportunities to Tyler Holton late in the season. Foley posted a 3.15 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP across 60 innings. Holton tallied six saves after the All-Star break and held a stellar 0.83 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP over these 43 1/3 innings. While Foley will open camp as the likely favorite to earn save opportunities, he may be given a short leash given the depth in Detroit rotation.