Jason Foley DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

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.

The Detroit Tigers avoided salary arbitration with right-hander Jason Foley on Thursday by agreeing to a one-year, $3.15 million deal. In addition to Foley, Detroit also signed one-year deals for 2025 with infielder/outfielder Matt Vierling ($3.005 million), catcher Jake Rogers ($2.64 million), right-handers Casey Mize ($2.34 million), Will Vest ($1.4 million) and Beau Brieske ($1.025 million), and infielders Zach McKinstry ($1.65 million) and Andy Ibanez ($1.4 million). Foley broke out in 2024 with a career-high 28 saves for the Tigers while also sporting a 3.15 ERA (3.82 FIP), a 1.18 WHIP and a 46:20 K:BB in 60 innings pitched. Although the Tigers are a team on the rise after making the postseason last year, Foley lost the closing job midseason and also during the playoffs, so fantasy managers shouldn't bet on a repeat.