Detroit Tigers Add Former A's Reliever

The Tigers added an interesting low-risk reliever

On Thursday, the Detroit Tigers claimed Devin Sweet off waivers from the San Francisco Giants, who had claimed the right-hander off waivers from the Oakland A's exactly one month prior. 

Sweet, 27, made his big-league debut on July 19th as a member of the Seattle Mariners. He ended up pitching in two games with the M's and holding a 9.00 ERA. The A's claimed him off waivers at the beginning of September, and he made it into five games with Oakland, posting a 10.80 ERA across 6 2/3 innings in five outings. In total, he walked six batters and gave up 10 hits in 8 2/3 innings in his debut season. 

While most of his Baseball Savant page is filled with blue bars indicating below-average performance, there is one area in which Sweet performed well that could garner a look in the Tigers bullpen, and that is his average exit velocity of 85.2 miles per hour. Granted, this came in a small sample size, but maybe it's something the Tigers think they can work with.

As for his arsenal, Sweet possesses a four-seamer that sits 93, a slider at 86, and a changeup at 77. The fastball accounted for exactly 50% of his pitches, while the slider and change split the rest of his offerings in 2023. 

While Sweet is currently on the Tigers' 40-man roster, he still has two option years remaining, so he does not have to begin the season in the big leagues. This should give Detroit enough time to figure out what they have in the righty before they have to make a decision as to how he ultimately fits, or doesn't fit, with the team. Roster Resource does not include Sweet in Detroit's projected bullpen to begin the 2024 campaign.

The addition of Sweet to the roster pushed Tyler Nevin to the waiver wire for Detroit.