On a harsh day of roster moves across Major League Baseball, several Detroit Tigers players got the axe.
Tuesday was the deadline for eligible prospects to be added to their teams’ 40-man rosters before becoming exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. The Tigers selected five such players, and on the same day, second baseman Gleyber Torres accepted the qualifying offer and took up a sixth spot on the 40-man.
Accordingly, the Tigers had to designate six players for assignment, and one of them was their main closer just a season ago.
Jason Foley, the Tigers’ fifth-year relief pitcher who spent most of the season on the 60-day injured list after arthroscopic shoulder surgery, was DFA’d on Tuesday, per his official roster page.
Foley was unable to make a single appearance this season, but a year ago, he was 28 for 32 in save opportunities and pitched to a 3.15 ERA in the regular season. All told, he made 210 appearances in a Tigers uniform, with a 3.16 ERA and 35 saves overall.
The 30-year-old Foley also allowed an earned run and three hits in just a third of an inning during his postseason debut last year against the Houston Astros.
Detroit’s other five DFA’d players were right-handed pitchers Jack Little, Dugan Darnell, Tanner Rainey, and Tyler Mattison, and left-handed pitcher Sean Guenther. Fellow righty Alex Lange was also released after he was DFA’d last Wednesday.
Perhaps this move is an indication that the Tigers did not feel confident Foley would be ready to make an impact on their 2026 season. He was arbitration-eligible for the first time, so either a team will claim him and his remaining three years of control, or he’ll likely elect free agency and seek the best contract he can find, major league or minor.
