Tigers Reportedly Have Deal With Reliever Mark Lowe
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
The Tigers have been one of the busiest teams this offseason, and they reportedly aren't done yet. According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, the team was close on Sunday night to a deal for another pitcher, this time a set-up guy for recently-signed Francisco Rodriguez.
According to CBS' Jon Heyman, that deal has been completed.
Lowe would be the fourth pitcher the Tigers have signed in recent weeks, after nabbing Rodriguez, signing Mike Pelfrey on Sunday and inking Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year deal last week.
Lowe has previously pitched for the Mariners, Rangers, Angels, Indians and Blue Jays. Last season with both Seattle and Toronto, he pitched 55 innings in 57 games, allowing 46 hits, 15 runs (12 earned) and 12 walks, striking out 61. He has a career 3.80 ERA in 336 innings pitched.
Tigers general manager and vice president of baseball operations Al Avila said on Sunday that the team was still focusing on its pitching, with MLB winter meetings kicking off on Sunday.
"Last year the pitching really was self-explanatory, it was horrible," he said in a meeting with reporters on Sunday. "We feel if we fix our pitching, we have enough hitting. That doesn't mean you don't always try to tweak something, and it might not happen here, probably won't happen here, could happen during spring training, might happen during the season, where you might make adjustments with the off depending on need."
UPDATE: According to Ken Rosenthal, Lowe's deal is worth $13 million over two years.
