The Tigers have signed left-hander Matt Gage to a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, per a report from Jon Heyman of The New York Post. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Gage will receive an $800K salary in the majors as part of the deal.
Gage, 32 in February, didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2024 after making brief appearances in the big leagues in each of the past two seasons. The lefty was a 10th-round pick by the Giants back in 2014 but didn’t make his big league debut until his age-29 season with Toronto. He pitched 13 innings with the club but was claimed off waivers by the Astros prior to the 2023 season. He made just five appearances for the club before once again being subjected to the waiver wire back in January.
After being put on waivers by Houston, Gage found himself riding the transaction carousel throughout the rest of the year. The lefty was claimed off waivers by the Yankees in January before traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Caleb Ferguson in February. He was then released by the Dodgers in April before being promptly re-signed to a minor league deal that allowed him to stick in the organization without taking up a 40-man roster spot. He was selected back onto the roster in July but was traded to the Mets just days later before being outrighted off the roster in New York back in November.
Amid all those transactions, Gage never once made it to the big league mound despite having his contract selected by both the Dodgers and Mets. With that being said, he sports an excellent 1.83 ERA and a solid 3.97 FIP in 19 2/3 innings of work at the big league level from his time in Toronto and Houston. He followed that up with decent enough numbers at Triple-A for the Dodgers and Mets, combining for a 4.10 ERA and a 28.3% strikeout rate in 41 2/3 innings of work with the clubs’ affiliates in Oklahoma City and Syracuse. Clearly, Gage’s profile was intriguing enough for the Tigers to roll the dice on him this winter with a non-roster pact.
It’s been a relatively quiet offseason in Detroit after the club’s surprise run to the ALDS in the fall, and the addition of a depth piece for the bullpen won’t exactly move the needle for fans. With that being said, Gage does offer a lefty relief option behind Brant Hurter, Tyler Holton, and Sean Guenther for a Tigers club that relied on its left-handed relievers for more innings than any other MLB club last year, with 261 2/3 of its 694 bullpen innings thrown by left-handers.
Still waiting for something bigger.
You’ll be waiting for a loooooong time.
So far all they have done is signed a few minor league free agents and a 37 yr old pitcher that only appeared in 3 games last year. It doesn’t seem like they are even trying to improve, they are only interested in cheap cheap. Just remember, you get what you pay for
Well, last year they certainly got more than they paid for…
You are right. They were awesome last year. Luck had nothing to do with it. All these haters are crazy. Harris is the best GM in baseball and is doing an incredible job this year. Why spend money when there’s no reason to? You are one of the most intelligent Tiger fans on this site!
Man there are some really weird people that comment on this site…. All I said was they got more than they paid for last year… go get some help, buddy.
The Mariners have done even less than the Tigers this offseason. Ugh.
Shotgun Gage .. grab that closer role.