The Detroit Tigers have quite a bit of work to do this winter to maintain the level of competitive play they have been producing recently, but also improve upon that. Just being competitive is not enough; vying for a World Series in a rapidly improving American League is always the goal.
With the Tarik Skubal discussions being somewhat open-ended currently, whether that be an extension or trade, there is work to do to ensure the roster is ready either way.
A key portion of the roster will be ensuring there is enough pitching depth to sustain a full-season workload, as is the case each year. Injuries cause setbacks to expectations, and having a backup plan in the event that someone goes down is always a positive.
Recently, the Tigers have been shuffling around their roster depth in an attempt to ensure they have things ready prior to making any big-name signings. One of their most recent moves, according to the transaction log, was bringing back a veteran bullpen arm on a minor league deal, after he had put together some impressive outings in Triple-A this past season.
Who Did the Tigers End Up Bringing Back on a Minor League Deal?
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The player that Detroit was able to retain early in the offseason is veteran reliever Tanner Rainey, as was reported on his MLB.com profile. Formerly of the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates, Rainey spent 2025 with the Tigers and Pirates, and only got a little bit of playing time at the MLB level, but looked quite productive on Detroit’s Triple-A roster.
In 19 games with Triple-A Toledo, he put up a 2.66 ERA, 1.141 WHIP, 33 strikeouts, 14 walks, one home run allowed and 4.9 hits allowed per nine innings.
However, at the MLB level, he played 13 games in 2025, putting up an 11.17 ERA, 1.759 WHIP, nine strikeouts, six walks, 7.4 hits allowed per nine innings and a 0-1 record.
His transition to the Major Leagues has been shaky over the years, predominantly because his strikeout stuff falls quite a bit when competing against the best of the best. While he did not allow a home run during those 9.2 innings of work, he allowed an exceptional number of hits in crucial positions.
Tanner Rainey’s Tigers debut was a struggle https://t.co/v5G4w9tQXx pic.twitter.com/XlSYxT8VTu
— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) September 21, 2025
The key to his development will be finding out how to get him to pitch similarly to 2024 first, as he was not perfect, but was at least someone the Nationals could put on the mound in dire situations and expect to close things out. Bringing him back on a minor league deal is low risk, and lets him build upon his skillset in Triple-A first.
More Tigers News