How should Detroit Tigers upgrade bullpen in 2025-26 offseason? Reliever expert explains
Reliever expert Greg Jewett explains on “Days of Roar” how the Detroit Tigers should upgrade their bullpen with multiple weapons for the 2026 season.
Right-handed reliever Chase Lee is heading to the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Detroit Tigers traded Lee to the Blue Jays on Friday, Dec. 12, in exchange for 24-year-old left-handed reliever Johan Simon. The newest Tiger hasn’t pitched above the Double-A level and wasn’t ranked among MLB Pipeline’s top 30 prospects in the Blue Jays’ organization.
The trade opened a spot on the Tigers’ 40-man roster.
In 2025, Lee posted a 4.10 ERA with nine walks and 36 strikeouts across 37â…“ innings in 32 games, including a 2.05 ERA in his first 25 games before surrendering 10 runs in his final seven games.
The 27-year-old also registered a 6.47 ERA with 10 walks and 38 strikeouts across 32 innings in 23 games for Triple-A Toledo.
The Tigers acquired Lee from the Texas Rangers in the Andrew Chafin trade at the 2024 trade deadline, along with right-hander Joseph Montalvo, who struggled in High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie before undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2025.
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In return for Lee, the Tigers acquired Simon as organizational depth.
He pitched at three levels in the Blue Jays’ farm system in 2025, logging a 3.42 ERA with 29 walks and 79 strikeouts across 71 innings in 31 games for Low-A Dunedin (18 games), High-A Vancouver (seven games) and Double-A New Hampshire (six games).
Simon had a 2.38 ERA over 11â…“ innings at the Double-A level.
He features a four-pitch mix: sinker, sweeper, changeup and four-seam fastball. His best weapons are the 94 mph sinker, 83 mph sweeper and 87 mph changeup, while his four-seamer is a bad pitch.
Simon has already been assigned to Double-A Erie in the Tigers’ organization.
He is expected to open 2026 with the SeaWolves.
The Blue Jays signed Simon as an international free agent in October 2020 out of the Dominican Republic. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2021, then spent three seasons in the Florida Complex League from 2022-24.
The Tigers’ 40-man roster now sits at 38 players.
Two recent free-agent signees – right-hander Drew Anderson (one year, $7 million) and reliever Kyle Finnegan (two years, $19 million) – have yet to be officially added.
Without a trade, the Tigers would have designated Lee for assignment and risked losing him for nothing. Instead, the Tigers landed a 24-year-old left-handed reliever from the Blue Jays.
It’s better to get something than nothing.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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