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The Detroit Tigers and relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle are reportedly close to a deal, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
It is a one-year, $7.75 million deal with the Tigers for Kahnle, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Tommy Kahnle is coming over to the Tigers after a second stint with the New York Yankees. He was very effective in 2024, with a 2.11 ERA in 50 games pitched, according to Baseball Reference. Kahnle was drafted by the Yankees, but eventually made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies in 2014, and went to the Chicago White Sox in 2016. The White Sox traded Kahnle to the Yankees in the 2017 season, where he stayed through 2020 when he had Tommy John surgery. Kahnle signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers that offseason and finally returned to the mound in 2022 with Los Angeles before returning to the Yankees in 2022 in free agency.
Kahnle is a right-handed pitcher, but is a changeup-first pitcher, and that changeup makes him very effective against left-handed batters. The Tigers made a surprising playoff run last season, and will look to follow up on that success in 2025 with the young core that is in place. It will be interesting to see if they will be able to do so, or if they fall back to where they have been for much of the last decade or so.
The addition of Kahnle is not the first player the Tigers have taken from the Yankees this offseason. They signed second baseman Gleyber Torres to a one-year contract, hoping that he could be a key part of the Tigers' lineup this season. It will be interesting to see if he is able to bounce back from what was a bit of a down season in 2024 with the Yankees. It also seems as if the Tigers are in play for someone like Alex Bregman, who is the top remaining free agent on the market.
For now, the Tigers hope Kahnle is a key addition for their bullpen in 2025 and pitches high-leverage innings.
