With Opening Day just days away, the Detroit Tigers are in the process of finalizing their 25-man roster. On Thursday morning, they got one step closer to that goal by releasing RHP Mike Pelfrey.
The Tigers today have unconditionally released RHP Mike Pelfrey. The Tigers have 28 players remaining in major league camp.
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) March 30, 2017
“I maybe kind of knew it was coming a little bit,” Pelfrey said. “When they told me, I just apologized that I put them in that situation to make that decision.”
“I feel bad about that part of it. I obviously didn’t live up to my end of the bargain,” Pelfrey said. “I get it, man. (Boyd and Sanchez) came in here and pitched great. They made the decision the other day to put Sanchie in the pen and I knew it didn’t look good after that. That’s the way it works.”
With the move, the Tigers now have 28 players remaining in their major league camp in Lakeland. With J.D. Martinez destined for the disabled list and Steven Moya reportedly being placed on waivers, that leaves just one more player to be cut. Chances are that player will be LHP Daniel Stumpf.
UPDATE: Stumpf has told reporters that he will be placed on waivers.
Pelfrey signed a 2-year, $16 million contract with the Tigers in December of 2015. In 2016, he was 4-10 with a 5.07 ERA in 22 starts. Detroit will still be on the hook for the $8 million still remaining on his contract.
H/T to Evan Woodberry of MLive for the quotes from Pelfrey.
