With injuries to set-up men Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya the Tigers’ bullpen appears very weak heading into the 2008 season. 40-year old righty Todd Jones will be the closer again this season for the Tigers. He pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 1-4 with 38 saves, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Jones also only whiffed 33 batters in 61.1 innings which shows that he doesn’t miss many bats so he will have to be very fine with his control to succeed in 2008.

31-year old righty Fernando Rodney will be the top set-up man for the Tigers when he returns from the D.L. He pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last year and he was 2-6 with 1 save, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Rodney whiffed 54 batters in only 50.2 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has. The Tigers need him to get healthy quick.

23-year old righty Yorman Bazardo could sneak his way into a important role in the Tigers’ bullpen. He pitched in 11 games (2 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Bazardo was a starting pitcher in the minors last season. He pitched in 23 games (21 starts) in AAA ball last season and he was 10-6 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.

33-year old righty Aquilino Lopez was a stopper in AAA ball last season so he could help out late in games early in the season. He pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 5.19 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Lopez also pitched in 48 games in AAA ball last season and he was 3-5 with 26 saves, a 2.35 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.

30-year old lefty Bobby Seay will be the Tigers lone lefty in the bullpen when the season begins. He pitched in 58 games for the Tigers last season and he was 3-0 with 1 save, a 2.33 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Look for him to do a solid job in 2008 for the Tigers.

26-year old righty Zach Miner will likely be one of the long men in the Tigers’ bullpen. He pitched in 34 games (1 start) for the Tigers last season and he was 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Miner also could help out in the rotation if the Tigers have injury problems there.

27-year old righty Denny Bautista had an outstanding spring and it helped him make the Opening Day Roster, but, he has never had much success at the major league level. He pitched in 9 games (1 start) for the Tigers last season and he was 2-1 with a 12.46 ERA and a 2.54 WHIP. Bautista has now pitched in 35 games (21 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-10 with a 6.93 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.

31-year old righty Jason Grilli will likely be the long man in the pen again this season. He pitched in 57 games (0 starts) last season for the Tigers and he was 5-3 with a 4.74 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.

23-year old righty Joel Zumaya will likely miss the first half of the season due to surgery on his right shoulder. He pitched in 28 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 2-3 with 1 save, a 4.28 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Zumaya has now pitched in 90 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 8-6 with 2 saves, a 2.62 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has also whiffed 124 batters in only 117 innings in his major league career. The Tigers were probably going to give Zumaya a chance to be their closer but he will likely have to wait until next season unless Todd Jones is doing poorly when he returns.

25-year old lefty Macay McBride could get another chance at some point for the Tigers in 2008. He pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Braves & Tigers last season and he was 1-1 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. McBride walked an amazing 25 batters in only 32.2 innings last season and manager Jim Leyland will not tolerate that.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: D

The Tigers have signed 34-year old lefty Aaron Fultz to a minor league contract. If he pitches well in AAA, he will get called up quickly to the Tigers who need help in the bullpen. Fultz pitched in 49 games (0 starts) for the division rival Cleveland Indians and he was 4-3 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Fultz has now pitched in 463 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 25-15 with 3 saves, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. This was a good low risk/high reward signing for the Tigers.

The Tigers decided to only go with one lefty in the bullpen to start the season as they released Tim Byrdak. Byrdak was awful in spring training this year and that cost him a roster spot despite pitching pretty well for the Tigers last season. He pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He also whiffed 49 batters in only 45 innings which shows that he had good stuff last year. The Houston Astros quickly snapped up Byrdak.