DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers have added a solid left-handed arm to their bullpen Friday by claiming Andrew Vasquez from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Vasquez, 29, has no minor-league options remaining and will have to be added to Detroit’s MLB roster. He has spent parts of four seasons in the majors, but has never pitched enough to acquire a year of service time. That means he’s under club control through 2028.
This season, Vasquez threw 39.2 innings of relief for the Phillies, posting a 2.27 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He’s struck out 34 batters and walked 14.
Statcast suggests Vasquez has been a bit fortunate this season, but his expected ERA is still a very solid 3.49. His contact metrics are excellent -- 97th percentile in average exit velocity allowed and 98th percentile in opponent hard hit rate.
Vasquez is a below-average bat misser, but thanks to those elite contact rates and an average walk rate, he’s found a way to carve out a role as a middle-innings lefty.
In 30 appearances this season, Vasquez has gotten more than three outs 13 times, so he’s capable of giving manager A.J. Hinch multiple innings.
He handles both right-handed and left-handed batters about equally -- righties slash .241/.327/.333 against Vasquez while lefties slash .226/.310/.355.
The Phillies likely cut ties with Vasquez because of his struggles in July, though he was limited to just five appearances. Vasquez allowed 10 base runners and three earned runs in 4.2 innings last month.
Detroit took a flier on Vasquez because there’s nothing to lose. The team is a full seven games behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central, and pitching coach Chris Fetter has been excellent at getting the most out of pitchers when they put on the Old English D.
