The Tigers will non-tender reliever Neftali Feliz, according to James Schmehl of MLive.com (via Twitter). He’ll join fellow right-handed reliever Al Alburquerque in reaching the open market rather than returning to Detroit via arbitration.
Feliz signed on with the Tigers over the summer after being cut loose by the Rangers. The 27-year-old was projected by MLBTR to earn $5.2MM. That’s rather a steep price, but his numbers were driven up by prior saves and the fact that he was in his final year of eligibility.
Things didn’t work out at all in Detroit, as the former closer scuffled to a 7.62 ERA in his 28 1/3 innings. That’s probably not a fair reflection of his efforts, as ERA estimators saw him more as a ~4.00 performer, but Feliz had been outperforming his peripherals for some time.
It’s been a remarkable fall for a pitcher who once looked like a future ace reliever — if not a high-quality starter. But teams will still probably look at Feliz as a nice rebound candidate: youth remains on his side and he still brings his fastball in the 94 to 95 mph range on average.
Feliz could be a sneaky good pick up for some teams. I know hes long removed from his success in his rookie year but maybe he just needs the right guidance to get back to his old form
Somebody’s gonna jump at the chance. And if it works for them, everyone will wonder why the teams that didn’t get him didn’t try.
Don’t know if would call it sneaky or not. He’s had considerable success. It’s an obvious salary move on detroit’s end.
Several ex Ranger’s BP guys out there who could probably help a team. Feliz, Ogando and probably Scheppers eventually will get non tendered. Think Roman Mendez also will make his way back to MLB, though he’s a product of both Sox and Rangers systems.
Ogando was horrible for Boston last year
Personally, I think something strange happened with that Texas bullpen of about 5 years ago. As a Sox fan, I can tell you Ogando looked TONS worse than his stats last season. And the arrival of Carl Willis as pitching coach did nothing for him, unlike most of the rest of the Sox staff, which did much better in the second half. There are better risks to take.
28 homeruns and 60 innings, that’s pretty bad
I’d like the Braves to take a shot at him and see if they can get some of his upside on the field then flip him for value at the deadline. exactly the kind of thing a rebuilding team should try.
2 teams trotted him out there to save games last year. If he will sign for cheap and no more than 2 years, come to SD and let Balsley work some Petco bullpen magic
Come one Pirates! A little uncle Ray magic and he’ll be good as new
I think he could be a good pick up but don’t think the magic will be as predictable as it once was with PaPa Jim in Miami now.
The Phillies need to snag him
The talk around Detroit was that they would not tender him but give him an offer much lower than the $5.2MM. He must think a better deal is out there than what they offered. If he doesn’t like other offers, he may still return to Detroit.
I think they need to use the $7.3MM saved from both of them to help get a solid late inning guy.
I think you are right.
The problem is they can only cut him 20% without this move. Detroit may still be attractive to him, as they have spots open at the set up positions in the bullpen. I do not see any team offering a closing role.
From Aug 28 to Sep 28 Feliz had a 2.03 ERA with a 0.75 WHIP with zero home runs and one walk and a 95 MPH fastball, like the man said. He also was used in high leverage situations during that time. Somebody could be getting a real bargain.
what were his numbers before and after that one month period?
Killjoy.
They obviously were bad before, Bless You Boys dug this up. That wasn’t the point was it? The yearly stats don’t tell you he was putting it all together at the end.
I agree that he could have been “putting it together” and Stymeedone made a good point that Detroit needed to release him to offer less than a 20%discount.. He still could be on the Tiger’s radar.
One thought – in that Aug 28 to Sept.28 time frame, does anyone take into account that rosters are expanded. Is there a stat that shows a “quality discount” in skills.for both pitchers and position players?
The Pads lost Bud Norris to free agency. Feliz may be a good replacement/reclamation project.
if the price is right, grab him – thought they would go after him last year before the Kimbrel trade
Dbacks pick him up!