The Tigers are adding left-hander Konnor Pilkington on a minor league agreement, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The 28-year-old made 32 appearances out of the Nationals’ bullpen last season. He was designated for assignment and elected free agency last week. Pilkington’s deal includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training. It’s worth $1.2MM if he’s in the big leagues, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
The former Guardian delivered 28 1/3 innings of a 4.45 ERA in his lone season in Washington. He pushed his strikeout rate to a career-best 27.6%, but his walk rate also climbed to 13.8%. Pilkington has walked batters at a 12.4% clip or higher in all three of his MLB seasons.
Pilkington came up as a starter with Cleveland in 2022. He kept his ERA under 4.00 across 15 appearances (11 starts), but his xFIP and SIERA were more than a run higher. Pilkington appeared in just one game with the Guardians the following season. He was dealt to Arizona for cash early in the year. He did not reach the big leagues with the Diamondbacks.
The Nats added Pilkington on a minor league deal ahead of the 2025 campaign. He was called up in July to serve as a full-time reliever. The permanent transition to the bullpen saw Pilkington’s arsenal take a step forward. Starters moving to the bullpen typically see an increase in velocity, and the veteran lefty saw a bump of more than 2 mph on his fastball as a reliever. Pilkington also raised his slider usage, and the pitch notched an elite 46.3% whiff rate. He’ll now get a chance to compete for a spot in Detroit’s bullpen.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images
Maybe the Tigers are hoping that he can be as good as another Konnor out there?
Haha
Don’t get your panties in a bunch. Any pitcher with good strikeouts numbers is going to get at least a minor league deal. Every team thinks they can fix these guys. Rarely does it turn out to be the case, but the Toledo Mud Hens need pitching too!
Some good Scrabble names on the move today
It’s nice to see him striking out on his own, finally out from under the shadow of Ricky Gervais.
Depth and who knows what Fetter can do with him. Holton came out of nowhere too.
I remember when he was in college at Mississippi State. He was always either giving up a hit or striking out a batter. His final year he had like 100 innings pitched, 105 hits and 110 strikeouts but only allowed 60 runs.
Tigers are loaded with LH reliever options.
This looks like a good risk. Great K rate – something direly lacking in the pen. Who knows? If Fetter & Company can work their magic, might be a valuable piece.