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Detroit Tigers’ Bullpen Still A Problem

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JChamb

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

For quite a while now, the bullpen has been the Detroit Tigers‘ one big Achilles Heel. Although the team’s relief corps was quite solid over the first two months of the 2015 MLB season, the wheels now seem to have fallen off once again.

In the month of June, the Tigers rank dead last in baseball with a 5.69 ERA. On the season, they now rank 18th in the game with a 3.73 ERA. Advanced metrics paint an even more dire picture, as they rank 28th in FIP (4.25), last in xFIP (4.38) and 29th in SIERA (4.02). Simply put, the Tigers’ bullpen is still an issue after all of these years.

Sure, there may still be a couple of bright spots. Alex Wilson has been a pleasant surprise, southpaw Blaine Hardy has been quite good and Al Alburquerque has been better after a rough start to the season. However, guys such as Tom Gorzelanny, Joba Chamberlain and Joakim Soria are each creating a considerable amount of reason for concern at the moment.

Gorzelanny may have started the season on a positive note, but he has stumbled over the past two months and now has a 6.85 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP on the season. Chamberlain’s numbers for the year may still look fairly respectable, but after his rough outing against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, he now has a 7.94 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP in the month of June.

When it comes to Soria, it was looking like he was going to be the lockdown closer the Tigers’ have sorely been lacking, but he has stubbed his toe in the month of June as well, posting a 7.36 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Sure, he still has a 2.83 ERA on the season, but the fact that his FIP is way higher at 5.24 may very well be saying something.

Detroit recently activated flame-throwing Bruce Rondon, who may very well provide a boost, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will be enough. If the Tigers decide be buyers once again at the trade deadline, they would still be wise to look for bullpen upgrades.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google. 

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