The Tigers signed a lefty Matt Gage to a minor league deal with a major league invitation to Spring Training, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Gage will receive an $800K salary in the majors as part of the deal.
Gage, 32 in February, did not play in the majors at all in 2024 after making brief appearances in the big leagues the previous two seasons. The lefty was a 10th-round pick by the Giants back in 2014 but didn’t make his major league debut until his age-29 season with Toronto. He pitched 13 innings with the team but was fired by the Astros before the 2023 season. He only played five games for the club before being sacked again in January.
After being released by Houston, Gage found himself riding the transaction carousel throughout the year. The lefty was claimed off waivers by the Yankees in January before being traded to the Dodgers for a trade. Caleb Ferguson in February. He was then released by the Dodgers in April before promptly re-signing a minor league deal that allowed him to remain in the organization without taking a 40-man roster spot. He was re-drafted in July but was traded to the Mets a few days later before being delisted from New York in November.
Between all those trades, Gage never reached the top of the big leagues despite having his contract optioned by the Dodgers and Mets. That being said, he sports an excellent 1.83 ERA and a solid 3.97 FIP in 19 2/3 innings of work at the big league level from his time in Toronto and Houston. He followed that up with decent enough numbers at Triple-A for the Dodgers and Mets, including a 4.10 ERA and a 28.3% strikeout rate in 41 2/3 innings of work with the Oklahoma City and Syracuse clubs. Apparently, Gage’s profile was intriguing enough for the Tigers to roll the dice on him this winter in a non-complimentary deal.
It’s been a quiet season for Detroit after the club’s surprise ALDS appearance in the fall, and the addition of a deep bullpen isn’t going to move the needle for fans. That being said, Gage does offer a helpful option left behind Brent Hurter, Tyler Holtonagain Sean Guenther of a Tigers club that relied on its left-handed relievers to get more innings than any other MLB club last year, with 261 2/3 of 694 bullpen innings thrown by lefties.
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