Outside of getting swept to begin the season, the Detroit Tigers’ campaign has started about as well as anyone could have hoped.

Coming off their out-of-nowhere run to the playoffs that resulted in them ending the Houston Astros’ historic American League reign in the Wild Card round, the expectations for this young group became high.

The front office didn’t necessarily help them a ton this past winter, but there is no question that there was enough in place for them to compete for an AL Central title even with minimal additions.

Their 10-7 record that has them atop the division entering Wednesday points to that.

When roster decisions were being made, though, the Tigers shocked a lot of people when it was revealed that last year’s closer, Jason Foley, was being optioned to Triple-A to start the season.

He had been with Detroit in a full-time capacity since 2022, posting three straight sub-4.00 ERAs during that time while also converting 35 out of his 42 save opportunities.

However, the Tigers wanted him to make some tweaks to his mechanics, opting to have him do that in the minors instead of carrying him on the Major League roster while that took place.

Foley opened up about his feelings on the matter, telling Tony Paul of The Detroit News exactly what he thought about that decision.

“It’s pretty shocking,” he said. “I obviously wasn’t thrilled about it. Yeah, I wasn’t thrilled … I was pissed. I was frustrated, you know, all those emotions … It stinks. I mean, I’ve been on the team for three years in a row. A lot of my good friends are on the team and I was a big part of it last year, and it sucks to be told that you’re not good enough to be on the team anymore.”

It doesn’t seem like Detroit believes the right-hander isn’t good enough to be on the team, though.

They just want him to work on some things they think will allow him to take his game to the next level this season, potentially turning the 29-year-old into an elite reliever during this stage of his career.

Paul reported that Foley has been in contact with the Tigers’ pitching coaches during his time with Triple-A Toledo, so there is a good chance he’ll get called back up sooner rather than later.

Until then, though, the former big league closer knows he has to put his head down and work.

“But you have two options. It’s either sit here and sulk or try to get better and address the things they wanted me to address and get called back up. So that’s what I’m trying to do,” Foley said.