The Detroit Tigers are one of the best stories in baseball in the early going off to a 13-8 start tied for the best record in the American League.
For all of the noise surrounding the offseason and whether or not the Tigers were going to make the big splash fans were desperate for, in the early going it seems they made the right moves at least so far.
Sure, everyone would have loved Alex Bregman and the slugger is off to an incredible start himself, but Detroit gave it a real effort and ultimately just fell short.
One move the Tigers did make however which went slightly under the radar at the time is proving to have been one best moves in all of baseball from the winter.
Detroit’s late season success last year was largely on the backs of an incredibly successful bullpen, so the Tigers went out and brought in one of the games most underrated relievers.
Giving Tommy Kahnle a one-year deal worth nearly $8 million instantly provided an upgrade with an experienced veteran who has pitched in the highest leverage situations on baseball’s biggest stages.
Not to mention the added bonus of taking him away from the defending American League champion New York Yankees.
Even in a worst case scenario the thought was he would be able to provide a young Detroit bullpen for a team trying to take the next step with some real veteran mentorship.
Additionally however, three weeks into the season he has proven to be the team’s most important reliever and is on track for the best season of his career at 35 years old.
A Tigers bullpen which did not enter the year with a true closer has turned to Kahnle in the most tense game situations with the veteran having four saves in seven total appearances.
In 7.2 innings pitched, Kahnle has pitched to a 1.17 ERA with a ridiculous 0.522 WHIP alongside six strikeouts and just one walk.
When Kenta Maeda put a game which was effectively won already back in the balance on Friday night against the Kansas City Royals, it was Kahnle who came in to clean up the mess.
It has been Kahnle who has provided a steady hand when Detroit needs him the most, something they hoped they would get but could not be absolutely certain of until the regular season began.
If the right-hander can keep up the current pace he’s on, not only will he have a tremendous chance to be an All-Star for the first time in his career but also anchor a Tigers bullpen which is capable of a very deep postseason run.
