Detroit Tigers right-handed pitcher Shane Greene has been having a nice year in his first full season as a reliever and has now settled into the closer’s role.
Although there has been plenty that has gone wrong for the Detroit Tigers in 2017, there have also been at least a couple of things for fans to cheer about. Justin Upton is perhaps having the best season of his career, Nicholas Castellanos has already set a new career high with 19 homers and outfielder Mikie Mahtook has been a pleasant surprise. Shane Greene has also been putting together a solid season in the Tigers’ bullpen.
Greene first came to the Tigers in a three-way trade with the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks back in December of 2014. Early on in the 2015 campaign, Greene showed great promise as a starter. However, he would later struggle and he ended his year with a whopping 6.88 ERA before undergoing shoulder surgery. Last year, Greene began the season in the rotation, but settled into a bullpen role upon returning from a blister injury.
Overall, Greene had an inflated 5.82 ERA last year, but his FIP and xFIP were lower at 3.13 and 3.95, respectively. He also had an 8.80 K/9 and was worth 1.3 fWAR.
Now in his first full season as a reliever, Greene has truly been quite impressive. He has appeared in a team-high 61 games out of the Tigers’ bullpen, posting a 2.61 ERA and a 9.97 K/9 across 58.2 frames. After the Tigers dealt Justin Wilson to the Chicago Cubs, Greene was named the Tigers’ new closer. So far, Greene has racked up six saves.
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The closer in 2018 as well?
Going into the 2018 season, it will be interesting to see if Greene remains the Tigers’ closer. While many have dubbed Joe Jimenez as the closer of the future, he has struggled in his opportunities with the Tigers this season, posting an 11.45 ERA over 11 innings of work. Frustrations have also continued to grow with Bruce Rondon. The now 26-year-old Rondon, who was sent to the minors yet again in mid-August, has posted a 10.91 ERA over 15.2 innings with the Tigers this season.
Given the fact that the Tigers seem intent on trimming payroll, it would also be a surprise to see them sign someone such as Wade Davis or Greg Holland (if he doesn’t exercise his $15 million player option and becomes a free agent). Of course, things could change, but it certainly appears that at this point in time, Greene could very well be the best option to close games for the Tigers in 2018.
Even during the Tigers’ recent run of success, the lack of a lockdown closer seemed to always be a major flaw in the team’s armor. Perhaps Jose Valverde being a perfect 49-for-49 in save opportunities in 2011 and a solid year by Joaquin Benoit in 2013 were the two big exceptions.
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At this point, it might seem unlikely for the Detroit Tigers to immediately jump back into contention next year. However, perhaps it is possible that Greene, who is under team control through 2020, could turn out to be the closer the club has always needed.