Jason

Foley

There was optimism Foley would return to San Francisco’s relief mix relatively soon, but that’s no longer happening. The 30-year-old will be shut down for the next few days before potentially being cleared to resume throwing this weekend. He’s been working his way back from last year’s shoulder surgery and should be ready to contribute around midseason.

It’s merely a procedural move from earlier this week to free up a spot on San Francisco’s 40-man roster for fellow reliever Rowan Wick. The 30-year-old righty will miss the first couple weeks of the upcoming season continuing his rehabilitation process from shoulder surgery. He figures to pitch in middle relief for the Giants at some point down the road.

Foley, the Tigers’ primary closer in 2024, didn’t pitch in the majors last season and ended up undergoing shoulder surgery that’s expected to cost him the first half of 2026. The 30-year-old has a career 3.16 ERA and a strong 54% groundball rate in 199 2/3 innings as a major leaguer. While this is just a one-year deal, the Giants could control him for three years through arbitration.

All six hurlers were designated for assignment, and now all six will hit free agency. Foley is a former closer who should see interest on the market, but won’t be ready to go until the second half after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Foley is the most prominent name here as Detroit clears out several spots on the 40-man roster by booting nearly a half-dozen relievers from the mix. The 30-year-old former closer is recovering from shoulder surgery and won’t be an option until the second half of next season.

Foley will receive major-league service time while recovering from last month’s season-ending shoulder surgery. The 29-year-old former closer suffered the injury while pitching for Triple-A Toledo and is unlikely to return until the second half of next year.

Foley failed to make Detroit’s season-opening roster after notching a career-best 28 saves last year and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues this season. It’s a hit to the Tigers’ relief depth that he won’t be an option, even in a lower-leverage role. The 29-year-old former closer is facing a lengthy absence.

Foley has been atrocious this spring, but this is still a bit of a surprise considering the right-hander served as the closer for the majority of the season. The 29-year-old will try and gret right in the minors before Detroit even thinks about trying him in a high-leverage role. The Tigers will likely go with a closer-by-committee role, with Beau Brieske and Tommy Kahnle possibilities to save games to begin the year.

Although he’s gone without a walk, Foley has surrendered five runs in 3 1/3 innings this spring. His velocity is no better than it was a week ago and still down about two mph from last year. He still might get that back before the end of the spring, but he’s doing nothing right now to improve his place in the late-game mix for the Tigers. We favor Beau Brieske until A.J. Hinch says something different.

Foley’s fastball and slider velocity today were both down about two mph from his 2024 averages. He might get that back over the rest of the spring and pitch himself back into the closing mix in Detroit. Still, given the way the postseason went last year, we favor Beau Brieske and maybe also Will Vest.