Tigers add former Rangers righty Neftali Feliz to bullpen

On July 11, 2015, in Detroit, Texas
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Tigers went looking for bullpen reinforcements and evidently found what they were looking for in Neftali Feliz. A day after a seven-run bullpen meltdown in the ninth inning, the Tigers announced the signing of Feliz on Saturday.
To open a roster spot, the Tigers optioned right-hander Jeff Ferrell back to Triple-A Toledo. Ferrell made two appearances since his callup earlier this month and gave up three runs in two innings.
Feliz, who was designated for assignment on July 3 by the Texas Rangers, was 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 18 games. He elected for free agency after clearing waivers. Feliz, a closer by trade, was an All-Star in 2010, saving 40 games that year in 70 appearances.
Feliz, 27, was in Minneapolis for the third game of the series against the Twins. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said the right-hander was available to pitch, though he'd like to use Feliz in a low-stress situation because he hasn't taken the mound in more than a week.
"I haven't seen him much recently," Ausmus said. "I can't speak to what he's done recently other than looking up [his] stat page."
Feliz said he has been running and playing catch for this moment and that he was excited to join the Tigers -- just the second team he's played for in his career.
"I've had ups and downs [this year] but I've tried to keep working every day to try to be better and better," he said.
Ausmus said Feliz, like the other relievers, would not have a defined role at this point.
"I've said before, we'd love to give guys roles but we don't really have any," Ausmus said. "No one's really shown an aptitude for a particular role other than [closer Joakim] Soria."
Still, the former closer in Feliz gives Ausmus some options out of a bullpen that desperately needs the help. The Tigers' bullpen entered Saturday with a 4.04 ERA, 25th in the Majors.
"He's a guy who has closed before," Ausmus said "If you can close, generally you can handle any other situation out of the bullpen, except for maybe long relief. "
Ausmus also said he had absolutely no level of concern about his current closer after what he called the toughest regular-season loss in his managerial career. Soria gave up four runs, including a walk-off three run shot to Brian Dozier, and didn't retire a batter.
Soria hit a rough patch in June, at one point giving up runs in four straight appearances. He also gave up five home runs in June and after a run of seven consecutive scoreless outings, he was completely ineffective Friday.
"How many blown saves does he have? Three. That's fine. He's doing a good job," Ausmus said. "He had a bad night. Trust me, one bad night for a reliever will skew the numbers."
Betsy Helfand/MLB.com
 
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