MLB Opening Day 2017: Tigers release Mike Pelfrey

Right-handed pitcher Mike Pelfrey is no longer with the Detroit Tigers. The team released him on Thursday morning after an awful spring and one year with the same in-season results.

The Tigers’ spring roster is at 28, with three cuts remaining. Pelfrey’s release is the second of such large moves this spring, with the release of Mark Lowe on March 26 being the first.

Pelfrey had $8 million remaining on his two-year contract with Detroit, split evenly between two years. He signed with the Tigers as a free agent on Dec. 6, 2015 and it was widely viewed as a poor move by the team at the time.

That perspective came to fruition in 2016, as expected due to Pelfrey’s track record in years past, and he finished with a 5.15 FIP, with 15 homes runs for a 1.1 HR/9 and striking out only 4.2 batters per nine innings.

The Tigers moved Pelfrey to the bullpen last year in the hopes that it would spark a positive change, but nothing ever came of it. His situation did not improve once spring training got underway this year. The 33-year-old gave up 15 runs on 24 hits across 17 innings, three of which were home runs for a 7.94 ERA.

Detroit had been looking for another team to trade with, even agreeing to eat all of Pelfrey’s contract, but there were no takers.