Tigers sign Chafin to two-year, $13M deal

LAKELAND, Fla. — Former area standout left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract with the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.Before Chafin, closer Gregory Soto was the only lefty reliver expected to break camp with the club, presuming that Tyler Alexander stays in the starting rotation."Soto was used a lot of times in the ninth inning last year but throughout the year he was mixed in as kind of a lefty specialist when teams had lefties coming up in the seventh or eighth," pitcher Michael Fulmer said. "With Chafin, being the guy he is, absolutely dominant from the left side, it'll be good to have Soto lock down that ninth inning. That's where he belongs."I'm excited to meet Andrew. Hope he helps us a lot."A 2008 Western Reserve graduate, Chafin split last season between the Cubs and Athletics, making 71 appearances and posting a 1.83 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. And he was as tough on right-handed hitters (.196 opponent average) as he was on lefties (.170).He primarily uses three pitches — a sinker (92 mph), four-seam fastball (92 mph) and a wipeout slider (82 mph). Last season hitters swung and missed at a 55 percent rate on the slider.He's also a strike-thrower, throwing first-pitch strikes 62 percent of the time.Most likely, Chafin will join Soto, Fulmer, Funkhouser and right-hander Jose Cisnero as leverage-situation relievers at the back end of the Tigers' bullpen.Arizona drafted Chafin 43rd overall in the first round in 2011. He pitched for the team for parts of seven seasons before being traded to Chicago during the shortened 2020 season. He owns a 12-17 record and a 3.30 ERA for his career.He famously made his MLB debut pitching for the Diamondbacks in Aug. 2014 in a game at Progressive Field against the Indians in Cleveland — just 43 miles from his hometown.In 2019, he was 2-2 with a 3.76 ERA in 77 appearances as a situational reliever for Arizona. He struck out 68 batters in 52 2/3 innings for an 85-win Diamondbacks team.In 2018, Chafin also made 77 appearances, as he normally occupied the seventh inning role for the Diamondbacks. He posted a 3.10 ERA and allowed 17 earned runs on 41 hits. Chafin did not give up a home run with 53 strikeouts and 25 walks in his 49.1 innings of work.Though he finished with just a 1-6 win-loss record, Chafin's FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) was a career-low 2.65. FIP is a statistic that measures what a pitcher's ERA would look like if the pitcher were to have experienced league average results on balls in play.After surging onto the scene in 2015 with a 5-1 record and a 2.76 ERA in 66 games, Chafin had an injury-plagued 2016 that produced an 0-1 mark with a 6.75 ERA in just 32 appearances.But a big 2017 followed, as he bounced back with a 1-0 mark and a 3.51 ERA in 71 appearances, striking out 61 batters in his 51 1/3 innings of work. He faced three batters in the postseason, including a huge spot in the Wild Card game vs. Colorado against one of the top hitters in the National League.He relieved ace Zack Greinke in the fourth inning with the tying run at the plate, which happened to be the Rockies' Charlie Blackmon — the league's batting champion (.331) who also had 37 home runs, 104 RBIs and 49 doubles and triples last season.But Chafin got Blackmon to fly out to shallow centerfield after a seven-pitch at-bat, and ended up getting the victory in Arizona's 11-8 win. He appeared in three postseason games during the 2017 season for Arizona.Prior to his professional career, Chafin was a four-year letterwinner and the Firelands Conference Player of the Year in 2008 for Western Reserve. Chafin was also Division III District Player of the Year and All-Ohio first team. In his final high school game of his career, he threw a no-hitter at Mapleton.Chafin holds the school record for most strikeouts in a game (19), most strikeouts in a season (178), lowest ERA and is tied for most pitching wins (10).Shortly after graduation, Chafin was the No. 1 starter and anchor for the Sandusky American Legion Post 83 summer baseball team, which won its first-ever state title in 2008 — largely behind the lefty's arm.At Kent, Chafin was the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the year in 2009 with a 4-1 record, eight saves, a 1.26 ERA and 55 strikeouts.He missed 2010 because of reconstructive Tommy John elbow surgery, then was the MAC Pitcher of the Year after he posted a 8-1 record in 2011 with 105 strikeouts in 89 innings of work and a 2.02 ERA.