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Jason Foley reacts to Detroit Tigers demoting him to Triple-A: 'I was pretty surprised'
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- Jason Foley reacts to Detroit Tigers demoting him to Triple-A: 'I was pretty surprised'
TOLEDO, Ohio — On Sunday afternoon, Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Jason Foley walked out of the clubhouse at Fifth Third Field, wearing a Mud Hens shirt.
He looked out of place.
Foley — who tied for fifth in the American League (and ninth in MLB) with 28 saves last season — is a big leaguer in a minor league clubhouse after the Tigers optioned him to Triple-A Toledo last Tuesday as part of their final roster cuts ahead of Opening Day, choosing fellow righty reliever Brenan Hanifee instead.
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"I'm not a big leaguer right now," Foley said.
For now, he pitches at the Triple-A level.
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He didn't see this coming.
"I was pretty surprised," Foley said before Sunday's game against the Columbus Clippers, the Cleveland Guardians ' Triple-A affiliate. "I think I'm self-aware enough to realize I didn't pitch my best baseball in spring training. I just thought the last three years, my track record would have maybe superseded a couple of shaky outings in spring training."
Detroit Tigers pitcher Jason Foley works out during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.
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The 29-year-old worked as the Tigers' closer in the 2024 season , registering a 3.15 ERA with 20 walks and 46 strikeouts across 60 innings in 69 games, converting 28 saves in 32 chances. He then posted a 6.14 ERA with zero walks and 10 strikeouts over 7⅓ innings in eight games during 2025 spring training.
He had a 3.18 ERA in 199 games from 2022-24.
Foley — earning $3.15 million in 2025 — traveled with the Tigers for a pair of exhibition games last Monday and Tuesday in San Francisco to conclude spring training, thinking his spot was secure on the 2025 Opening Day roster. Before Tuesday's final exhibition, however, he met with manager A.J. Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter — though not president of baseball operations Scott Harris .
Hinch and Fetter delivered the bad news.
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"That was a hard conversation for him," Hinch said Wednesday, one day before Thursday's regular-season opener, "and a harsh reality that he does have some things to work on, and we need him to do it because we need him. Our best bullpen can function in a lot of different ways, but being honest, we need a good Jason Foley . He can be a dominant reliever."
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There are some layers to the Foley demotion, dating back to Game 1 of the AL wild-card series , in which Foley was pulled with one out in the ninth inning after surrendering one run on three hits to the Houston Astros , with the Tigers managing to hang on for the win.
After that, Foley didn't pitch again in the postseason. He sat on the bench for the final six games, including five in the ALDS against the Guardians.
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He was frustrated.
And everyone knew it.
"By camp, it was all water under the bridge," Foley said. "It was a decision that I didn't particularly agree with, but it's another decision where I'm self-aware enough to realize that Cleveland hitters are maybe not my best matchup. To say that I, for 45 innings of baseball, didn't deserve to pitch an inning, I disagree. And that's OK. I respect his decision. A.J. always makes decisions based on stats and logic and reason, and he always has a method for his madness, for lack of a better term. I can respect it, and I can also disagree with it. He understands that."
Detroit Tigers pitcher Jason Foley throws a pitch against the Houston Astros in the ninth inning in Game 1 of the wild-card series between the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024 in Houston.
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A phone call between Foley and Hinch about Foley's usage in the Guardians series took place this past October, but they didn't have the conversation until after the Tigers were eliminated from the postseason.
The timing was understandable.
Foley — a righty sinkerballer susceptible to struggling against left-handed hitters — waited to ask questions about his usage because he didn't want to bother Hinch during the most important series for the Tigers in a decade.
"I told him I pretty much didn't understand his decision," Foley said. "Again, I didn't expect to throw the ninth or eighth against José Ramírez , Steven Kwan or Josh Naylor — their three best lefty hitters. But I think there's certainly a spot in which I could have thrown."
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When the Tigers demoted Foley, Hinch and Fetter expressed concerns that changes in the movement patterns of his mechanics led to lower velocity and less command during spring training, which he needs to address in Triple-A before he can return to MLB.
This spring, Foley averaged 95.4 mph with his sinker and located 71% of his sinkers in the strike zone. Last season, his sinker averaged 96.9 mph, with a 59.5% in-zone rate.
Foley acknowledged the decrease in velocity, but he didn't think he struggled with command.
"Was I my best? No. Have I pitched better in years past? Yeah," Foley said. "But I would have thought that maybe the past three years of what I consider to be pretty darn good big-league pitching would have outweighed a moderately shaky spring. But in their eyes, it didn't, and in their eyes, I wasn't one of the best eight options to take in the bullpen. That's OK."
For the first time since 2021, Foley pitched for the Mud Hens in Saturday's game as a full-time member of the Triple-A roster.
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Foley retired all three batters in the seventh inning, throwing all seven of his pitches for strikes. He also struck out left-handed hitter Will Brennan on three pitches, all swinging strikes: 97.4 mph sinker, 90.3 mph splitter and 90.2 mph splitter.
His sinker averaged 96.8 mph.
It looked just like the 2024 version of Foley, only in Triple-A instead of MLB.
"I think I'm an important part of the bullpen," Foley said. "Obviously, I'm not now because I'm not there, but I think not my best is still pretty good. If you were to ask the opposing hitters in the coming days and weeks, I'd imagine all of them would say they probably are pleased that I'm not in the bullpen."
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THE ROSTER MOVE: Tigers option last year's closer Jason Foley to Triple-A Toledo before Opening Day
After Saturday's outing, Foley reviewed the mechanics of his delivery with Triple-A Toledo pitching coach Doug Bochtler , overlaying his current motion with past patterns.
Foley thinks everything is lined up.
And he's already ready to return to the big leagues.
"It's part of it," Foley said. "I hope I'm back soon."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Reliever Jason Foley on Detroit Tigers demotion: 'Pretty surprised'
