LAKELAND, Fla. — Free agent reliever Andrew Chafin signed a minor league deal Monday to go to spring training with the Detroit Tigers, the team that traded the left-hander to Texas last summer.
Chafin has pitched in 105 games for the Tigers over two stints — 64 games in 2022 and 41 last year before being dealt to Texas for two minor leaguers in July. It was the fourth time in five seasons he was part of a deadline trade.
Texas in November declined a $6.5 million team option for Chafin, who instead got a $500,000 buyout. He had a 4.19 ERA while pitching 19⅓ innings in 21 appearances for the Rangers, after a 3.16 ERA with 50 strikeouts over 37 innings for the Tigers.
The 34-year-old Chafin has a 3.75 ERA in 601 big league appearances over 11 seasons for six teams. The only team he has pitched more for than Detroit is Arizona, the club that picked him 43rd overall in the 2011 amateur draft. He made 377 relief appearances and started three games for the Diamondbacks over parts of eight seasons.
Chafin made his debut with the Diamondbacks in 2014, and they traded him to the Chicago Cubs in 2020. He returned to Arizona as a free agent in 2023 and was traded that summer to Milwaukee. He also pitched for Oakland during part of the 2021 season.