The Tigers and Joe Nathan may have been the most predictable pairing of the offseason. It's no secret that Detroit needed a closer, and Nathan was the top guy on the free agent market. At 39, the right-hander wants to win a World Series championship and figures to have a strong chance with the Tigers.
Nathan agreed to a two-year contract with Detroit on Tuesday. According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the deal is for approximately $20 million. Nathan was able to opt out of his $9 million club option with the Rangers for 2014 by finishing 61 games this past season. He sought a two-year deal on the open market and the Tigers were all too willing to oblige.
The closer had one of the best seasons of his 13-year career in 2013, finishing with 43 saves in 46 opportunities, a 1.39 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 73 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. Those numbers will work just fine for a Tigers bullpen that struggled to establish a closer after rookie Bruce Rondon failed to win the job in spring training and a closer-by-committee strategy was abandoned early in the season.
Joaquin Benoit asserted himself as the closer in mid-June, compiling a 1.72 ERA, 24 saves in 26 opportunities, and a rate of 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings. But Nathan should be an upgrade for Detroit in the ninth inning. Benoit could still return to the Tigers, as they still need a setup reliever to go with Nathan. Yet if a closer job (and closer money) is available elsewhere through free agency, he'll likely take that opportunity.
Nathan's age should be a concern, but given his effectiveness during the past two seasons with Texas, it's not difficult to imagine that he'll provide a similar performance over the next two years for Detroit. Three years removed from Tommy John surgery, Nathan posted the second-lowest ERA and WHIP of his career. While his velocity dropped a couple of miles per hour this season, he was still able to get strikeouts with a slider that he threw more frequently.
The Tigers reportedly also showed interest in free agent closer Brian Wilson, presumably because he would be younger (31) and perhaps less expensive. However, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweeted that Wilson broke off talks with Detroit, likely because he preferred to stay on the West Coast. (Wilson is reportedly close to re-signing with the Dodgers.) Of course, it's possible that the Tigers had conversations with Wilson to prompt Nathan into committing to a contract. All things being equal, Nathan is a surer bet than Wilson at this point.
It's already been a busy offseason for Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski, who's traded Prince Fielder to the Rangers for Ian Kinsler and dealt Doug Fister to the Nationals for Robbie Ray, Ian Krol and Steve Lombardozzi. But getting a closer was always the Tigers' top priority and now they have their man, a week before baseball's winter meetings. Dombrowski can now focus on addressing his team's other needs — including left field, the bullpen and third base or first base, depending on where Miguel Cabrera plays — once he hits Orlando.
