A veteran of 47 career MLB appearances (44 starts), Tepesch will look to reignite his career in independent ball after struggling mightily during stops at the Triple-A and Double-A ranks in 2018. The 30-year-old last surfaced in the big leagues in 2017, when he covered 15.2 innings as a member of the Twins and Blue Jays.

Tepesch's stint with the Tigers lasted less than a month, with the right-hander accumulating a brutal 8.22 ERA across 7.2 innings with Double-A Erie before being cut loose. He's compiled a 6.59 ERA across 97 innings between Double- and Triple-A this season.

Tepesch will report to Double-A Erie where he'll serve as organizational starting depth for Detroit. Seeing as the Tigers are thin on starting pitching, Tepesch could find himself in the big-league rotation down the stretch should a need arise. The 29-year-old owns a 4.71 ERA across parts of four major-league campaigns.

The deal didn't include an invitation to the Blue Jays' major-league camp, despite the right-hander having covered 15.2 innings over four MLB outings with Minnesota and Toronto in 2017. Tepesch didn't find much success in either locale, but will return to the Blue Jays' organization and presumably attempt to revive his career in the high minors. He'll likely fill a rotation spot at Triple-A Buffalo or work as a long man out of the bullpen.