Foley has been atrocious this spring, but this is still a bit of a surprise considering the right-hander served as the closer for the majority of the season. The 29-year-old will try and gret right in the minors before Detroit even thinks about trying him in a high-leverage role. The Tigers will likely go with a closer-by-committee role, with Beau Brieske and Tommy Kahnle possibilities to save games to begin the year.

Although he’s gone without a walk, Foley has surrendered five runs in 3 1/3 innings this spring. His velocity is no better than it was a week ago and still down about two mph from last year. He still might get that back before the end of the spring, but he’s doing nothing right now to improve his place in the late-game mix for the Tigers. We favor Beau Brieske until A.J. Hinch says something different.

Foley’s fastball and slider velocity today were both down about two mph from his 2024 averages. He might get that back over the rest of the spring and pitch himself back into the closing mix in Detroit. Still, given the way the postseason went last year, we favor Beau Brieske and maybe also Will Vest.

Foley started the year on fire as the closer for the Tigers but faded in the second half. He gives up a lot of contact, which forces him to walk a tightrope that relies heavily on his defense and inducing weak contact. On the season, he finished with a 3.15 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 46/20 K/BB ratio in 60 innings. He did save 28 games for the Tigers last season, but he should not be considered a sure bet to remain the closer for the 2025 season.