The Tigers have signed right-hander Heath Hembree to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He elected free agency last week after being outrighted by the Rays. He’s been assigned to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.
This is the third relief pitcher the Tigers have added today, as they also signed left-hander Sam Clay to a minor league deal and claimed right-hander Braden Bristo off waivers from the Rays. Those three will give the club some extra depth arms in Toledo to be potentially called upon when needed.
Hembree, 34, was a fixture of the Boston bullpen for many years. From 2016 to 2019, he made at least 38 appearances in every one of those seasons with his ERA finishing between 2.65 and 4.20 in each. He struck out 25.8% of batters faced in that time against an 8.6% walk rate while racking up a couple of saves and 43 holds.
Since then, he’s worn many different jerseys as he’s become a well-traveled journeyman. From 2020 to 2022, he went from the Sox to the Phillies, Mets, Reds, Pirates and Dodgers. This winter, he signed a minor league deal with the Rays and got selected to the big league club last week but was designated for assignment the very next day. He managed to make one scoreless appearances of an inning and a third during his brief stay on the roster.
Hembree cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A but rejected that in favor of a return to the open market. Any player with a previous career outright or more than three years of service time has that right, both of which apply to Hembree. He’ll now head to Toledo and try to earn his way back to the big leagues and add yet another new jersey to his collection.