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This offseason, the Tigers have already added closer Joe Nathan to the fold, and now their attention may be turning to the middle-relief corps. As Tim Brown of Yahoo! tweets, Detroit may have its eyes on right-hander Joba Chamberlain, formerly of the Yankees.
The 28-year-old Chamberlain is coming off a 2013 in which he logged 4.93 ERA and 1.46 K/BB in 42 relief innings for the Yankees. For his career, he owns a 3.51 ERA out of the bullpen and a 4.18 ERA as a starter.
Chamberlain missed a full month because of an abdominal strain last season, and he of course also has Tommy John surgery in his recent past. As a rookie in 2007, Chamberlain looked like a present and future relief ace. However, whether because the Yankees shoehorned him into a starter's role or other reasons, he declined substantially in the seasons to come. With that said, Chamberlain makes sense as a low-cost reclamation project.
As for the Tigers, they're in need of bullpen depth now that Drew Smyly is slated for the rotation and Joaquin Benoit is likely to sign elsewhere.
