Kahnle struck out a batter and gave up a walk in two-thirds of an inning to collect his fourth save of the season in Friday's 7-3 win over the Royals.
The Tigers put Kenta Maeda on the mound with a 7-1 lead to begin the ninth inning, but he was pulled after allowing a run and loading the bases while recording just one out. Kahnle then took the hill and walked the first batter he saw to make it a 7-3 ballgame, but the 35-year-old bounced back by striking out Cavan Biggio and getting Drew Waters to line out, putting an end to Friday's festivities. With four saves on the year, Kahnle has seemingly taken a firm hold of the closer job in Detroit and now owns a 1.17 ERA and 0.52 WHIP through 7.2 innings.
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Tigers' Tommy Kahnle: Logs third save
Rotowire
Kahnle tossed two scoreless innings in Thursday's 6-1 win over Kansas City to earn his third save of the season.
Kahnle inherited two baserunners when he was called in for the eighth inning with Detroit leading 4-1, but he was able to force two-straight groundouts (the first of which resulted in a double play) to get out of the frame unscathed. After the Tigers tacked on two insurance runs, he came back out for the ninth inning and needed just nine pitches to retire the side and register his third save of the 2025 campaign. Kahnle has a 1.29 ERA, 0.43 WHIP and 5:0 K:BB across seven innings, as he has settled into the closer role.
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Tigers' Tommy Kahnle: Converts second save
Rotowire
Kahnle allowed a run on three hits and struck out one without walking a batter over one inning to earn the save in Friday's 7-6 win over the Twins.
Kahnle gave up a run for the first time in five innings this season. Ty France connected for a two-out single in the ninth inning, but Kahnle got Mickey Gasper on a groundout to end the threat. Friday's outing wasn't the best show of Kahnle's early work, but he now has two saves with a 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and 5:0 K:BB this season. That's put him atop the Tigers' closer committee so far -- he's tied for the team lead with Brant Hurter with two saves, but Hurter's saves have been of the three-inning variety as a long reliever. Kahnle represents a decent speculative option for fantasy managers in search of saves, but the Tigers' bullpen could end up being one where the hot hand at any given time is the one getting the ninth-inning duties.
Kahnle tossed a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts in Monday's 6-2 win over the Yankees, and his ERA remains at 0.00 for the season.
It wasn't a save situation for Kahnle, but he still managed to wrap things up in the ninth inning against the team he played for the last two seasons. The righty has yet to allow a run so far in 2025 across four appearances, and he's emerged as the top candidate for saves in Detroit's bullpen. With Jason Foley working at the Triple-A level, Kahnle could tighten his grip on the closer role if he continues to pitch well, though Beau Brieske and Tyler Holton may remain in the mix for saves as well.
Tigers' Tommy Kahnle: Notches first save of season
Rotowire
Kahnle worked a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his first save of the season in a 4-1 win over the Mariners.
A hit-by-pitch spoiled what was otherwise a perfect inning for the right-hander in his first save chance of the year. It likely won't be Kahnle's last -- Beau Brieske, who blew his first save chance Friday, entered Tuesday's game with two outs in the sixth inning. Tyler Holton could also factor into the ninth-inning mix against tough left-handed hitters, and Jason Foley might return to the big-league bullpen if he pitches well for Triple-A Toledo, but for now Kahnle appears to be the favorite to close for the Tigers.
Tigers' Tommy Kahnle: Signs one-year deal with Detroit
Rotowire
The Tigers signed Kahnle to a one-year, $7.75 million contract Wednesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Kahnle hasn't had a season where he avoided the injured list since 2019, and he threw a total of just 13.2 regular-season innings from 2020-22. However, the 35-year-old has been quite effective when on the bump, most recently holding a 2.11 ERA and 46:19 K:BB over 42.2 regular-season innings with the Yankees in 2024. The changeup specialist has no issues with splits and will be part of the late-inning mix in Detroit, which could include some save opportunities.
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