Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Tigers have signed right-hander Joel Hanrahan, who recently held a workout for teams to show them how he’s progressing in a return from Tommy John elbow surgery.
Hanrahan is expected to be ready for game action sometime in June and Heyman previously wrote that the Tigers, Yankees, Rangers, Red Sox, and Rockies were all in the mix to sign the former Pirates (and very briefly Red Sox) closer.
Prior to an injury wrecked 2013 season in Boston he saved 40 games in 2012 and 36 games in 2011 for Pittsburgh, posting a combined 2.24 ERA with 128 strikeouts in 128 innings during that time.
Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski always loves hard-throwing pitchers and few throw harder than Hanrahan, who averaged 96.5 miles per hour with his fastball from 2011-2013. Joe Nathan has the closer job locked down in Detroit, but the 32-year-old Hanrahan could emerge as a late-inning setup man in the second half if his recovery goes smoothly.