Will Vest

Yeah.

As far as completing the rest of it, Will Vest, I kind of feel like we should probably tender him just because he's the one live arm that we have in the entire bullpen.

Not many of our we got a lot of guys.

I mean, he pitches to quite a bit of contact on the ground.

Let's just kinda take a look as we wrap up our arbitration talk this week, um, with the remaining players that are eligible for it and if the Tigers should offer them a contract.

Uh, Will Vest, Matt Vierling, uh, Tyler Holton, Bo Brisky, Reese Olson, Wencel Perez, and Parker Meadows.

Now, with Perez and Meadows, the injury bug has just unfortunately hit them with freak accidents.

Um, what they're estimating is if Perez and, uh, Meadows go to arbitration, if the Tigers offer it and, uh, they win, it'll probably be about a million dollars.

And with the young crop of guys we got coming up, I just don't know if I would offer it to him.

That, that's, that's a tweener.

Will Vest, I think his time with the Tigers has run its course.

I, you know, he's eligible.

I mean, Kenley Jansen obviously is gonna be a guy who's gonna be projected to get a lot of saves because that's what he's done throughout his career.

But, you know, he was getting old, and Kyle Finnegan was there, Will Vest was there.

It was sort of uncertain what was gonna happen, especially 'cause they signed Jansen so late.

Um, but I trusted in the future Hall of Famer Jansen, and I said he would be the guy who would lead the team in saves and get the most fantasy value.

He went terrible.

He went back to a pumpkin, uh, back into the guy that we didn't like when he pitched for the Nationals and was getting a bunch of saves back then.

Will Vest was injured or ineffective all year, and Kenley Jansen was just the rock that he's been all year long.

Yeah.

The Tigers will have 11 players that will be arbitration eligible this winter.

Will Vest, Zach McKinstry, Matt Vierling, Riley Green, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter, Tyler Holton, Bo Brisky, Reese Olson, Wenceil Perez, and Parker Meadows.

Varying degrees of salary here.

We...

They're not gonna non-tender Kerry Carpenter for $4 million, again, even if you don't want him on the team next year.

I think the really interesting conversation, to be honest, is, is toward the top of this list.

Will Vest, Zach McKinstry, Matt Vierling are all heading into their final years.

They're the only three of that whole list that have five years of MLB service already under their belt.

So going into a season where there was supposed to be this, like, three-headed monster in the back end of the bullpen.

I remember saying three-headed monster, like, 60 times in spring training, of Kenley Jansen, Will Vest, Kyle Finnegan.

Looking back on i- is laughable.

Kenley Jansen i- is, uh, I would say comfortably the best of those three, and his season was a disaster.

His ERA on the season in those scenarios was 5.74. That is one of the best on the team.

I'm not kidding.

Kyle Finnegan, 6.92. Will Vest, over 15.

Drew Anderson, over 16.

Now, we've got 10 players that are arbitration eligible for the Tigers heading into 27.

Here's the list, and we've got utility players Zach McKinstry, Matt Bierling, Kerry Carpenter, Wenzel Perez, Parker Meadows, Riley Green, Spencer Torkelson, Bo Briski, Tyler Holton, and Will Vest.

Here are the guys that I would offer contracts to, well, who I would offer to, and I'm going to lump it in together, who I think will be back.

Torkelson is going to be back as much as he can't hit for average and his fielding is average at best.

But other than that, Bo Briskey and Tyler Holton.

That's who I'd bring back, and that's who I think the Tigers will bring back.

Will Vest, I think his time is done here in Detroit, at least I would hope.

I mean, he did well for them in 2025, but he didn't do anything for the Tigers this year.

And I think some guys would be gone now.

Now, granted, Will Vest had some issues health-wise and all that, and they said that the expectation is he'll come back and he'll be healthy, but there's no guarantees.

I mean, he wasn't wiped out.

the past year and a half by any stretch of the imagination.

And I think some guys would be gone now.

Now, granted, Will Vest had some issues health-wise and all that, and they said that the expectation is he'll come back and he'll be healthy, but there's no guarantees.

I mean, he wasn't wiped out.

the past year and a half by any stretch of the imagination.

years ago, that was the guy who I expected to be the closer after that postseason where the Tigers sort of had a whole host of guys in a closer committee.

And the following year, Will Vest was the one to emerge as the closer.

But I had my money on Briski, and that did not end up working out.

So – I would love to see him figure things out because he does have good stuff.

Yeah, it's going to be an interesting one.

I would imagine they don't bring him back, but they If they don't, yeah, that bullpen has no, I mean, no nothing.

I mean, Will Vest is coming back, I guess.

Yeah.