Vest worked around a hit to toss a scoreless inning of relief and earn the save in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Rays. He struck out three.
Vest continued his strong recent stretch of play, as he's now rattled off seven straight scoreless appearances, and he's struck out 11 batters during that time. The veteran righty is starting to pull away as Detroit's top closing option, as he has a team-high 15 saves compared to nine for Tommy Kahnle. Kahnle only has two saves since the beginning of June, while Vest has compiled seven saves over that stretch. Both players have pitched well and deserve attention in fantasy leagues, but Vest is the preferred target at the moment.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Nabs four-out save
Rotowire
Vest picked up a four-out save, allowing one hit and one walk while also picking up a strikeout, during Friday's 2-1 win over the Guardians.
Vest worked more than an inning for the first time in his past nine appearances. The 30-year-old put out a fire in the bottom of the eighth, then worked around allowing a baserunner in the ninth on his way to his 14th save in 17 tries this year. The right-hander picked up at least one strikeout in his ninth straight outing for a total of 12 in his last 8.2 innings. Vest hasn't surrendered a run in five straight appearances, and his ERA is now at 2.25 for the season.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Collects 13th save
Rotowire
Vest struck out one over a perfect inning to earn the save in Sunday's 3-0 win over the Twins.
Vest retired the side on a tidy eight pitches (six strikes) to earn his first save since June 12 versus the Orioles. He had a pinkie finger injury between those saves, which led to a blown save June 15 versus the Reds, but he avoided the injured list and has since turned in three scoreless innings. Vest is up to 13 saves, two holds and three blown saves while posting a 2.37 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 42:10 K:BB across 38 innings. Vest continues to hold an edge for saves over Tommy Kahnle, who worked the eighth inning Sunday.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Cleared to pitch
Rotowire
Vest (finger) passed all tests and has been declared ready to pitch, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Vest was pulled from Sunday's appearance versus the Reds due to an injury to his right pinkie finger, but it appears he's already put the issue in the rearview mirror. The right-handed reliever leads the Tigers with 12 saves this season.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Expected to avoid injured list
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Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that he expects Vest (finger) to avoid a stint on the 15-day injured list, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.
Vest exited his appearance Sunday against the Reds after suffering an injury to his right pinkie finger. Hinch indicated that Vest still needs to be further evaluated, but initial tests on the reliever's injured digit didn't show anything overly worrisome. Vest leads the Tigers with 12 saves this season and has notched each of the team's last three saves. Consider him day-to-day for the time being. Tommy Kahnle would likely be next in line for saves if Vest is unavailable for a few days.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Getting pinkie checked out
Rotowire
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that Vest dealt with a pinkie injury during his relief appearance in Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Reds, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. "[The pinkie] was bothering him, so we took him out. We'll get him evaluated, and he'll run through the whole battery of tests," Hinch said.
Vest -- who leads the Tigers with 12 saves -- entered Sunday's contest with a perfect 5-0 record but ended up taking the loss after he was unable to protect Detroit's 4-2 lead in the eighth inning. He retired just two of the six batters he faced and yielded three unearned runs on three hits. After he threw a wild pitch on his 28th pitch of the afternoon, Vest motioned to the dugout for a team trainer and was taken out, but it wasn't immediately known why he was removed from the contest until Hinch clarified the matter after the game. The Tigers should have a better idea on the severity of Vest's injury prior to Tuesday's game against the Pirates, but if the right-hander is down for a few days or requires a stint on the injured list, Tommy Kahnle would likely be next in line for saves.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Exits Sunday with injury
Rotowire
Vest was removed during his appearance in the eighth inning of Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Reds due to an unspecified injury, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. He dropped to 5-1 on the season after retiring two of the six batters he faced and allowing three unearned runs on three hits.
Vest entered the game in a high-leverage spot in the top of the eighth, taking over with a runner on second base and no outs while the Tigers held a 4-2 lead. After allowing back-to-back base hits, Vest struck out Tyler Stephenson, then loaded the bases after Detroit was unable to record an out on a fielder's choice. Vest then allowed a game-tying sacrifice fly before Gavin Lux's single scratched through the go-ahead run. Vest remained in the game after Lux's base hit, but he uncorked a wild pitch that scored another run. The right-hander seemed to be in discomfort after the pitch and was lifted from the contest, though the Tigers didn't provide an immediate explanation for his removal. Manager A.J. Hinch will likely shed more light on Vest's situation after the game or when he meets with the media prior to Tuesday's series opener versus the Pirates.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Collects 12th save
Rotowire
Vest tossed a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts to earn the save in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Orioles.
Vest recorded his second save in the series against Baltimore and his 12th of the season as he keeps performing at a high level for the Tigers. The veteran righty lowered his ERA to 1.83, and he's struck out 36 batters in 34.1 innings. Vest has also easily set a new career high in saves, as he came into the year with only five saves at the MLB level across four seasons. Tommy Kahnle has been a reliable high-leverage arm out of the Detroit bullpen as well and has eight saves himself, but Vest has established himself as the top closing option due to his dominant work on the mound.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Secures 10th save
Rotowire
Vest earned the save against the Cubs on Friday, allowing one hit across 1.1 scoreless innings.
Vest took over for Tarik Skubal in the eighth inning and needed 21 pitches to secure a four-out save. The 30-year-old has opened June with 4.1 scoreless frames after allowing runs in back-to-back outings to close May. On the season, he's 10-for-12 in save chances with a stellar 1.72 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 32:9 K:BB across 31.1 innings.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Secures ninth save
Rotowire
Vest threw a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in Sunday's 1-0 win over the Royals.
Vest needed just nine pitches to secure his second save of the weekend. The right-hander has allowed only two earned runs over his past 10 appearances and has now converted five straight save chances. On the season, he's 9-for-11 in save opportunities with a 1.93 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 29:9 K:BB across 28 innings.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Notches eighth save
Rotowire
Vest gave up a run on two hits while striking out one in the ninth inning Friday to record his eighth save of the season in a 7-5 win over the Royals.
It's the second straight appearance in which Vest has been charged with a run, but he held a 0.00 ERA in 12 May innings prior to that. The right-hander is the lead dog in the Tigers' closer committee right now, picking up three of the team's last four saves, and on the season Vest sports a 2.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 29:9 K:BB through 27 innings while converting eight of his 10 save chances.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Earns fifth save Sunday
Rotowire
Vest tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout to record the save in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Despite not allowing a hit or a walk, Vest needed 24 pitches to retire three batters, but he still managed to earn his fifth save of the year in seven chances. The veteran righty is strengthening his hold on the top closer role in Detroit, as he now has a sparkling 1.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 25 strikeouts across 21.2 innings. Tommy Kahnle, who has five saves of his own this season, worked a clean eighth inning Sunday and will continue to be in the mix for saves moving forward.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Records another win Wednesday
Rotowire
Vest (3-0) worked around two hits to pitch a scoreless inning of relief and earn the win in Wednesday's 6-5 victory over the Red Sox. He struck out one.
Vest now has two wins over his last four appearances out of the bullpen, and he's already tied his career high with three wins overall this season. The veteran righty has been locked in with a 1.80 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 23 strikeouts across 20 innings. Vest has four saves as well, and while Tommy Kahnle is also in the mix at the end of games, the former has established definite fantasy value so far in 2025.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Nabs third save
Rotowire
Vest walked one and struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings to record his third save of the season in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Orioles.
The 29-year-old righty continued a dominant stretch that has seen him reel off 11 straight scoreless appearances since giving up a solo homer to Mookie Betts on March 28. Vest appears to be the top option for saves right now in the Tigers' bullpen, posting a 0.75 ERA, 0.58 WHIP and 14:4 K:BB through 12 innings on the season, although Tommy Kahnle -- who didn't pitch in Saturday's matinee -- also remains in the ninth-inning mix.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Secures first win
Rotowire
Vest (1-0) tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief and earned the win in Friday's 7-6 victory over the Twins. He allowed one hit and struck out two.
Vest recorded the last out of the bottom of the seventh inning and then pitched a clean eighth as well. After allowing a run in his first appearance of the year back on March 28 against the Dodgers, the veteran righty has rattled off five straight scoreless outings. Overall, Vest has a strong 1.59 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and seven strikeouts across 5.2 innings of relief. He should continue to work in a high-leverage role in front of Tommy Kahnle.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Avoids arbitration
Rotowire
Vest and the Tigers agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million contract Thursday to avoid arbitration, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Vest enjoyed a career-best season out of the Detroit bullpen in 2024, turning in a 2.82 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 63:18 K:BB in 70.1 regular-season innings while gathering three wins, two saves and 14 holds. The Tigers' closing situation isn't settled heading into 2025, but Vest likely won't be manager A.J. Hinch's top choice for save situations and is expected to continue seeing the bulk of his opportunities in the seventh and eighth innings.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Earns rare save Wednesday
Rotowire
Vest retired the final two batters of Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Royals, including one by strikeout, to record the save.
This was Vest's first save since Aug. 11 and just his second of the season, but it was a critical one, as the Tigers moved within a half game of a playoff spot with a big win against a division rival. The righty reliever was needed in the spot because regular closer Jason Foley pitched each of the last three days. Vest is behind Foley and Tyler Holton in the bullpen pecking order for Detroit, though he's been a steady presence with a 3.02 ERA this year across 65.2 innings of relief.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Earns hold Sunday
Rotowire
Vest tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn a hold in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Red Sox. He struck out one.
Vest continues to be a reliable bullpen option for the Tigers with a 3.05 ERA across 59 innings this season to go along with nine holds, which is second on the team. The veteran has four of those holds dating back to the beginning of August as well as his first and only save of the season on Aug. 11. Jason Foley and Tyler Holton are the top closing options in Detroit, though Vest has proven himself capable of handling high-leverage work.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Secures win Friday
Rotowire
Vest (3-4) tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in Friday's 5-2 victory over the White Sox. He allowed one hit.
Vest came on with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, then worked through the seventh inning as well to earn the win when the Tigers scored twice in the top half to break a 2-2 tie. The veteran righty is having another quality season with a 3.11 ERA across 55 innings of relief. Vest is getting high-leverage work, though Jason Foley is seeing the bulk of the save opportunities for the Tigers, including in Friday's contest.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Takes loss Tuesday
Rotowire
Vest (1-3) allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits over 1.1 innings of relief to take the extra-inning Tuesday against the Guardians. He walked one and struck out one.
Vest got the final out of the ninth inning but ran into some trouble in the 10th to take his third loss of the season and second this month. Despite the hiccup, the righty has been solid this year with a 3.43 ERA across 39.1 innings out of Detroit's bullpen. Vest should continue to work in a high-leverage role for the Tigers, though he's been clearly behind Jason Foley for save opportunities thus far.
