Tigers sign sidearm reliever who has long history with Scott Harris

6 days ago 2

The Detroit Tigers have added a new look to their bullpen options.

It's a sidearm pitcher.

The Tigers signed right-handed reliever Scott Effross on Dec. 17 to a minor league contract. The deal includes a non-roster invitation to MLB spring training and pays $950,000 if he makes the MLB roster, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement granted anonymity because they are not permitted to discuss contract details publicly.

In 2025, Effross posted an 8.44 ERA with three walks and six strikeouts across 10⅔ innings in 11 games for the New York Yankees. He also had a 6.37 ERA with 10 walks and 23 strikeouts over 29⅔ innings in 28 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Effross, 32, has one minor-league option remaining, so if he earns his way onto the Tigers' 40-man roster, he can be shuffled between Triple-A and MLB throughout the 2026 season.

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New York Yankees pitcher Scott Effross pitches during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, Sept. 4, 2024.

Effross has pitched in four MLB seasons.

He made his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2021, then shined for the Cubs and Yankees in 2022, but after Tommy John surgery on his right elbow forced him to miss the entire 2023 season, his performance dipped in 2024 and 2025.

There's already a connection between Effross and the Tigers.

The Cubs selected Effross in the 15th round of the 2015 draft out of Indiana, with the No. 443 overall pick. At the time, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris worked as the Cubs' director of baseball operations.

Effross owns a 3.59 ERA with 21 walks (6% walk rate) and 88 strikeouts (25% strikeout rate) across 85⅓ innings in 88 MLB games. He elected free agency in November 2025.

But Effross hasn't been successful since 2022.

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That's when he emerged as a dominant reliever for the Cubs, only to be shipped to the Yankees (for right-hander Hayden Wesneski) at the trade deadline. He turned in a 2.54 ERA with a 6.6% walk rate and 27.1% strikeout rate across 56⅔ innings in 60 games for the Cubs and Yankees, racking up four saves, in 2022.

Effross threw four pitch types throughout his 11 games with the Yankees in 2025, led by the sinker and sweeper. He threw 50% sinkers, 33.3% sweepers, 12.2% changeups and 4.5% four-seam fastballs.

His sinker averaged just 89.2 mph.

He doesn't rely on high velocity and struggles to generate whiffs, instead leaning on a pitch-to-contact approach – using his sinker-sweeper combination to coax poor swing decisions and weak ground-ball contact. He rarely produces strikeouts, but he limits walks.

Essentially, Effross is a replacement for right-handed reliever Chase Lee.

Just like Effross, Lee – whom the Tigers traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in mid-December – throws from a sidearm slot, features a sinker-sweeper-heavy mix, limits walks, struggles to generate strikeouts and relies upon a pitch-to-contact approach.

The only difference? Lee surrendered a surplus of fly balls, whereas Effross has a track record of inducing ground balls.

Expect Effross to report to Triple-A Toledo at the completion of spring training, though he could be one of the first relievers called up by the Tigers in the 2026 season.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers sign reliever Scott Effross to minor-league contract

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