Vest allowed a run on two hits across an inning of work and was charged with a blown save in Wednesday's 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Guardians. He struck out one.
The Tigers decided to use regular closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning against the top of Cleveland's lineup to protect a 1-0 lead. That left the ninth for Vest, and the veteran allowed the lead to slip away on a pair of hits and an RBI groundout. Vest has struggled this year with a 5.93 ERA across 13.2 innings, blowing two saves in his past four appearances. His early season performance should leave no doubt that Jansen is locked in as Detroit's closer.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Activated from injured list
Rotowire
The Tigers activated Vest (forearm) from the 15-day IL on Sunday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Vest will return after missing three weeks due to a forearm injury. He should immediately slot into a high-leverage role and will look to rebound from a rough start to the season, as he posted a 6.17 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over 13 appearances before being sidelined. Ty Madden is headed to the IL due to a bruised forearm, clearing a spot on the 26-man roster for Vest.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Could return Sunday
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Manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday that Vest (forearm) could return from the injured list Sunday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Vest is reportedly on his way to join the team in Detroit after making a rehab appearance with Triple-A Toledo, during which he struck out one batter while pitching a perfect inning. Once activated, the 30-year-old righty will likely slot back into a high-leverage role despite turning in a 6.17 ERA and 1.46 WHIP through his first 11.2 innings.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Throwing off mound
Rotowire
Vest (forearm) threw a bullpen session Monday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
It was the first time Vest had thrown off a mound since landing on the injured list May 2 with forearm inflammation. He'll be eligible to return from the IL on Thursday, though he's likely to throw a few additional bullpen and live batting practice sessions before being activated.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Sustains third loss Friday
Rotowire
Vest (1-3) allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk across 1.1 innings of relief to take the loss Friday in extra innings against the Red Sox. He struck out two.
Vest covered the bottom of the ninth inning in a 0-0 game and was then asked to come back out in the 10th. The veteran uncorked a wild pitch and ended up allowing a single to Masataka Yoshida that brought home the automatic baserunner from third base to win the game for the Red Sox. Despite taking his third loss of the season, Vest managed to lower his ERA from 6.75 to 5.63, and he's only allowed two earned runs over his last six appearances to go along with 10 strikeouts, so he's pitching a bit better than his overall stats would suggest.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Hit hard in second loss
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Vest (0-2) allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while only retiring two batters in relief to take the loss Thursday against the Twins.
Vest came on in the eighth inning with the game tied 1-1, and he quickly let things unravel before getting the hook in favor of Brant Hurter. Five of Vest's seven appearances so far this season have been scoreless efforts, but he's allowed five runs across his other two outings, which has ballooned the veteran righty's ERA at 7.94 overall. Vest had a 3.01 regular-season ERA for the Tigers in 2025, and he was below 3.00 in the two years before that, so his track record suggests that he'll be able to bounce back from this sluggish start.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Joins WBC roster
Rotowire
Vest will join Team USA ahead of the quarterfinal round of the World Baseball Classic, replacing teammate Tarik Skubal, Brian Murphy of MLB.com reports.
Skubal went back and forth on sticking around with Team USA, but with the lefty ultimately departing the roster, the team will replace him with Vest, who posted a 3.01 ERA and 75 strikeouts across 68.2 regular-season innings for Detroit last year. Vest gives the United States a reliable veteran option who can pitch some high-leverage innings out of the bullpen.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Notches 22nd save
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Vest earned the save in Thursday's win against Cleveland, striking out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.
Vest entered with a two-run lead and delivered a dominant performance, striking out the side in order to bounce back after giving up five earned runs across his previous two outings. The 30-year-old has now converted 22 of his 29 save chances on the season while carrying a 3.06 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 74:22 K:BB through 67.2 innings.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Blows seventh save
Rotowire
Vest (6-5) blew the save and took the loss Saturday. giving up two runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning. He struck out two.
The blown save was Vest's seventh of the year, and second in his last four chances. Over his last 10 appearances, the right-hander has stumbled to a 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and 9:6 K:BB over 10.2 innings, and with Kyle Finnegan back from the IL, Vest may not see many more save chances over the final days of the regular season.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Saddled with loss in extra innings
Rotowire
Vest (6-4) allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits across an inning of relief to take the loss in Tuesday's 7-5, 10-inning defeat to the Guardians.
After the Tigers forced extra innings on a Kerry Carpenter solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, Vest was tapped for the top of the 10th, and he ran into trouble right away. The veteran righty started the frame by allowing three doubles and a triple before recording any outs, giving Cleveland three quick runs. Vest had rattled off five straight scoreless appearances before Tuesday, and his ERA is still a tidy 2.91 overall, so the Detroit closer should be able to move past the rough performance and get back on track soon.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Tallies 20th save Friday
Rotowire
Vest notched the save Friday against the Royals, allowing one hit and no walks with no strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.
The Tigers continue to deploy a committee approach at closer, with Vest working the ninth inning and Kyle Finnegan handling the eighth frame Friday. Although his usage could be frustrating at times, Vest remains worth holding onto for rosters in need of saves in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. The right-hander has a 2.76 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 64:19 K:BB while converting 20 of his 26 save chances over 58.2 innings.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Takes blown save, loss
Rotowire
Vest (6-3) allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit and three walks over one-third of an inning, taking the loss and a blown save versus the Athletics on Tuesday.
Vest couldn't find the strike zone, throwing just nine of 23 pitches for strikes. It was just the fourth time all year he's walked multiple batters in an appearance. Vest has allowed six runs (five earned) over 11.1 innings in August, converting three of his five save chances. With Kyle Finnegan yet to allow a run since being acquired from the Nationals, Vest can't afford to have too many shaky outings. Vest is 19-for-25 in save chances while adding three holds with a 2.81 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 64:19 K:BB through 57.2 innings this season.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Secures 19th save
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Vest retired all four batters he faced to earn the save in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Royals. He recorded two strikeouts.
Vest was summoned with a runner on third in the eighth inning and struck out Maikel Garcia before working a clean ninth. The 30-year-old has held opponents scoreless in eight of 10 August outings and now sports a 2.67 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 64:16 K:BB across 57.1 frames while converting 19 of 24 save chances. He continues to split closing duties with Kyle Finnegan, who was likely unavailable after throwing two innings Friday.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Earns sixth win Tuesday
Rotowire
Vest (6-2) tossed two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in Tuesday's 1-0, 10-inning victory over the Astros. He allowed a hit and struck out one.
Vest successfully navigated the top of the ninth and 10th innings, then earned the win when Gleyber Torres ended the game on a walk-off walk. The veteran reliever came into the season with only nine career wins at the MLB level, and his previous high in a season was three. Vest also leads the Tigers with 18 saves, and he's struck out 61 batters across 55 innings this year to go along with a strong 2.45 ERA, giving him plenty of fantasy value across the board.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Returns to setup role Saturday
Rotowire
Vest tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in Saturday's 8-5 win over the Twins. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two.
Vest recorded the last out of the seventh inning and then worked the eighth against the top of Minnesota's order to earn his second hold of the season, with Kyle Finnegan covering the ninth for the save. Before Saturday, Vest had rattled off two straight saves, but Finnegan had three consecutive saves prior to that. It appears that both relievers will see ninth-inning work with Vest as the higher-leverage option, giving them each fantasy value but capping their respective ceilings. Vest still leads the Tigers with 18 saves in 23 opportunities.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Notches 18th save
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Vest struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his 18th save of the season in a 1-0 win over the White Sox.
Kyle Finnegan worked the eighth inning against the bottom part of Chicago's order and got his first hold since coming over to Detroit, while Vest got the call in the ninth against the 9-1-2 hitters and got the job done on 11 pitches (six strikes). Vest has the Tigers' last two saves, but Finnegan got the three before that, and the duo could continue to split chances the rest of the way, with Vest perhaps being viewed by manager A.J. Hinch as the slightly higher-leverage option. On the season, Vest sports a 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 58:15 K:BB through 51.2 innings.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Picks up save Monday
Rotowire
Vest tossed a scoreless inning of relief with a strikeout to earn the save in Monday's 2-1 win over the White Sox.
Though Kyle Finnegan has seemingly taken over closing duties from Vest since joining the Tigers at the trade deadline, it was Vest working the ninth inning Monday with Finnegan taking the eighth. It was the first save for Vest since July 20 and his 17th this season in 22 chances. Both pitchers figure to see high-leverage work moving forward, and while Finnegan is the top reliever to target in Detroit's bullpen at the moment, Vest still has some fantasy value in his current role.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Struggles in eighth Saturday
Rotowire
Vest worked the eighth inning of Saturday's 7-5 win over the Phillies and allowed two runs on three hits while retiring two batters via strikeout.
After seven strong innings from starter Tarik Skubal, Vest worked the eighth inning with the Tigers up 7-3. He came on to face the top of Philadelphia's order in Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, and Harper tagged him for a two-run home run. After Vest departed, the newly acquired Kyle Finnegan came on to record the final four outs and earn his first save with his new team. Detroit manager A.J. Hinch may mix and match with his revamped bullpen, and if Vest is used more frequently in high-leverage spots before the ninth inning, his fantasy value could take a hit due to a decrease in save opportunities.
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Tigers' Will Vest: Takes loss Saturday
Rotowire
Vest (5-2) allowed two runs on three hits across an inning of relief to take the loss in Saturday's 6-1 defeat to the Blue Jays. He struck out one.
With the game scoreless through seven innings following a dazzling start by Tarik Skubal, Vest let things get away in the eighth. It was the first time the veteran righty had allowed more than one run in an appearance since June 15, and he had posted a stellar 0.96 ERA in nine games since then. Overall, Vest still has a solid 2.58 ERA across 45.1 innings this season to go along with 51 strikeouts, and he should be able to bounce back from the rough outing and get back to closing out games for the Tigers.
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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.
