Final Elias Rankings - American League Relief Pitchers

Name	Type	TotalScore
J.J. Putz	A	89.764
Joe Nathan	A	88.568
Francisco Rodriguez	A	87.927
Huston Street	A	84.369
Mariano Rivera	A	84.135
Joakim Soria	A	83.115
Jonathan Papelbon	A	83.027
Rafael Betancourt	A	82.152
Ron Mahay	A	81.773
Hideki Okajima	A	81.015
Damaso Marte	A	79.323
Scot Shields	A	79.294
Bobby Jenks	A	77.632
Joaquin Benoit	A	76.349
Scott Downs	A	76.174
George Sherrill	A	75.970
Joba Chamberlain	A	75.153
Troy Percival	A	75.007
Matt Thornton	A	74.628
Octavio Dotel	A	73.520
C.J. Wilson	A	73.053
Pat Neshek	A	71.770
Rafael Perez	A	71.449
Darren Oliver	A	71.304
Ramon Ramirez	A	70.283
Dan Wheeler	B	69.612
Matt Guerrier	B	69.525
Grant Balfour	B	67.950
Brian Bruney	B	67.804
Joey Devine	B	67.367
Ryan Rowland-Smith	B	65.996
Scott Linebrink	B	65.646
Jamey Wright	B	65.150
Sean Green	B	65.034
Jose Arredondo	B	64.946
Dennys Reyes	B	64.421
Zach Miner	B	64.304
J.P. Howell	B	63.692
Jesse Carlson	B	63.575
Frank Francisco	B	63.400
Javier Lopez	B	63.225
Manny Delcarmen	B	62.730
Jeremy Accardo	B	61.971
Brad Ziegler	B	61.388
Santiago Casilla	B	61.097
Alan Embree	B	60.747
Bobby Seay	B	60.455
Trever Miller	B	60.192
Chad Bradford	B	58.734
Justin Speier	B	58.676
Dennis Sarfate	B	56.810
Fernando Rodney		56.460
Brian Tallet		56.022
Jose Veras		55.614
Mike Timlin		55.118
Gary Glover		55.001
Todd Jones		54.506
Andrew Brown		53.689
Leo Nunez		53.689
Justin Masterson		53.514
Jamie Walker		53.456
Casey Janssen		52.843
B.J. Ryan		52.668
Kip Wells		52.406
Roy Corcoran		52.348
Edwar Ramirez		51.735
Kyle Farnsworth		51.035
Matt Albers		50.773
Jensen Lewis		50.627
Jason Frasor		49.869
Jason Hammel		48.965
Jesse Crain		48.819
Aquilino Lopez		48.381
Jimmy Gobble		48.294
Chris Ray		47.609
Robinson Tejeda		46.777
Eddie Guardado		46.136
Scott Feldman		45.669
David Aardsma		44.561
Jim Johnson		44.182
Juan Rincon		44.094
Joel Peralta		43.074
Horacio Ramirez		43.045
Josh Rupe		41.586
Lance Cormier		41.382
D.J. Carrasco		41.149
Joel Zumaya		40.216
Craig Breslow		38.845
Casey Fossum		38.145
Brandon Duckworth		37.795
Dustin Nippert		37.620
Fernando Cabrera		35.316
Jonathan Albaladejo		34.529
John Parrish		33.625
Masahide Kobayashi		33.567
Alberto Castillo		33.202
Juan Salas		32.998
Brandon League		32.225
Randy Messenger		31.642
Shawn Camp		30.300
Brendan Donnelly		29.484
John Rheinecker		29.353
Dan Giese		28.871
John Bale		28.171
Lance Broadway		27.472
Adam Russell		27.078
Jerry Blevins		26.859
A.J. Murray		26.830
Cesar Jimenez		26.305
Ryan Braun		25.984
Rocky Cherry		25.314
Luis Mendoza		25.284
Keith Foulke		24.322
Edward Mujica		23.739
Danys Baez		23.462
Humberto Sanchez		21.464
Shane Loux		20.472
James Hoey		19.481
Kirk Saarloos		17.148
Warner Madrigal		16.944
Chris Britton		15.340
Randor Bierd		12.394
Jae Kuk Ryu		10.470
Jake Woods		9.945
Andrew Sisco		4.404
Jeff Fulchino		2.945
David Pauley		2.275
Chad Orvella		1.954

Kyle Farnsworth appears to be short of Type B Status. To add insult to injury, he ends up behind the likes of Gary Glover. Naturally, Casey Fossum was also well short of Type B. Among the free agents, who should the Tigers look at?

Francisco Rodriguez (A): Will want too much money for a guy whose stats were essentially padded this year. Look past the number of saves. Was he a better closer than Papelbon, Nathan, Rivera, and Soria? No.

Damaso Marte (A): It seems like his option is going to be declined. Turning 34 this offseason, he may be on the decline but could be worth it if the Yankees don't get the Tigers' second round pick for him.

Darren Oliver (A): Has turned into a solid loogy in his career's twilight. Not worth the pick or a multi year deal though.

Jamey Wright (B): His Type B status baffles me. For a below average swing man, anything more than a spring invite is overpaying.

Dennys Reyes (B): LOOGY extraordinaire. He has faced 2.7 hitters per appearance in his three years with the Twins. I wouldn't overpay for him, but could be worth a look.

Alan Embree (B): Embree started to walk too many people this year. If the A's reject his option, he's worth a cheep one year deal but nothing more.

Trever Miller (B): Drafted by the Tigers 17 years ago, an okay second lefty now. I have no idea if the Rays will accept his option or not, but the same applies to him as to others: no more than a year and no more than $1M.

Kyle Farnsworth (None): Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Eddie Guardado (None): Second year back from Tommy John. Even at 38, a resurgence isn't out of the question. Again, a cheap deal is okay.

Juan Rincon (None): Has gotten worse and worse the past few years. No thanks.

Horacio Ramirez (None): One of the most embarassing things a hitter can do is get struck out by Ramirez. Nothing more than a non-roster invitee.

Casey Fossum (None): If he's back, the Tigers will have another losing season.

John Parrish (None): 184BB and 221 K for his career. Pass.

Brendan Donnelly (None): Returning from Tommy John. There's rebound potential, but it's not worth it to go overboard bringing him in.

Keith Foulke (None): If the fork hasn't been stuck in him, finish the deal now. If he wanted to sign with the Tigers, he should have done so when they drafted him out of high school.

Again, not much there. You are probably as likely to get an impact arm at a reasonable price by vigilantly searching the waiver wire.