DETROIT — Two former Detroit Tigers relievers who found late-career success will miss the entire 2026 season.
Right-handers Shelby Miller and Reed Garrett underwent Tommy John elbow surgery this month.
It’s the second such procedure for Miller, 35, who enjoyed an outstanding 2025 campaign with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers, posting a 2.74 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 46 innings.
Miller signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Tigers before the 2024 season and spent much of the year as a high-leverage reliever.
He had a nearly three-week stretch of shutout ball last August, allowing only four hits (all singles) over 9 2/3 innings. He struck out 13 without a walk in the span. But his usage dropped in September, and he ended up as the odd man out when the Tigers turned to rookie Jackson Jobe in the final week of the season.
Once an elite prospect and budding star in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Miller’s career stalled due to injuries. From 2018–2022, he bounced among six different organizations, posting a combined 1-9 record and 8.92 ERA in 41 big-league appearances (79 2/3 innings). But he revived his career after learning a split-fingered fastball with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023, recording a 1.71 ERA over 42 innings.
Garrett, 32, was acquired by the Tigers from the Texas Rangers in the Rule 5 Draft before the 2019 season. He made the club out of spring training, but struggled with control in the regular season, posting an 8.22 ERA and walking 13 batters in 15 1/3 innings before being designated for assignment.
He went on to pitch for multiple organizations and spent time in Japan before signing a minor-league deal with the Baltimore Orioles ahead of the 2023 season. Garrett pitched briefly for Baltimore before being claimed off waivers by the New York Mets, where he enjoyed the most sustained success of his career.
In parts of three seasons with the Mets, Garrett is 12-11 with a 4.10 ERA (3.58 FIP) and 163 strikeouts across 130 innings.
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