July 13 (UPI) — The Detroit Tigers gave veteran right-hander Zack Godley his unconditional release, the team announced Monday.
Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters the move was made to give the former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher a chance to sign with another club.
“I like the kid. I was with him out in Arizona,” Gardenhire said. “From what we saw, it’ll take a little time for him. But more than anything else, we just wanted to give him an opportunity to catch on with somebody else.”
The 30-year-old pitcher signed a minor league contract with the Tigers in December. He was in the team’s expanded player pool for workouts this month at Comerica Park ahead of MLB’s restart.
Godley won a career-high 15 games in 32 starts for the Diamondbacks in 2018 but made only nine starts for Arizona last season. The Blue Jays claimed him off waivers last August, and he made six relief appearances for the club. He posted a 4-5 record and 5.97 ERA in 2019.
Godley, 30, has compiled a 37-30 record and 4.68 ERA in five major league seasons with the Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays.
Godley is the second veteran reliever the Tigers have released this summer. The team parted ways with Alex Wilson last month.
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