DETROIT — Left-hander Bryan Sammons has re-signed with the Detroit Tigers on a minor-league deal after spending the 2025 season in Japan.
The news was first reported on Monday by the MLB Network.
Sammons, 30, made six appearances, all as a multi-inning reliever following an opener, after an unexpected call-up to the big leagues with the Tigers in August 2024. He posted a 3.62 ERA in 27 1/3 innings, recording nine walks and 18 strikeouts.
A native of North Carolina, Sammons played four seasons at Western Carolina University before being selected in the eighth round of the 2017 draft by the Minnesota Twins. Signed for just $10,000 as an under-slot pick, he worked his way up to Triple-A with the Twins but was released after the 2022 season.
Sammons signed with the Houston Astros but was released following spring training in 2023. He then joined an independent league team in Gastonia, N.C., before being picked up by the Tigers later that year.
Sammons’ MLB debut came with little notice on July 29. Called up as a potential standby option ahead of the trade deadline, he wasn’t sure he would even be activated to pitch. Instead, Sammons ended up pitching almost the entire game.
He entered in the first inning and pitched through the eighth. The 7 1/3 innings marked the longest outing by a Tigers pitcher in his MLB debut since Andy Ven Hekken shut out the Cleveland Indians on Sept. 3, 2002.
It was the culmination of a decade-long journey to the big leagues.
“It puts it all in perspective,” said Sammons after the game, pausing as his voice choked and tears welled up. “It just makes all the work worth it.”
Sammons was waived by the Tigers after the season and agreed to a one-year deal with the Chiba Lotte Marines. He went 9-6 with a 3.43 ERA over 120 2/3 innings and two levels in Japan.
Sammons is likely ticketed for a return to Triple-A Toledo, where he spent much of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.