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It's been no secret for some time that the Detroit Tigers are desperate for help in their bullpen. The degree to which that's true literally can not be overstated, according to those in the know:

Heard this today: "If he's a reliever and he's breathing, the #Tigers have scouted him.'' — Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 21, 2014

Hyperbole aside, the Tigers have been linked to many of the relievers on the market, and for good reason - their bullpen ranks 27th in the majors in ERA, 25th in FIP, and 10th in meltdowns relative to shutdowns. What's more, they're incapable of getting righties out, allowing an obscene .341 weighted on-base average to right-handed hitters (that's like facing Alex Gordon for every plate appearance, which doesn't seem terrible for one plate appearance but is terrifying for every plate appearance).

You can't safely enter the stretch run and the playoffs with a struggling Joe Nathan propped up by Joba Chamberlain and an army of underperforming or unproven arms.

And so, anyone not nailed down to their current team is of interest to Detroit. As a review, it has already been reported they're interested in Joaquin Benoit, Brad Ziegler, and Joakim Soria. They've now also turned their attention to a pair of Philadelphia Phillies relievers:

Tigers showing interest in Phillies LHP Bastardo, sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal and me. Keeping tabs on all relievers -- including Papelbon. — Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 22, 2014

Antonio Bastardo is definitely a cheaper option than Jonathan Papelbon, and may be less complicated - Papelbon doesn't want to go somewhere he won't be a closer, and while incumbent Nathan has struggled (and is "way too old to worry" about trade rumors), a team with one "proven closer" struggling may not want to guarantee another the job.

Whoever it ends up being, it would be a major surprise at this point if the Tigers didn't add at least one arm to their bullpen in the next 10 days.