Finding lefty reliever might take Tigers some time

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Detroit Tigers are working hard.

“The minute we walked through that door,” general manager Al Avila said Sunday evening, inside the team’s suite at the Opryland Hotel and Resort.

They are working hard on pitching -- relief pitching, specifically.

The team reportedly has come to an agreement with right-handed reliever Mark Lowe on a two-year contract, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, and likely will turn their focus to finding a left-hander now.

The relief pitching market is starting to fall into place, with a number of back-end options coming off the board in the past two days, including righties Joakim Soria, Darren O’Day and Ryan Madson.

“The relief market, if you try to sign some guys a little earlier, maybe it benefits you because, later on, things kind of explode. Obviously, the reliever market, it’s tending to go that way,” Avila said. “I don’t know where it’s going to go. That’s why it’s good to develop your own guys, but that’s why you also have to sign veteran guys to come in and compete and give you a chance, so you can keep those guys in the mold, those young guys.”

One of those veterans is Lowe. The next could be a left-handed reliever to pair with Blaine Hardy in the bullpen, the team’s foremost need.

Some names that make sense include Antonio Bastardo, Tony Sipp and Craig Breslow.

Bastardo, 30, posted a 2.98 ERA this season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched under new Tigers pitching coach Rich Dubee with the Philadelphia Phillies for six seasons. Sipp, 32, posted a 1.99 ERA this season with the Houston Astros. Breslow, 35, has a 3.31 ERA in 10 seasons.

But, Avila said, looking over a list of free agent lefty relievers, the search could be slower than some other positions.

“So if you don’t see us leaving the winter meetings with a left-handed reliever, don’t be surprised,” he said.

But based on the way the first-year general manager has done business this off-season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they do.

Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.