Skip to content

Tigers' Ausmus: 'I had to fight back a few tears' after cutting Lowe

Mark Cunningham / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Brad Ausmus had to make one of the toughest baseball decisions he's ever had to make as a big-league manager on Sunday.

The Detroit Tigers skipper had to cut right-handed reliever Mark Lowe, which he said was an extremely difficult thing to do because of the pitcher's great clubhouse presence and attitude.

"He was extremely gracious. He thanked us for the opportunity," Ausmus told Scott DeCamp of MLive.com. "Frankly, this is probably the first time actually I had to fight back a few tears."

The 33-year-old Lowe was brought in to help fortify the Tigers bullpen prior to the 2016 season via a two-year, $11-million contract, but he struggled last season, posting a 7.11 ERA during 54 appearances.

Related: Tigers eating $5M salary to release struggling Lowe

Lowe's work last season was far from the results he produced in 2015 with the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays when his ERA was a stellar 1.96. And after combining those numbers with a poor spring (5.19 ERA in nine appearances), the Tigers had no choice but to release him.

"During the offseason, he was really the one guy I hoped to see bounce back a little bit because he's a great fit on the team (personality-wise)," Ausmus said. "I guess I'm disappointed, but I'm not disappointed in him. He was trying. I'm disappointed that we don't have him on the team. That falls on Al (Avila) and myself. That's a tough call.

"If he was pitching the way he did in 2015, if he was like that, it'd be a no-brainer ... because I love his attitude."

Lowe, who owns a 10-27 record and 8.2 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate during his big-league career, should draw some interest on the open market, especially because he can now be acquired for the league's veteran minimum.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox