The Tigers have signed left-hander Nick Raquet to a two-year minor league contract, according to 7 News’ Ari Alexander. Raquet became a free agent after he was released by the Orioles in early September.
The length of the deal reflects Raquet’s health situation, as Alexander reports that the southpaw recently underwent a Tommy John surgery. Raquet will therefore miss all of 2027 rehabbing from the procedure, so this two-year pact gives him some security to recuperate under a team’s umbrella, with the Tigers having an eye towards using Raquet when he’s healthy in 2028.
A third-round pick for the Nationals in the 2017 draft, Raquet stepped away from baseball entirely in 2020 once the minor league season was canceled by the pandemic. Raquet instead went back to college at William & Mary to complete a business degree, and even took a job as an enterprise risk consultant with Ernst & Young. He returned to play independent ball in 2023 and then signed a minors deal with the Cardinals prior to the 2024 season.
His two years in the St. Louis organization led to Raquet making his MLB debut in September 2025, as he tossed two scoreless innings over two appearances. The Cardinals designated Raquet for assignment last April and then dealt him to the Orioles, and the lefty had a 7.36 ERA over four games and 3 2/3 innings in a Baltimore uniform. Amidst the sporadic usage on the big league roster, Raquet spent most of his time at Triple-A Norfolk before his elbow problem both ended his season in August and led to this much longer absence.
A move to full-time relief pitching unlocked some extra strikeout ability for Raquet in 2025, and his overall production at the Triple-A level improved when he posted a 3.68 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, and 7.0% walk rate over 44 innings this season with the Cardinals’ and Orioles’ top affiliates. Raquet rarely cracks the 90mph threshold and rarely throws a traditional fastball at all, instead relying heavily on his slider with a good dose of a sinker thrown into the mix.
