KANSAS CITY, MO – Carl Edwards Jr. is a World Series champion.
The 34-year-old right-hander secured his World Series ring as a reliever for the 2016 Chicago Cubs, with now-Detroit Tigers executives Scott Harris, Jeff Greenberg and Alex Smith in the front office on the North Side.
Now, Edwards has joined the Tigers.
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New York Mets relief pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. (52) pitches in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field on April 26, 2026.
The Tigers signed Edwards on Friday, May 8, to a minor-league contract. The 12-year MLB veteran has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo.
Most recently, Edwards pitched in two games for the New York Mets in 2026. He allowed one run on three hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts across six innings.
Here’s the timeline of events: Edwards had his contract selected April 24, and he was designated for assignment April 30. Three days later, he elected free agency after clearing waivers, and five days after that, he signed with the Tigers.
Before that, Edwards posted a 5.29 ERA with 11 walks and 13 strikeouts over 17 innings in four starts for Triple-A Syracuse in the Mets’ organization.
He throws three pitch types: four-seam fastball, curveball and changeup.
His fastball averages 92.5 mph.
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Edwards has pitched in MLB for the Cubs (2015-29), San Diego Padres (2019, 2024), Seattle Mariners (2020), Atlanta Braves (2021), Toronto Blue Jays (2021), Washington Nationals (2022-23), Los Angeles Angels (2025), Texas Rangers (2025) and Mets (2026).
For those nine teams, Edwards registered more than six innings with just two of them: 174⅓ innings over five seasons with the Cubs and 93⅔ innings across two seasons with the Nationals.
Edwards owns a career 3.51 ERA with a below-average 12.7% walk rate and an above-average 28.3% strikeout rate, spanning 292 innings in 302 games.
In 2016, Edwards recorded the first two outs for the Cubs in the 10th inning in Game 7 of the World Series against the Cleveland Guardians, then surrounded one run on a walk and a single before left-handed reliever Mike Montgomery ended the game – an 8-7 win for the Cubs to clinch the franchise’s first World Series title since beating the Tigers in 1907 and 1908.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers sign Carl Edwards Jr. to minor-league contract
