On Sunday afternoon, the Athletic published a report linking free agent reliever Ryan Helsley to the Detroit Tigers, among other teams showing interest. Particularly notable was the idea that the Tigers and others have interst in converting the hard-throwing right-hander into a starting pitcher.

There’s been a bit of a trend in turning good relievers into starting pitchers in recent years, with mixed results. Of course, many successful relievers initially came through the minor leagues as starting pitchers in the first place, before their respective teams decided they would better serve the roster in a relief role. Tigers right-hander Troy Melton is currently in this twilight zone between roles, starting throughout his minor league career and holding up to starting workloads well, before

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