The Detroit Tigers are bringing back left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin.

Chafin, who pitched for the Tigers in 2022, has signed a one-year contract with a club option, according to a source with knowledge of the agreement. The 33-year-old prioritized the Tigers as his favorite destination as a free agent because Detroit is close to his family farm near Massillon, Ohio.

The contract, according to a source, features base salary of $4.25 million for the 2024 season, plus up to $1.25 million in incentives. The club option for the 2025 season is worth $6.5 million, plus up to $1.25 million in incentives. The club option includes a $500,000 buyout, so Chafin is guaranteed to make $4.75 million in 2024.

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The deal is expected to be finalized Monday, pending a physical exam.

The club has not confirmed the signing.

Chafin, a 10-year MLB veteran, pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers in the 2023 season. He posted a 4.73 ERA with 28 walks (12.5% walk rate) and 63 strikeouts (28.1% strikeout rate) over 51⅓ innings in 63 relief appearances.

The 12.5% walk rate was his career worst in a full season.

Chafin recorded a 9.3% walk rate in his first nine seasons, as well as a 7.5% walk rate in the 2021-22 seasons, before imploding with the Diamondbacks and Brewers in 2023.

He performed significantly better in the 2022 season with the Tigers, logging a 2.83 ERA with 19 walks (7.8% walk rate) and 67 strikeouts (27.6% strikeout rate) over 57⅓ innings in 64 appearances out of the bullpen.

After the 2022 campaign, Chafin declined the player option in his contract — turning down $6.5 million — to become a free agent, but the decision backfired because the multi-year contract he was seeking never showed up.

Chafin waited around on the open market until mid-February and ended up settling for a one-year, $5.5 million contract from the Diamondbacks, which included a $7.25 million club option for the 2024 season with a $750,000 buyout.

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The Tigers negotiated with Chafin last offseason, but the two sides couldn't agree on the financials of a potential deal. The Diamondbacks were willing to offer a better contract than the Tigers. Later on, Chafin regretted declining the player option and accepting more money from the Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks traded Chafin to the Brewers at the Aug. 1 trade deadline in exchange for right-hander Peter Strzelecki. He had a 4.19 ERA across 34⅓ innings in Arizona and a 5.82 ERA across 17 innings in Milwaukee.

The negatives: His 12.5% walk rate ranked in the sixth percentile, and his ground-ball rate decreased from 52.6% in 2022 to 40.2% in 2023. The positives: He ranked in the 87th percentile in whiff rate (31.8%), 82nd percentile in strikeout rate (28.1%) and 76th percentile in chase rate (31.2%).

The whiff rate on Chafin's slider decreased from 60.4% in 2022 to 55.8% in 2023.

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The Brewers declined the $7.25 million club option at the beginning of November.

"I would have been happy to come back (to the Tigers)," Chafin said in June 2023, when the Diamondbacks played at Comerica Park. "At that point in time, it became strictly a business decision. We made the best decision that we could at that point in time."

This time, Chafin jumped at the opportunity to join the Tigers and stay close to his wife, two daughters, infant son and family farm in Ohio. Detroit has always been a perfect fit.

Chafin has played for the Diamondbacks (2014-20, 2023), Chicago Cubs (2020-21), Oakland Athletics (2021), Tigers (2022) and Brewers (2023) in his 10-year MLB career. He has a 3.40 ERA with a 9.7% walk rate and 25.5% strikeout rate over 452 innings in 539 games.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers bring back Andrew Chafin on 1-year contract