Nathan notched his 30th save of the season Tuesday against the Royals, but it wasn't without drama, as he allowed two baserunners before recording his second out of the ninth inning.

With runners on first and second and one out in a two-run game, Nathan was able to pick Jarrod Dyson off at second base, making the save much more manageable. He allowed two hits and recorded two strikeouts, but still kept his pitch count under 20 (18), so he should be available again Wednesday, should the situation arise.

Nathan was unavailable the past few days due to elbow soreness, but is available Monday, Matthew B. Mowery of the Oakland Press reports.

Nathan may have been unavailable the past few days, but the team was never in a situation where they needed him. The 39-year-old has struggled in the closer role for the Tigers this season, posting a 5.04 ERA and 1.54 WHIP while blowing six saves. His K/IP ratio has also dipped below one for the first time in three seasons (0.98). At any rate, he will likely continue as the Tigers' closer for the remainder of this season, and is under contract for another, so it will be interesting to see what the team decides to do with him in the offseason.

Nathan claimed his 26th save of the season Tuesday vs. the Rays, giving up one run in the bottom 11th inning in the 8-6 victory.

Yet again, Nathan made things difficult on himself despite a three-run cushion, yielding two singles and a walk before striking out Sean Rodriguez to end the threat. Fortunately for Nathan, top setup man and presumptive closer-in-waiting Joba Chamberlain blew a lead earlier in the game, likely keeping the ninth-inning job his for now.

Nathan's job as the Tigers closer would appear to be in serious jeopardy after he notched his sixth blown save of the season Saturday against the Jays, giving up a run on two hits and two walks while recording just one out.

He ruined an eight-inning gem from Max Scherzer, and the calls for Nathan's removal from the ninth inning role in Detroit are at a fever pitch. Meanwhile, Joakim Soria left Saturday's game in the 10th inning with a lower back injury, so that obvious replacement may no longer be readily available for manager Brad Ausmus. Continue to monitor the situation, but it would certainly not be surprising for the Tigers to announce that Nathan is no longer the closer in the coming days.

Nathan made things interesting, but managed a scoreless ninth inning to record his 24th save. He allowed a hit, two walks, and struck out one.

Nathan continues to struggle, needing 26 pitches (only 12 for strikes) to put away Toronto. He sports a balky 5.18 ERA and hasn't had many easy save conversions. The future Hall-of-Famer will continue to get the ball as long as he manages to get the job done on most nights, but he's clearly not the sure thing he has been over his stellar career.

Nathan notched his 22nd save with a scoreless ninth inning in a 4-2 win over Colorado on Friday night.

Nathan (22 saves, 5.45 ERA) wasn't totally in control, allowing a hit and a walk before finishing off the Rockies. While he continues to struggle at times, the Tigers acquisition of Joakim Soria, who has been ineffective so far, has not necessarily provided any serious challenge to Nathan's job security.

Joe Nathan struck out the side to emphatically shut out the lights on the Angels in a 6-4 Thursday victory.

He did so as new Dave Dombrowski toy Joakim Soria looked on from the bullpen area. This was the second time this season that Nathan has struck out the side. Nathan toted an embarrassing 6.23 ERA from the ballpark after July 19's blown save against the Indians, but he's struck out five and given up just one hit and no walks in three consecutive shutout appearances. As long as he keeps stringing together scoreless appearances, Brad Ausmus will keep trotting Nathan out in the ninth. If Nathan returns to his June form (9.00 ERA), however, it will be Soria time in Detroit.

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said Joe Nathan will remain the Tigers' closer despite Wednesday's trade for Joakim Soria, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck.

It was a legitimate question, as Nathan owns a 5.89 ERA and five blown saves on the year. The right-hander has been better in July, though, having been scored upon in just one of his seven appearances. Soria will presumably hold down a setup role with his new club, but he will be looming if Nathan falters in the closer role going forward.

Joe Nathan worked around a single to toss a scoreless ninth, preserve a 4-3 win, and earn his 20th save of the season Monday against Arizona.

Nathan has finished off scoreless appearances in six of his last seven. Unfortunately, the one he didn't was a three-run implosion over the weekend against the Indians, after which the media began discussing his job security. Nathan has been scored upon in 10 of his last 22 appearances, but manager Brad Ausmus has proven he'll grant an extremely long leash. Nathan is 20-for-25 in save conversions to go with a 5.89 ERA and 1.53 WHIP.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Saturday that he's "not near that point" to replace Joe Nathan at closer.

Nathan on Saturday allowed a bases-clearing double, which was preceded by a double and two walks (one intentional). He's been scored upon in 10 of his last 20 appearances and holds a 9.00 ERA over that stretch. Yet, Ausmus is sticking by his veteran closer. "I'm sure there's a possibility I could reach a point sometime," he said. "I'm not near that point. I'll let you know when I am."

Joe Nathan slammed the door on the Royals in the ninth inning on Friday, preserving a one-run advantage and earning his 19th save of the season.

The 39-year-old closer has pitched better of late, but still owns a troublesome 5.61 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 35/14 K/BB ratio over 33 2/3 innings on the season. He isn't a good bet to magically turn his season around and improve his ratios, but should continue to be able to rack up saves at the back of the Tigers bullpen.

Joe Nathan struck out two over a perfect inning to convert his 18th save of the season in Wednesday's win over the Dodgers.

It was a painless ninth inning, as Nathan entered to protect a three-run lead and got Hanley Ramirez to ground out and Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp to go down swinging. Nathan has converted three straight save chances, but it's certainly been a shaky year overall with a 5.79 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and five blown saves.

Joe Nathan earned his 16th save of the season Wednesday in the Tigers' defeat of the Rangers.

Nathan was again shaky, however, yielding a one-out double to Shin-Soo Choo and an RBI single to Adrian Beltre before rallying for the final two outs. The veteran right-hander has a brutal 6.28 ERA and 1.60 WHIP on the season. Joba Chamberlain should get his shot eventually.

Joe Nathan blew his fifth save of the season Saturday in the Tigers' win over the Indians.

Detroit bounced back to win the game in extras, with Phil Coke earning the save. Nathan was impressive on Thursday afternoon against the Royals, striking out the side to collect his 14th save, but the 39-year-old's season-long problems returned on Saturday night in Cleveland. Joba Chamberlain remains a must-stash in all mixed and AL-only fantasy leagues.

Joe Nathan earned his 14th save of the season Thursday in the Tigers' 2-1 defeat of the Royals.

And the Royals' winning streak has ended at 10 games. Nathan was sharp, striking out all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth inning on just 15 pitches. It was an important bounceback appearance for the veteran right-hander, who has not been good this season. He hadn't struck out the side since last August.

Joe Nathan struggled again in a non-save situation against the Twins on Friday, allowing an unearned run on two walks and a hit batsmen in 2/3 of an inning.

To be fair, Nathan should have been out of the inning without any damage, as an errant throw from shortstop Eugenio Suarez allowed the leadoff man to reach. He has been simply pitiful on the mound this season, posting a 6.85 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over his 23 2/3 innings.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Monday that he's "not even considering" removing Joe Nathan from his closer role.

Joba Chamberlain got the save chance Sunday (and blew it), but that was only because Nathan had pitched in two straight games. Nathan holds an ugly 7.04 ERA for the season, but he'll remain in the ninth inning indefinitely. "I'm not really thinking that far ahead. Right now, Joe is and has been the closer the whole year," Ausmus said. "The only times he hasn't closed have been games that I've felt it was best to give him a rest. If there's a bridge that needs to be crossed sometime down the road, I'll cross it. Right now, I'm not even considering it."

After taking over with a four-run lead, Joe Nathan gave up two runs and four hits in the ninth Saturday against the Red Sox.

Had Joba Chamberlain not pitched the eighth, he probably would have taken over for Nathan at some point in the ninth tonight, likely after the third hit. As it was, Brad Ausmus figured Nathan was still the best option to finish it, and he managed to escape, getting Stephen Drew to fly out to end it. It was Nathan's fourth lousy appearances in the last five, but it still doesn't figure to cost him the closer's role, at least not yet. He will almost certainly need Sunday off now after pitching a scoreless inning Friday and throwing 32 pitches tonight. Chamberlain would also be working a third straight day tomorrow, but he could go anyway.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus indicated after Tuesday's game that he plans to stick with Joe Nathan as the team's closer.

Nathan was rocked for four runs over two-thirds of an inning after entering in the ninth inning of a tie game. The closer has allowed eight runs over his last three appearances and 10 runs over his last six games to push his ERA all the way up to 6.86. "First of all, that one pitch (the full-counter to Gose) was pretty darn close, quite frankly," Ausmus said. "Joe's been very good for a very long time, and I expect him to be very good for the Tigers. And he expects himself to be very good. But even the best have rough times." While it appears Nathan will remain in the ninth inning for now, fantasy owners would be wise to scoop up Joba Chamberlain just in case.

Joe Nathan surrendered two runs and three hits in the ninth inning Thursday, but he still picked up a save against the A's.

The inning started with a double and a groundout that advanced the runner. Yoenis Cespedes then hit a grounder to short that should have been turned into an out, but Andrew Romine backed up on the ball and then made a poor throw. This being 2014, it was ruled an RBI single, of course. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Josh Reddick doubled and Nick Punto worked a long walk. However, Jed Lowrie grounded out to end it. Nathan was coming off a blown save in Wednesday's game. He has more blown saves (four), homers allowed (four) and runs allowed (12) in 20 2/3 innings this year than he did in 64 2/3 innings last year. Still, we don't see any reason for panic. Joba Chamberlain is next in line for saves in the Detroit pen, but we don't think it will come to that.