Before the 2019 season, Detroit Tigers reliever Jose Cisnero was searching for a job.
As of Wednesday, he has the full trust of manager AJ Hinch.
Cisnero picked up the first two saves of his MLB career in his two most recent appearances — Saturday against the Chicago White Sox and Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners.
“I love the calm heartbeat,” Hinch said Wednesday. “He does have really good stuff across the board. He’s able to pitch to both sides of the plate and both handedness of the hitter. But he has a resilient arm, and he has a resilient delivery. It’s consistent, it’s smooth. It’s everything that you would ask for in a guy, and he still has a lot of power behind it.”
After a rough 16-game stretch to begin the 2021 season, carrying a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings, Cisnero has found his groove to fortify his role as a reliable reliever in the back end of the bullpen.
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“My motivation throwing in those types of situations is throwing strikes and making the hitters have as many swings and misses as quick as I can,” Cisnero said Wednesday. “I’m always aggressive. I’m always looking forward to throwing strikes, making them miss and throwing just a few pitches to get out of the situation.”
In Cisnero’s past 12 games, he has a 0.84 ERA, two walks and 14 strikeouts across 10⅔ innings, plus two saves.
His workload has increased for two reasons: Hinch trusts him and needs him. Right-handed reliever Michael Fulmer, a weapon in the late innings, went to the 10-day injured list Sunday, retroactive to June 3, with a right shoulder strain.
As Hinch ramped up Fulmer’s workload, the ex-starter became fatigued and stopped pitching after his May 30 appearance against the New York Yankees.
Fatigue evolved into a shoulder injury.
“You’ve got me be careful, if you’re me, because I don’t want to overuse him and overtax him,” Hinch said about Cisnero. “When he’s at his best, you see (his fastball) creep up to 97-98 (mph), it can be electrifying, and he’s relatively underrated. You don’t hear a lot of talk about him.
“He does his business and takes the ball whenever I hand it to him. He takes it with a smile, goes out and does his job, shows up the next day and tells me he’s available. Pretty awesome guy to have on our staff.”
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As soon as Cisnero gets to the ballpark, he reaches for five-pound dumbbells in the gym. Lifting light weights has helped him recover from his previous outing. Because Hinch doesn’t have defined roles, and the starters have pitched well so far this season, Cisnero starts to stretch in the fifth inning.
He then waits for Hinch’s call.
Last Saturday, Cisnero was summoned for the ninth inning. He recorded his first MLB save in his five-year career — Houston Astros from 2013-14; Tigers from 2019-21 — by retiring Adam Eaton, Tim Anderson and Nick Madrigal to secure a 4-3 win over the White Sox.
“My first save was a big moment for me in my career,” Cisnero said. “I took advantage of the moment. Beforehand, I had another opportunity and failed. So, I’ve learned a lot and did my best to not miss this one.”
Thursday’s pitching plan
Because the Mariners are loaded with left-handed hitters, Hinch expects to use one of three lefty relievers to start Thursday’s series finale: Tyler Alexander, Daniel Norris or Derek Holland. The last time the Tigers needed a reliever to start, Alexander filled in June 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull went to the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right forearm strain. Hinch previously said the organization won’t call up a pitcher from Triple-A Toledo for a spot start.
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Harold Castro scratched
The Tigers scratched utility player Harold Castro from Wednesday’s lineup with right hand soreness. He was supposed to play third base and hit second in the batting order.
Castro sustained his injury while throwing in warmups.
“We’re going to get him checked out by the doctor,” Hinch said. “It’s his right hand, something to do with his knuckle. We’ll see what the doctor says. We’ll see what his availability is off the bench. … Nothing is broken.”
Isaac Paredes took over at third base in Castro’s absence, but the batting order shifted.
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Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.