TORONTO — Detroit Tigers reliever Trey Wingenter went 1,289 days — or three years, six months and 12 days — without throwing an MLB pitch. Elbow surgery and two back surgeries were the culprits of his downfall.
He is finally healthy again.
He is finally pitching in the big leagues again.
“First time out there is one thing,” Wingenter said. “First time out there in a big situation is one thing. After five, six, seven of those, you’re in the bullpen and getting ready. I’m sure in the next couple months, we’ll start to fall into some roles and know when the phone call is coming. And then, it’s just another day.”
ROUGH START: Tigers respond to 2-7 record with the same approach: Win today’s game
AFTER 7 GAMES: Who are these Tigers? A tale of two series reveals upside on offense, weakness in bullpen
Wingenter, who turns 29 in a couple days, shined in spring training with seven scoreless innings, one walk and 11 strikeouts in seven appearances. He has pitched out of the bullpen in four games this season, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 3⅓ innings.
His fastball is averaging 95.7 mph.
It averaged 97.4 mph in 2018.
His slider is already generating whiffs and chases at high rates.
It registered a 46.9% whiff rate and 40.7% chase rate in 2019.
“I feel really good about my delivery and attacking the zone,” Wingenter said. “The slider has been pretty good. I think the fastball is coming along. By appearance 20 or 25, I think everything starts to line up more and more, and your body gets used to being ready to pitch every day. There’s no telling where my stuff can go from there.”
NEWCOMER WITH ENERGY: Nick Maton shows some bark and some bite for Tigers: ‘Everyone loves Wolfie’
THE SKIPPER: A.J. Hinch learned to be ‘a players’ manager.’ Tigers are relying on that in 2023
Wingenter mixes two pitches, and since those pitches are borderline elite, he is an automatic candidate to pitch in save situations for the Tigers this season. The Tigers don’t have defined roles for relievers and probably won’t name a closer, but Wingenter sees a path to establishing himself as one of the primary high-leverage relievers.
There are three boxes he needs to check: Pitch aggressively; maintain a repeatable delivery to throw strikes; and rack up strikeouts.
“That’s it,” Wingenter said. “The guys you want closing the game are going to be the guys that strike hitters out, don’t walk a lot of hitters and are tough at-bats for the best hitters on the other team.”
The Tigers don’t have any reliable high-leverage relievers. The bullpen as a whole lacks solidified, power arms with track records of throwing strikes. Therefore, Wingenter can become the guy in the bullpen if he fills up the strike zone. So far, he is significantly below average in two important categories: a 41.5% in-zone rate and a 43.8% first-pitch strike rate.
Entering this season, Wingenter struck out 44.2% of batters after getting ahead 0-1 in his career. He posted a 5.14 ERA with 39 walks and 99 strikeouts across 70 innings for the San Diego Padres in the 2018-19 campaigns.
“His strike-throwing is going to be the thing that we pay attention to,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “The first time out, it wasn’t good. The second time out, it was really good. … But it’s pretty good stuff. We’ve got to get him in the strike zone and get his attack plan lined up with guys he hasn’t faced a ton before.”
WE HAVE A PROBLEM: Tigers won’t win games without throwing strikes. It starts with starting pitchers
JEFF SEIDEL: Ryan Kreidler gives Tigers an ‘impact defender.’ They’re giving him ‘a long leash’
Wingenter pitched in back-to-back wins for the Tigers last week — their only two wins this season — against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. He threw nine of 10 pitches for strikes in a perfect 10th inning April 4 to open the door for a 7-6 victory in the 11th inning, then threw 10 of 15 pitches for strikes in the ninth inning April 4 during a 6-3 victory.
He isn’t motivated by the idea of a closer label, which seems unlikely to happen anyway, but he is motivated to earn the Tigers’ trust in the most important situations of the game. One day, that could mean inheriting runners and protecting a one-run lead in the sixth inning. The next day, that could mean pitching in the ninth inning in search of a three-out save.
“The best thing we can all do is go out and attack to show that we have five, six guys that can pitch at any time in the game,” Wingenter said, “and that’s how we’re going to be able to win games on go on win streaks despite who’s down and who’s available each day.”
Wingenter, who signed a minor-league contract in the offseason, looks like the dark horse to be the Tigers’ most valuable reliever in 2023, primarily based on his two-pitch mix. As long as he throws strikes, thus avoiding noncompetitive walks, Hinch will surely call on him in the biggest moments.
The Tigers need him at his best.
“I like what I’ve seen so far,” Hinch said, “and if his effectiveness as the temperate warms up and his velocity starts to return to the way it was in Florida, he could find himself in a lot of different spots.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.