Lakeland, Fla. — A lot of his closest teammates are suddenly gone.
Harold Castro, Willi Castro, Victor Reyes, his late-inning leverage reliever buddies Gregory Soto and Joe Jimenez — they are all in other organizations now. You can’t blame Jose Cisnero for feeling just a tad lonely walking through the clubhouse at TigerTown.
“I talked to those guys,” Cisnero said. “I say, ‘Hey, I’m here and you left. I’m here by myself. I guess I will have to do everything. You are not here.’ I’m going to do the best I can.”
Hard to fathom that it’s been four years since Cisnero walked into the Tigers’ clubhouse in Lakeland, virtually unknown, desperately seeking an opportunity to make it back to the big leagues after a five-year absence.
Now look at him. He will be 34 on April 11 and, with a newly-signed $2.4 million contract in hand, he and Tyler Alexander are the deans of the Tigers’ bullpen.
“When I got here in 2019, I was just so happy to be given an opportunity and I am thankful to this organization for that,” he said. “I worked hard and after five years I feel happy with everything I’ve accomplished so far.”
Cisnero, conducting his media session in English on Tuesday for the first time and handling it flawlessly, understands he might be asked to carry a heavier load this season, especially with four leverage relievers gone from a year ago — Michael Fulmer, Andrew Chafin, Soto, and Jimenez.
But he’s not focused on his role, only on his health and the consistency of his performance.
“Yeah, I don’t think about that,” he said. “I think about what I did the last couple of years that I’ve been here and just be ready for the situations they put me in. I don’t know what situations they’re going to have for me. But I know I will be prepared.”
That Cisnero is already in camp and working is proof of his readiness. He was late to camp last year and then ended up on the injured list with a shoulder issue. He didn’t make his season debut until July 21 and was limited to 28 games and just 25 innings.
“I don’t want to repeat the sins of last year,” he said.
He pitched three innings of winter ball in the Dominican Republic — where he says his fastball was touching 98 mph — and he’s come to camp 12 pounds lighter than last year.
“I feel like a young player,” he said. “I feel like a rookie. I have to work hard like a rookie. I don’t want to work like a veteran. Because I have a job to do.”
He’s done that job consistently well the last four seasons, working 151.2 innings with a 3.26 ERA, 34 holds and allowing just 21% of inherited runners to score (15 of 69). In his abbreviated time last season he allowed only three earned runs and limited opponents to a .176 batting average.
The only hiccup was his command. He uncharacteristically walked 19 batters in 25 innings. But, with his four-seam fastball holding hitters to a .179 average and a 30.6% whiff rate, and his slider doing similar work (.152, 34% whiff rate), he was able to clean up his messes.
“After losing half of the season last year, I want to be healthy,” he said. “I’ve worked hard. When I went to pitch in winter ball, I don’t think, ‘OK, I will just go play and that’s it.’ I worked hard every day so I can be ready for spring training.”
It’s not going to be the same, though. At least once a day, every day, you’d hear Cisnero yell out across the room to Harold Castro — sounding like Desi Arnaz in “I Love Lucy” — “Heeey Haaarrry!”
Gonna miss that.
“I’m going to miss Harry,” Cisnero said.
Around the horn
The first official workout for pitchers and catchers is Wednesday. Most of the players, roster and non-roster, have already been working out at the facility.
… Right-handed reliever Matt Wisler, the former Tampa Bay Ray, worked out on the backfields and threw a bullpen Tuesday. He agreed to a minor-league deal with the Tigers with a camp invite, but as of Tuesday, that contact had not been made official.
… Position players are expected to report over the weekend with the first full-squad workouts set for Monday.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky