LAKELAND, Fla. — “A slider machine.”
That’s how one league source described right-handed reliever Matt Wisler, who signed a minor-league contract with the Detroit Tigers and is vying for a role in the bullpen on the Opening Day roster.
“It’s always been a good pitch for me,” Wisler said of his slider. “I have obviously taken it to another level by throwing it so much. Last year, especially when my velocity was down, I’m not going to get beat with an 89 mph fastball. I’m going to throw a slider so at least I have some movement.”
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The 30-year-old pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays last season but was designated for assignment and released in September 2022. The Rays cut him before the postseason for three reasons: injuries, subpar velocity and the lack of a second pitch.
Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations, believes Wisler could increase his velocity and help the team in 2023. Wisler will earn $1.5 million if he makes the big-league roster, with the chance for an additional $750,000 in incentives.
Manager A.J. Hinch loves the slider.
“I think his slider is a real weapon,” Hinch said. “It does random things. He has almost a couple different variates of them. I know he wants to increase his fastball usage, and his sinker, but his bread-and-butter is his slider and how different he can shape it to impact hitters.”
Wisler threw his slider 91.5% of the time last season, along with 8.5% four-seam fastballs. This season, he plans to add a down-and-away sinker to mix in against right-handed hitters while continuing to throw his nasty slider in three different locations against left-handed hitters.
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He suffered a neck strain in July and posted a 2.25 ERA with 14 walks and 35 strikeouts in 44 innings across 39 games. His strikeout rate recently decreased from 31.9% in 2021 to 19.9% in 2022.
“Last year, I’m throwing 70-79 (mph) sliders, and I’m like, ‘This thing is not where it needs to be.’ But you go with it, you battle with it. Sliders, no matter what the speed, are tough to hit if you throw a good one. That’s why my strikeout rate went down last year. Anytime it was below 80 (mph), I would get weak contact. It’s still a good pitch, but if I can get it a little bit harder, that’s when the swing-and-miss comes.”
From 2021 to 2022, Wisler’s average fastball velocity dropped from 91.5 mph to 89.7 mph, and his slider velocity dropped from 81.5 mph to 79.5 mph. It’s no surprise, considering the velocity, his slider had a 33.1% swing-and-miss rate in 2021, then a 25.3% whiff rate in 2022.
This offseason, Wisler worked on his mechanics.
“Something finally started to click last week,” Wisler said. “I’m trying to be under control and not (throw hard) until I feel comfortable with what I’m doing. By my first game, I’d like to be back in the low-90s. If I can get back in the 92-93 (mph) range with the fastball, and the slider 82-82 (mph), that’s where I’d like to be.”
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The Tigers were interested in Wisler because of his slider, and Wisler signed with the Tigers for two reasons: an opportunity to make the roster and relationships with top members of the organization.
In December 2020, the San Francisco Giants — with Harris as the general manager — signed Wisler to a one-year, $1.15 million contract.
Pitching coach Chris Fetter was a player with the San Diego Padres when the organization selected Wisler in the seventh round of the 2011 draft. Wisler reached Double-A San Antonio in 2013. The same year, Fetter became a first-year pitching coach for the Missions.
“I think Fett does a really good job with these guys,” Wisler said. “We’ve seen it the last couple of years.”
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Wisler has pitched for seven teams in his eight-year MLB career: Atlanta Braves (2015-18), Cincinnati Reds (2018), Padres (2019), Seattle Mariners (2019), Minnesota Twins (2020), Giants (2021) and Rays (2021-22).
Wisler owns a 4.59 ERA with 164 walks (7.6% walk rate) and 436 strikeouts (20.1% strikeout rate) in 507⅓ innings.
Four times he has been designated for assignment.
“I know it’s a business,” he said.
Wisler has thrown 241⅔ innings across the past six seasons, averaging about 40 innings per year. He landed on the injured list twice in 2021 and once in 2022. To avoid another roster cut, this time as a non-roster invitee in spring training, he must increase the velocity of his fastball and slider.
For the “slider machine,” accomplishing that goal is at the top of his do-to list ahead of the 2023 season.
“My goal is to make the team, first and foremost, get my stuff right, get myself back to where I know I should be, try to make the team,” Wisler said, “and then after that, hopefully surprise some people with this team and win some ball games.”
Talking to the lefty
The Tigers also signed left-handed reliever Jace Fry to a minor-league contract. The 29-year-old pitched five seasons for the Chicago White Sox, from 2017-21, but hasn’t been a mainstay in the bullpen since logging a career-high 68 appearances in the 2019 campaign.
This offseason, Fry invested his time in biomechanics and analytics.
“I went up to see a guy named Bob Keyes in Utah,” Fry said. “He’s very smart and got me moving well and effortlessly. I got some velocity back. … I went back to a lot of stuff I did naturally in high school and college. They got me in positions where I was creating free energy, momentum and gravity so I didn’t have to muscle up the baseball.”
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Before the 2021 season, Fry underwent back surgery and didn’t return to the big leagues until July. He posted a 2.93 ERA in Triple-A Charlotte but a 10.80 ERA across six appearances with the White Sox.
Fry pitched for the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies last season but failed to advance past Triple-A Rochester and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, respectively. He had a 5.34 ERA with 15 walks and 40 strikeouts in 30⅓ innings.
There are five pitches in his arsenal, listed by usage in 2021: sinker, cutter, curveball, four-seam fastball and changeup. His sinker, which he uses more than his four-seamer, averages 90.2 mph.
“Just manipulate and shape the ball,” Fry said. “Make it go left, make it go right, up, down. Same game.”
Strikeouts are abundant, but Fry has always struggled to control his pitches.
He owns a 14% walk rate in his MLB career.
“I’ve done pretty well here,” Fry said of pitching at Comerica Park. “Hopefully, it translates. I think 2021 was the first time I got hit around at the stadium in my entire career. I’ve had a great resume here at this ballpark, so hopefully, it translates for the right jersey.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.