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Tigers sign former SF Giants reliever to a minor-league deal

Former SF Giants reliever Matt Wisler will be competing for a spot in the Detroit Tigers bullpen this spring after inking a minor-league deal.
Marc Delucchi|
Tigers sign former SF Giants reliever to a minor-league deal
Tigers sign former SF Giants reliever to a minor-league deal

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San Francisco GiantsDetroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers have signed right-handed reliever Matt Wisler to a minor-league contract with an invitation to big-league spring training that could be worth up to $2.25 million if he makes the team and reaches all his incentives, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Wisler was once expected to solidify the back-end of the SF Giants bullpen but was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays after a tumultuous tenure.

Once a top prospect with the San Diego Padres, Wisler was traded to Atlanta in the Carlos Kimbrel trade prior to the 2015 season. Wisler made his MLB debut later that year and spent the next three and a half seasons trying to solidify a role for himself in Atlanta's rotation. However, after posting a 5.24 ERA in 324.2 innings pitched, Wisler became a hot potato, traded from Atlanta to Cincinnati to San Diego to Seattle to Minnesota from 2018-2019.

Wisler finally put things together in the Twins bullpen during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Relying almost entirely on his slider, Wisler recorded 35 strikeouts in 25.1 innings (18 appearances) with a 1.07 ERA in spite of 14 walks. On the heels of that season, the Giants signed Wisler to a one-year, $1.15 million contract.

Almost as soon as he arrived in San Francisco, Wisler struggled to replicate that success. While he posted a solid 26:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 19.1 innings pitched, he had a 6.05 ERA in 25 appearances. In the end, the Giants decided to move on from Wisler, trading him to the Rays for left-handed pitching prospect Michael Plassmeyer.

Wisler's production stabilized once he arrived in Tampa. Over the past season and a half, Wisler recorded a 2.21 ERA in 66 games (73.1 innings) with 71 strikeouts and 18 walks. With that said, Wisler's strikeout rate plummeted in 2022, dropping from 11.5 to 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings, leaving teams concerned about his ability to replicate his sub-3.00 ERA. Nevertheless, the Tigers hope he finds a way to maintain that success this season.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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