Can Reese Olson's return give the Tigers' pitching staff a needed boost?

New York Times

a day ago

CLEVELAND — Coming off back-to-back losses and a dismal series defeat against the Washington Nationals, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was resolute.
There was no need for any sort of meeting, no need to waver from the straight-ahead approach that has helped the Tigers forge the best record in the American League.
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'I took a shower after the game,' Hinch said Friday afternoon. 'I got on the bus, went to the airplane, started looking at Cleveland's last seven to 10 games. Got in about 1 a.m. Went to bed. Woke up in a new city. That's how I handled it.'
Hinch awoke in Cleveland with the knowledge that Reese Olson would stand on a major-league mound for the first time in 48 days, returning after a stint on the injured list with inflammation in his right ring finger.
For a Tigers pitching staff continuing to leak oil, the return of the baby-faced right-hander was more than welcome. The Tigers have the best pitcher in baseball in Tarik Skubal. Casey Mize is having a terrific comeback season. But Jack Flaherty has been inconsistent. Jackson Jobe and Sawyer Gipson-Long are on the injured list. Keider Montero is back in Triple A, and a 34-year-old journeyman named Dietrich Enns got lit up for seven earned runs in four innings in his second start with the Tigers.
Since June 1, Detroit's 4.35 team ERA has slipped into the bottom third of the league.
In Olson, the Tigers hope for the return of a steady and stable presence, the kind who could be a difference-maker if he can harness the best version of himself in the second half of this regular season and perhaps beyond.
In 36 outings since Sept. 2, 2023, Olson has a 3.04 ERA. Only 15 MLB pitchers who have thrown at least 150 innings have a better mark in that span.
'He is one of the more under-talked-about, underrated starting pitchers in our rotation,' Hinch said. 'Reese has been really good for a while, and getting him back is a boost to a rotation that needs it.'
Olson's time on the IL lingered for longer than either he or the Tigers would have liked. The pain in his finger limited his ability to throw his signature changeup. He made three rehab starts before his return.
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Friday against the division-foe Guardians, Olson initially looked like a pitcher still shaking off rust. Home-plate umpire Willie Traynor operated with a tight strike zone, and Olson fell behind eight of his first 10 batters.
'Kind of felt a little bit sped up in those first two innings,' Olson said.
José Ramírez crushed a first-inning home run to give the Guardians an early edge. Olson continued to miss over the middle. Wenceel Perez's 97.9 mph dart from right field to home plate nabbed Bo Naylor and bailed Olson out of a dicey second inning.
As the game went on, Olson looked more like the pitcher who last season threw two pitches — changeup and slider — both with whiff rates of more than 40 percent. Olson retired seven of his final nine hitters and left after 4 1/3 innings and 89 pitches.
'I think one of the things that's hard to transition from injury to competition is just adrenaline and just the energy that you have coming off the injured list,' Hinch said. 'I thought his delivery was quick. He just settled in and was able to use all his pitches. … We wanted him to have an eight in front of the pitch count, but we were also trying to squeeze as many outs as we could because he caught his rhythm.'
The Tigers went on to an eventual 2-1 victory thanks to home-run heroics from Perez and Zach McKinstry. They also might not have won without another important pitching development. Tyler Holton, the super-reliever who last season had a 2.19 ERA and earned an MVP vote, has struggled for much of this season. He entered this outing with a 4.12 ERA and underlying metrics down across the board. Holton, though, fired 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
He struck out the side in the sixth, dispatching all three hitters on called third strikes. His velocity was up, and his stuff more closely resembled the Holton of old.
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Holton has now thrown 7 2/3 straight scoreless innings.
'Tyler was huge in this game, to be able to get through the lineup once,' Hinch said. 'Big punchout on (Steven) Kwan, which you don't see a lot of. We extended him as far as we have this year.'
If the Tigers are to fulfill their potential, they need more where that came from. Detroit can bolster its pitching staff at the trade deadline. But it's also possible this team's most meaningful improvements could come from within.
Olson, in particular, gives the Tigers another quality starting pitcher capable of throwing in the postseason. This team was built to win with pitching, baserunning and small edges on the margins.
It is players like Olson who could determine just how far all this goes.
'Glad to give a little boost to the team,' Olson said. 'I'm just glad to be back. Get the first one out of the way and get back in the groove of things.'