Detroit Tigers: José Cisnero set to help in late-game role

Detroit Tigers reliever José Cisnero to get more chances in 2023.

The Detroit Tigers may not have pleased the fans with the moves they did make, but they off-loaded some of their relief pitchers, and it has left them with a less-than-impressive bullpen compared to what they rolled with in 2022.

For the Detroit Tigers, losing closer Gregory Soto in the trade with Philadelphia and Joe Jiménez in the trade with Atlanta leaves holes to fill. Some players should be able to step up and fill those gaps.

One of the players who will jump into a late-game role will be José Cisnero. He had a dominant season on the mound in 2022 and is looking to come out and carry that into 2023. With the closer role up for grabs, Cisnero could very well find himself getting some looks in the ninth.

Even though Alex Lange seems like the best option to close out games in 2023, Cisnero could very well get a chance since the Tigers have made it clear that several players are going to get opportunities to close games this way summer.

But, after an outstanding performance in 2022, the Tigers should be hoping that they can hand some more responsibility over to Cisnero this year. The veteran reliever has been quite solid for the Tigers over the last few years, and he ramped it up in 2022 over 28 games.

Cisnero managed 25.0 innings pitched, where he punched out 23 opposing hitters while managing a 1.08 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. With only 25 innings clocked in 2022, the stats are great, but it's less of a workload than he's had since joining the Tigers organization.

The Tigers should be hoping that he can adjust to the late-game role and handle the workload of more innings and appearances throughout the 2023 season. It's not to say that Cisnero will come out and be the team's closer in 2023, but he will be expected to pitch in the eighth and ninth as needed.

It surely will be interesting to see how the Tigers utilize Cisnero and how he can handle his usage. Whether that's as a closer or a high-leverage reliever at the back end of games, Cisnero is primed for a year where he's given more responsibilities out of the team's bullpen.

Time will tell, but keep an eye on Cisnero--he's in position for another quality performance in 2023.