Tigers sign former Yankees top prospect who hasn't been in MLB since 2021

The Detroit Tigers continue to build out their bullpen depth, but fans are still waiting for a bigger signing. We can't say the team's most recent move will get anybody going, especially since they've passed on a lot of good pitchers already.

Just last weekend, the Tigers signed 33-year-old southpaw Dietrich Enns to a minor-league contract after a stint overseas.

A former top prospect of the New York Yankees, Enns has spent the last three seasons pitching in Asia. He hasn't pitched in the majors since his brief stint with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021 and will likely begin the 2025 season with Triple-A Toledo.

In 11 career Major League games (one start), Enns has a 2-0 record, a 3.42 ERA, 27 strikeouts and three saves across 26 1/3 innings of work. In fact, both of his MLB wins came against the Tigers, at Comerica Park on Sept. 11 and at Tropicana Field on Sept. 16, 2021.

In his first big league win at Comerica Park, Enns pitched four scoreless and hitless innings. The only runner reached on an error. Using only two pitches – a mid-90s four-seam fastball and a mid-80s cutter – he got six strikeouts and generated 11 whiffs on 35 swings.

Tigers sign former Yankees top prospect Dietrich Enns, who was traded to Twins in 2017

Enns was was selected by the Yankees in the ninth round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Central Michigan. He briefly reached the majors back in 2017 for a cup of coffee with the Minnesota Twins, and he made nine relief appearances for the Rays in 2021.

From there, Enns spent two years pitching for the Saitama Seibu Lions in the NPB in Japan, and then moved to Korea for the 2024 season to pitch for the LG Twins. He posted a 13-6 record with a 4.19 ERA and 157 strikeouts over 167 2/3 innings in 33 starts in 2024.

Enns is perhaps best known for being part of the 2017 trade that sent left-hander Jaime Garcia to the Yankees. Less than a week after acquiring Garcia from the Atlanta Braves in an apparent effort to make a postseason run, Minnesota swiftly reversed course and shipped the left-hander to New York in exchange for Enns and minor league right-hander Zack Littell.

Enns will be looking to experience an MLB revival, and Chris Fetter might be the perfect pitching coach to help make that happen.

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