Joe Jimenez arrived in camp with all the optimism of reclaiming his job as Tigers' closer, of pitching like the All-Star he was in 2018, of proving to the organization he can still be a dominant reliever in the majors.
He left camp headed for Toledo.
Difficult news for Jimenez to accept, difficult news for the Tigers to deliver.
"The conversation with Joe was very, very tough," GM Al Avila said Tuesday as the club prepares for Thursday's season opener.
You have to remember, the Tigers have been invested in Jimenez for the past eight years. They signed him out of Puerto Rico at the age of 18. He soared through their farm system, broke into the majors at age 22 and looked destined for stardom at age 23.
Then he hit a wall.
In 113 appearances since pitching for A.J. Hinch at the 2018 All-Star Game, where he struck out the only batter he faced, Jimenez has a 5.65 ERA. Things didn't go much better this spring when he logged a 5.06 ERA in six outings. He finished with more hits and more walks than innings pitched.
Not good enough to pitch for Hinch in 2021. So the Tigers sent Jimenez to their alternate site, where hopefully the 26-year-old can figure some things out.
"He’s been a homegrown product, so it was a tough conversation," Avila said. "We feel Joe is a big league pitcher. However, what wje told him is, 'Yeah, you could have made the club as maybe the 13th pitcher on the staff, but that’s not what we’re looking for. We’re looking for more than that.' He’s capable of it and that’s what we’re going to try to get out of him.
"So while it was a tough conversation and obviously he didn’t enjoy it, we didn’t enjoy it, we do expect him to work hard and come back and be the pitcher that we know he can be."
Jimenez showed glimpses of that pitcher at the end of last season. He didn't allow a run in his final seven appearances. He was improving just as his mid-90's fastball was returning. He came into camp this year throwing 92-93, then ramped it up to 95 in his final outing, a scoreless inning against the Blue Jays.
It still wasn't enough to make the team, not in the kind of high-leverage role the Tigers want for Jimenez and Jimenez wants for himself. He'll be back in Detroit at some point this season, and hopefully back on the trajectory that got him here in the first place.