Tigers trade veteran reliever to Red Sox

DETROIT: On Saturday, the Boston Red Sox acquired veteran reliever Trey Wingenter from the Detroit Tigers.

Thirty-year-old Wingenter pitched for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

The Tigers will receive minor-league reliever CJ Weins in return. Drafted in the sixth round last summer, Weins is currently in his first full season as a professional.

Wingenter signed as a minor-league free agent prior to the season and was included on the Tigers Opening Day roster in 2023. However, an injury kept him out of commission until July of last year, when he was activated from the disabled list and began to alternate between Toledo and Detroit.

In 17 innings with the Tigers in 2023, Wingenter had a 5.82 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and 7 walks. After the season, he was waived and subsequently signed a minor-league contract again.

Wingenter, who had a 3.31 ERA in 32 2/3 innings, has been one of the Mud Hens’ best relievers. He walked 17 and struck out 48 times.

Weins, who turns 24 next month, was sent to Class A Salem, where in 24 1/3 innings of work, he has struck out 29 batters and drawn 16 walks, recording a 4.81 ERA.

Weins attended the University of South Carolina and junior college before transferring as a graduate player to Western Kentucky. Weins had little negotiating power after using up all of his collegiate eligibility, so he accepted a reportedly meager $50,000 bonus last summer. The Red Sox were able to allocate more funds to other draft picks probably because of that under-slot contract.

Weins boasts a low-to-mid-90s fastball, slider, and curveball, and he throws from a three-quarters arm position, according to Sox Prospects.

With the San Diego Padres in 2018 and 2019, Wingenter was a rising high-leverage reliever who struck out one in three batters with a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s and a slider that was almost unhittable. However, he had Tommy John surgery right before the pandemic-shortened 2020 season got underway. He had planned to rejoin the Padres in the late part of the 2021 season, but while on a rehab assignment, he hurt his back, which required surgery once more.

It had been three and a half years since he had on the mound in a major league game when he made his Tigers debut on April 1.