Lakeland, Fla. – Three years ago, in 2023, Will Vest was the last player cut from big-league camp. Look at him now.
Vest, one of the Tigers’ three late-inning leverage relievers, is expected to join Team USA for the quarterfinal round of the WBC.
“Yeah, it’s exciting,” Vest said Saturday morning. “Hopefully they do their business (in pool play) and I can get in there. It’ll be fun.”
The seeds for Vest being part of Team USA were sown this winter when manager Mark DeRosa called Tigers manager AJ Hinch and asked if Vest would be a good fit.
“It’s cool seeing Will emerge as a really impact pitcher on this team, but also get the recognition around the league,” Hinch said. “When DeRo called me to ask about him, like, Will is an easy guy to root for, an easy guy to praise.”
The stuff speaks for itself, the deceptive, upper-90s four-seam and sinker with a much-improved slider. But, more germane to DeRosa’s needs, Vest has become one of the most reliable big-moment pitchers in the game.
In the last two postseasons, he’s allowed one run in 14 innings (none last year) with 18 strikeouts and no walks.
“Hitters will tell you that he’s a very difficult guy to pick up,” Hinch said. “It’s a fast arm and he comes at you with a lower release height and the ball gets on you for quite a bit. But the thing that separates him from a lot of relievers is his willingness to have two fastballs and two off-speed pitches.
“The sinker has changed the trajectory of his career path.”
Vest barely threw his sinker in 2023, the year he was optioned out at the end of camp.
“He’s come a long way,” Hinch said. “From out of the organization as a Rule 5 pick (by Seattle) when I first got here, to meeting him on a road trip when he was one of the Covid backups, to having a very difficult conversation with him a few years ago to him getting some really important outs in the playoffs.
“I’m proud of him for the work he’s done and how he’s gone about it. He’s a key figure on a good team.”
Vest, who will turn 31 in June, pitched a clean, scoreless inning against the Red Sox Friday. He said he did not alter his spring program to accommodate the WBC.
“Everything is the same,” he said. “The last two (outings) have felt normal. It always takes me a little bit. I feed off adrenaline, too, so it takes me a little bit to get up to that volume or that threshold of where I usually am in the season.”
The adrenaline spike will certainly come if Team USA makes it to the quarterfinals, as expected. The games will be March 13 and March 14 in Houston – which is Vest’s hometown.
“Yeah, really excited,” he said. “Everything feels on par. We’re in a good spot.”
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers’ Will Vest gearing up for potential role with Team USA
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
