Last year, left-handed pitcher Dietrich Enns (34), who played for the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization League, is aiming for a spot on the Detroit Tigers' opening roster. He is poised to write a turnaround drama with his stable pitching.
On the 12th (Korean time), Enns made a relief appearance in an exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida, where he pitched 3 innings, allowing 3 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, striking out 3, and giving up 1 run, securing a save and preserving Detroit's 3-1 victory.
Entering the mound in the bottom of the 7th, leading 3-0, Enns gave up a solo home run to first batter Geraldo Quintero. He faced a crisis with 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd due to a hit, a hit by pitch, and a wild pitch, but struck out Cody Milligan to escape without additional runs. In the bottom of the 8th, he allowed a hit and a stolen base to Karl Conley but retired the remaining 3 batters. With 2 outs and a runner on 2nd, he struck out Quintero. In the bottom of the 9th, there was a pitch clock violation once, but he ended the game smoothly with a 1-2-3 inning.
As of that day, Enns has recorded 1 loss, 1 save, and 1 hold with an earned run average of 3.00 in 4 exhibition games. He allowed 5 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 1 hit by pitch, struck out 10, and gave up 3 runs in 9 innings. With a WHIP of 0.89 and a batting average against of .161, his pitching performance has been quite stable. He appeared as a relief pitcher in all 4 games, demonstrating the ability to pitch for multiple innings exceeding 1 inning in each game.
Enns, who was with LG last year, signed a minor league contract with Detroit in January after failing to re-sign. He signed a contract with a condition of receiving $1.3 million upon promotion to the major leagues and joined as an invited player for spring training. With the opening day approaching in about two weeks, he is cautiously revealing the possibility of making the 26-man opening roster after successfully surviving in the big leagues.
Enns has recorded 2 wins, 2 saves, and 1 hold with an earned run average of 3.42 in a total of 11 games (1 start, 26⅓ innings) in 2 major league seasons with the Minnesota Twins in 2017 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, striking out 27. After spending 2022-2023 with the Seibu Lions in Japan, he came to LG last year. He started as a starter in the opening game, performing well in 30 games (167⅔ innings), with 13 wins, 6 losses, an earned run average of 4.19, and 157 strikeouts but failed to re-sign.
Although he achieved a total of 13 wins, tying for 3rd place in the league, much of that support came from a lineup that scored an average of 6.2 runs per 9 innings. His earned run average ranked 14th among 20 qualified pitchers, falling short of the average. As a left-handed pitcher, he threw fastballs with a maximum speed of 152 km/h and cutters, but his performance suffered due to a monotonous pattern and he faced release rumors until May. He raised the value of his changeup pitch and showed stability after June, but he could not instill confidence for a re-sign. LG gave up on re-signing with Enns and signed right-handed pitcher Yonny Chirinos, who achieved 20 wins in the major leagues.
Although his connection with Korea ended in just 1 year, it remains a great time for Enns. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press on the 4th of last month, Enns said, "The past 3 years have been a truly wonderful experience for me and my family being overseas," adding about his time spent in Korea last year, "It was a really great opportunity for me to take responsibility as the team's ace, pitching many innings of 6 to 7 innings. I know well what I can do in terms of durability."
Pitching a personal record of 167⅔ innings in Korea while spending a full season as a starter has become a great experience for Enns. He continued, "LG wasn't interested in re-signing with me, while Detroit showed interest from the beginning. I thought my strengths matched the expectations of the team well. I’m happy to return to Michigan, where I attended university. I'm really excited to be with Detroit. I want to help the team win the World Series."
Enns has played baseball in a variety of countries, including the United States major leagues with 2 teams and minor leagues with 4 teams, as well as Korea, Japan, and Venezuela. There was a time when he pitched in the American independent league and faced the risk of having his career cut short, but he did not give up. He expressed, "I'm very grateful for the fact that I can continue playing baseball and I feel blessed. After being drafted by the New York Yankees, I thought I would spend my whole life as a Yankees player, but after being traded, my situation changed, and I found myself wandering. But I am still able to play as a player, and I've had a really wonderful journey playing around the world," taking pride in his career. If he succeeds in returning to the major leagues this year, his career will be even more impressive.
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