Remember Sean Guenther?
The soon-to-be 30-year-old left-handed reliever joined the Detroit Tigers as a waiver claim in November 2022 to become the third player acquired by president of baseball operations Scott Harris, then emerged as an unsung hero in the bullpen throughout the Tigers’ magical run to the postseason in August and September 2024.
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The Tigers re-signed Guenther on Tuesday, Dec. 16, to a minor-league contract, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement who couldn’t speak publicly because the deal hasn’t been announced. The deal includes a non-roster invitation to MLB spring training and pays $787,000 if he makes the MLB roster, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement.
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Detroit Tigers pitcher Sean Guenther throws a pitch during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.
The Tigers designated Guenther for assignment Nov. 18 to open a spot on the 40-man roster and non-tendered him Nov. 21 to send him into free agency. Less than one month later, he signed a new contract to stay with the Tigers for the 2026 season.
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He has two minor-league options remaining.
In 2025, Guenther failed to replicate his surprise success from 2024. He missed out on the Opening Day roster due to poor performance in spring training before eventually posting a 5.23 ERA with five walks and eight strikeouts across 10â…“ innings in nine games.
His season ended in late June, when he underwent left hip surgery after logging 10â…“ innings in the majors and eight innings in the minors. He is expected to be ready for the start of spring training in mid-February.
Guenther will report to Triple-A Toledo if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster.
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Back in 2024, Guenther helped get the Tigers into the postseason with his four-pitch mix, highlighted by a sinker, splitter and slider. He registered a 0.86 ERA with two walks and 12 strikeouts across 21 innings in 17 games in August and September. He also allowed one run over three innings during the postseason in October.
The highlight of his postseason experience occurred in Game 2 of the American League wild-card series against the Houston Astros, when he entered for a left-on-left matchup with the ever-dangerous Kyle Tucker and used his sinker to induce an inning-ending double play.
But Guenther rarely pitched for the Tigers in 2025.
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Guenther made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in August 2021. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022 with the Marlins and didn’t return until May 2023 with the Tigers.
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He owns a 5.05 ERA over 51â…” innings in his three-year MLB career, plus a 4.07 ERA over 110â…” innings at the Triple-A level.
The Marlins selected Guenther in the seventh round of the 2017 draft out of Norte Dame.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers re-sign Sean Guenther on minor-league contract