It’s been a different kind offseason for Detroit Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer.
He’s back home in Oklahoma, not camping out in Lakeland, Fla., as he’s done the past two winters.
He’s trying to gain weight it -- not lose it.
And he’s put his plumbing career on hold for the moment.
“He’s trying to get me to work, but I told him ‘No, I have to work on a few other things,’” Fulmer said in a teleconference with reporters this week. “Usually I go work with him a couple times a week, but this year I really wanted to focus on weight lifting. I’m doing that five days a week now, basically taking up all my mornings, which is definitely what I needed.”
Fulmer, 27, missed all of the 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery and endured an abbreviated 2020 campaign that he called “embarrassing.”
Still, he got a small raise to $3.1 million, agreeing to a new deal this week to avoid arbitration.
“I’m happy that it’s off our plate,” Fulmer said. “I was never really worried about it, anyway. I’ve always been a guy that wants to go out and prove myself with my numbers and let my pitching speak for itself. This year (2020) was a little different, obviously. We’re going to keep working on it next year.”
The season was different because Fulmer went straight from his Tommy John rehab to big-league games without the benefit of any action in the minor leagues. He was also limited to no more than three-inning outings in order to manage his return from injury.
The results weren’t pretty: An 8.78 ERA over 10 starts and 27 2/3 innings.
“I’ll say it was embarrassing for me, but also know that it was a weird year for everybody,” Fulmer said. “And then with me coming off of Tommy John and not really having a real rehab process, it was the tough all the way around for our coaching staff, our pitching coach, our trainers. But there’s no excuses there.”
The new season offers a new slate for Fulmer, who has a new manager in A.J. Hinch -- a fellow Oklahoman -- and a new pitching coach in Chris Fetter.
“Fetter’s actually been helping me out already,” Fulmer said. “I’ve been sending him videos of me throwing bullpens and (off) flat ground. I haven’t met the guy yet, but he’s already sending me tips on what he sees. I’m very excited to work with him from an analytical standpoint as well. I’ve never really been that guy to get into (analytics), but I’m trying to get into it this offseason a little more. I think he’s perfect fit for this pitching staff.”
It seems likely that Fulmer will be in the Tigers’ rotation to start the 2021 season (they didn’t go through that strict rehab routine last summer for nothing) but there are plenty of question marks and nothing is guaranteed. Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull can safely be written into the top two spots. The Tigers have also signed free-agent Jose Urena and may sign another pitcher. Daniel Norris and Tyler Alexander are also capable of starting. Youngsters Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning are also in the mix.
“I haven’t really gotten to that conversation yet with Chris and A.J., but my expectations are just to go out and make every start,” Fulmer said. “I can only control what I can control. I want to be that workhorse guy again. I want to go deep into games, I want to save the bullpen, I want to win ballgames for this club. Obviously I wasn’t able to do that (in 2020), but I want to get back to that guy going deep into games. I think that’s my ultimate goal this year is to make every fifth start, every five games, and just get deep into games.”
Fulmer’s innings will be closely monitored in 2021, but that could be said for virtually every other Tigers’ pitcher after the shortened 2020 season.
“Hopefully there will no innings limit, but I think the body will tell me before anybody else will,” he said.
For now, the body is cooperating. It’s also a bit sturdier.
Fulmer was thinner than at any point in his career in 2020, which was initially hailed as a positive development. But Fulmer said the new body contributed to him feeling out of synch at times.
“I’ve never in my life had to try to gain weight. I’ve always been a bigger guy,” he said. “But after losing all that weight, trying to gain it back is extremely difficult. I didn’t realize it would be this hard. I’m trying to get up there again. I think I’m about 220, 225 (pounds), which is better than the 210 I was during the season.
“It changes everything. It changes your mechanics, it changes how your body reacts, it changes your timing. I just felt like I didn’t have the strength that I had before. I wanted to try to gain some good weight back...We’re getting to where we want to be with the weight, putting on a few pounds again, which I’d never thought I’d say. But everything feels good and the body feels great.”
The Link LonkJanuary 15, 2021 at 07:12AM
https://www.mlive.com/tigers/2021/01/tigers-michael-fulmer-adding-strength-trying-to-forget-about-embarrassing-2020.html
Tigers’ Michael Fulmer adding strength, trying to forget ‘embarrassing’ 2020 - MLive.com
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