Casey Mize is healthy. Innings, splitter, command are topics to track in his return

Casey Mize has completed his rehabilitation.

The right-handed pitcher is amped up to return to the mound in spring training for bullpens, live batting practices and competitive games, following his full recovery from elbow surgery and back surgery. In the same way, the Detroit Tigers are eager for Mize — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft — to rejoin the rotation in the 2024 season.

This offseason, Mize is training at facilities in the Tampa area while periodically checking in with the Tigers at the spring training complex in Lakeland, Florida.

The 26-year-old hasn't pitched for the Tigers since April 14, 2022.

"I'm ready to go," Mize said in late November on "Foul Territory," a digital baseball shot. "Rehab is finally over. It's going to be a normal spring. I can't wait. When I get back, it's going to be almost two years, and that's just too long. I'm looking forward to getting back."

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Mize underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2022. He also underwent an unspecified back surgery shortly following the reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.

In 2023, Mize threw his first bullpen June 28 and his first live batting practice session in late August. He experienced a setback — arm fatigue — in his second live batting practice session and took a break from throwing. He resumed his throwing program in early September, and at the end of the month, the Tigers revealed Mize needed to "receive further medical evaluation at the end of the season." It's unclear when, but at some point after the regular season, Mize began throwing bullpens again at the spring training facility in Lakeland, not far from his home in St. Petersburg. He threw his final bullpen Nov. 10 before transitioning into his normal offseason program.

There were a lot of ups and downs, which can happen when a player is trying to come back from a pair of major surgerie. But according to multiple people, Mize is fully healthy as he works through his offseason tasks and prepares to compete in spring training.

For Mize, February can't get here fast enough. Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Lakeland in mid-February.

"I'm really proud of Casey for the work that he put in this year," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Dec. 5 at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. "I watched it up close in person in Detroit. He rehabbed and was part of our team, part of the culture. He did incredible work. Our medical team was confident that we could get him to the point where we're at now, where he could have a normal offseason and go into the spring."

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Mize started two games and logged 10 innings for the Tigers in the 2022 season before landing on the injured list April 15 with a right elbow sprain. He tried to rehab his ailing elbow without surgery, even making a start with Triple-A Toledo, but he faced setbacks and underwent surgery June 15.

Mize hasn't been healthy for a full season since the 2021 campaign, but even then, the Tigers had him on strict inning restrictions coming off seven starts and 28⅓ innings in the 2020 season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Tigers, once again, need to monitor Mize's innings in 2024.

"I know Casey is not going to want any restrictions," Hinch said. "He's not going to want any governors. He's not going to want any sort of carefulness. But we're going to listen to him, we're going to put a good plan together, and we're going to put him in a position to compete.

"He hasn't been on the mound competitively in a long time. If anything, we're going to have to corral his emotions just as much as we're going to have to talk about his pitch counts, or his innings or any type of recovery from the injuries."

Mize, who turns 27 on May 1, expects to be overwhelmed by emotions when he steps on the mound for a spring training game. He will probably feel the same way for his first start in regular season, possibly against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, where he made his MLB debut in 2020.

"Two years off, I'm definitely going to be nervous," Mize said on "Foul Territory," "but it's good nerves. I can't wait."

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Healthy in 2021, Mize registered a 3.71 ERA with 41 walks and 118 strikeouts over 150⅓ innings in 30 starts. He appeared to be on the right track, showing perennial confidence and occasional ace-caliber potential, but some of his underlying metrics were concerning.

He had a 6.7% walk rate and 19.3% strikeout rate against a full season of big-league hitters in 2021, compared to a 3.6% walk rate and 35.1% strikeout rate against a full season of college hitters in 2018.

The splitter, considered his best pitch in college at Auburn, was surprisingly surpassed by the slider in swing-and-miss effectiveness. His splitter generated an elite 53% whiff rate at Auburn in 2018, then an underwhelming 21.9% whiff rate with the Tigers in 2021.

It's no surprise Mize has struggled to miss bats in his MLB career, spanning 39 starts. For example, his 22.6% whiff rate for all of his pitches ranked in the 22nd percentile in the 2021 season.

But Mize is returning from two surgeries and could perform better now that he is fully healthy. The elbow and back injuries might be the reason why his pitches, especially his splitter, weren't as firm as they were in college and the minor leagues.

Mize tweaked the mechanics of his delivery to clean up his movements during the rehab process and was throwing his four-seam fastball at 95-97 mph in the first live batting practice.

He is still throwing his splitter.

"I hope that his split is really nasty when he shows up in Lakeland," Scott Harris, president of baseball operations, said Nov. 28. "It certainly was when he was throwing bullpens at the end of the year."

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The Tigers signed right-hander Kenta Maeda — who throws a splitter and recently returned from Tommy John surgery — to a two-year, $24 million contract this offseason. His splitter was one of the best in baseball last season, generating a 35% whiff rate.

Harris said he expects Mize and Maeda to "talk a lot" in spring training about pitching.

"Starters, all the time, are whipping out baseballs and sharing grips and talking about finger pressure, hand path and release point," Harris said. "It isn't the reason why we signed Kenta, but if his influence can get a little bit more out of our other pitchers, then we're all going to benefit from that."

The Tigers are counting on Mize to continue his persistent work throughout the offseason and show up to spring training ready to compete in games. He has been praised for his work ethic for his entire career, even when injured.

If he stays healthy, he has the physical skills and mental fortitude to emerge as a frontline starter in the Tigers' rotation.

"I know Casey is going to do the work," Hinch said, "and I know he's going to be prepared."

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' Casey Mize is healthy but will face restrictions