Lindgren back to work in minors after whirlwind MLB debut
Apr. 18—JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jeff Lindgren experienced a gamut of emotions during the first week of April. All connected to his job as a professional baseball pitcher.
The 2015 Centennial graduate learned on Sunday, April 2, that the Miami Marlins would call him up. An action that occurred the next day on Monday, April 3.
Later that Monday, Lindgren made his Major League Baseball debut for the club that drafted him in 2019. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-hander tossed five innings in relief of injured starter Johnny Cueto during a loss to the Minnesota Twins at loanDepot Park in Miami.
The following day, Lindgren was informed he'd been designated for assignment.
Which meant waiting until that Thursday to either clear waivers and rejoin the Class AAA Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp or join a new MLB team that selected him off waivers.
Talk about a week to remember.
"I went from one of the highest highs to not knowing where I was going to be," Lindgren told The News-Gazette. "But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I got to debut, and everything happens for a reason. I'm just running with all the opportunities I continue to get."
Lindgren did clear waivers and has since made two starts for Jacksonville. The first, six days after pitching for the Marlins, saw him pick up the win after allowing no earned runs and striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings of work.
"I was still running on that debut hype. ... The confidence was really high, knowing my stuff played at the highest level possible," Lindgren said. "Coming back down, I just went out and attacked with the same stuff."
Preparing to make your MLB debut isn't as simple as arriving at a stadium and playing ball. Lindgren came to recognize that pretty quickly.
"It was kind of hectic, honestly. It's a moment I've been waiting for my whole life," Lindgren said. "And then you get to the point where you realize you need to tell everybody, try and figure out how to get family down there."
Lindgren credits his wife and his sister for working out that side of his MLB debut process.
"My heart was racing. I didn't really know what to do. I couldn't sit down for a while," Lindgren said. "I have a couple really close friends (pitcher Trevor Rogers and catcher Nick Fortes) up there, so that helped me a lot. They were telling me what to do, where I needed to be."
Lindgren's marching orders from Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, a former St. Louis Cardinals utility player, and Schumaker's staff included being ready for a long relief appearance.
Lindgren couldn't have imagined how quickly Miami needed to turn to him against Minnesota.
Cueto left the game in the second inning with what later was diagnosed as a biceps injury, after recording just three outs on the evening.
"I just had to run out there," Lindgren said. "It kind of helped that I didn't get to warm up, so I didn't have anything to think about. I just ran out there and started firing pitches."
Lindgren's five innings included him allowing four runs on four hits and three walks.
"It wasn't ideally the best I've ever done, but getting through five innings there was huge for the bullpen," Lindgren said. "They went on a little run after that, so I'd like to think I did my job."
Lindgren has been more of a ground-ball pitcher throughout his professional career, relying on a combination of his sinker, slider and changeup to produce outs.
The first 10 outs of his inaugural MLB appearance, however, all were induced via fly ball.
"In spring training we introduced a new pitch, and they wanted me to start using a four-seam fastball more," Lindgren said. "Getting flyouts in that situation was good to see because that means I was putting my four-seam fastball in good spots."
Lindgren and his wife, Megan, returned to Jacksonville after he was designated for assignment to await the next chapter of his baseball career.
"It's a little weird for me. I didn't know what to do with myself with all that free time," Lindgren said. "I was excited that I get to stay with the organization, because they gave me all the chances I could ask for."
Lindgren found himself a bit overwhelmed by the initial response to his MLB call-up, needing to put his phone in do-not-disturb mode while readying for his Marlins debut.
"It was crazy. I was looking at my phone, and all my messages were backed up for two or three days," Lindgren said. "I tried to get back to everybody. It took me a few days. I was swamped.
"It's cool to see all the support I have and how many people are still following me."
