Former Tiger Fien finds home with Twins

DETROIT -- Four years ago, Casey Fien was a reliever without a home, bouncing from the Tigers to the Red Sox to the Blue Jays and then back to Detroit within a three-week span of Spring Training. He made just two appearances in Detroit that 2010 regular season, and 11 for his two-year Tiger tenure.

Ironic, then, that as the Tigers struggle to find depth in their bullpen, Fien has found a home in Minnesota setting up for Glen Perkins.

Fien said he found a comfort level with his own arsenal in Minnesota that he couldn't figure out amid a power-heavy bullpen in Detroit.

"I think I struggled to try to fit in with some of the guys over there, and I went away from what I do best," Fien said on Friday. "I tried to figure out what they do best and tried to be one of them. Baseball's so different from an individual standpoint, and I just started doing what I do. From there on, it just took off."

Fien, then in his mid-20s, gave up 13 earned runs on 17 hits over 14 innings in Detroit from 2009-10. He entered Saturday having allowing 42 earned runs on 96 hits with 126 strikeouts over 125 1/3 innings as a Twin, good for a 3.02 ERA in 138 appearances since 2012. His success has picked up this season, as he has held opponents to seven runs on 20 hits over 28 1/3 innings with 21 strikeouts.

Fien left the Tigers as a Minor League free agent in 2010, four years after Detroit drafted him in the 20th round.