Wilson doesn’t fill traditional lefty mold

DETROIT — The Tigers spent a good portion of the Winter Meetings gauging interest in left-hander Justin Wilson as the relief market heated up. Yet with Wilson pitching more effectively against right-handed batters than lefties this past season, he’s not a traditional left-handed reliever. Then again, the Tigers haven’t viewed him as a traditional lefty anyway.

For his career, Wilson has limited right-handed batters to a .215 average and .618 OPS, compared to a .254 average and .661 OPS against left-handed hitters. He has had reverse splits in each of his four full Major League seasons, the strongest difference coming this past season.

“I wouldn’t look at Wilson as a lefty-lefty [matchup] guy,” manager Brad Ausmus said last week. “Wilson really is a back-end reliever. He’s really better against righties. I mean, they’re kind of apples and oranges.”

Because of the Tigers’ philosophy on lefty relief, though, he might have more appeal in Detroit than he does for other clubs looking for a lefty to complete a bullpen in their own mold.

“I think historically we’ve always done it this way,” general manager Al Avila said. “We’ve never really liked relievers that were one-dimensional, even back to Jim Leyland’s days [as manager], and Brad is the same. We like relievers that can pitch against both righties and lefties. Now, there are some guys …

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