DETROIT -- The question facing the Tigers going into Tuesday’s Trade Deadline centered around which pitchers would get dealt. Tarik Skubal stayed, but Jack Flaherty and Andrew Chafin went, leaving a two-man rotation and a bullpen without its most versatile veteran.

Now, the pressing question becomes: How do the Tigers fill those innings down the stretch? With several prospects either sidelined or underperforming at Triple-A Toledo, the road to Detroit cleared for Sean Guenther, whose appearance in Thursday’s 7-1 loss to the Royals felt like his debut all over again.

The last time Guenther pitched in the Majors, he was a Miami Marlin facing a Mets lineup that included Jonathan Villar, James McCann and Javier Báez. That was Sept. 30, 2021, when Guenther was an up-and-coming lefty reliever trying to find a big league spot in a Miami bullpen that had lost three veterans around the Trade Deadline.

Three years, a Tommy John surgery and a waiver claim later, Guenther got his second chance. How long this opportunity lasts remains to be seen, but for the 28-year-old southpaw, getting back to the Majors is an accomplishment in itself.

“I jokingly texted my parents that my new elbow is getting its [MLB] debut,” Guenther said. “It definitely has that feel, especially with a new organization and everything.”

Guenther’s career took a left turn, so to speak, during Spring Training in 2022, when an elbow injury after two outings led to surgery. His potential establishment season was lost, and his roster spot went when the Marlins designated him for assignment at season’s end. Scott Harris, the Tigers’ newly hired president of baseball operations, made a claim, knowing that he would be a long play as his rehab continued.

“The journey’s been a little bit longer than I kind of wanted,” Guenther said. “But coming over here as a DFA and claim after six months of not throwing a ball, I felt like I was in the right place. These guys have really, really good feedback for me, really good things for me to work on. I was able to just get in the mix. The entire Minor League staff helped me at some point or another.”

After being outrighted to the Minors, Guenther returned to game action in May of last year at Single-A Lakeland, spent June at Double-A Erie, then finished at Triple-A Toledo. He showed enough promise to earn a non-roster invite to Spring Training, where he struck out eight batters over 5 2/3 innings across six games.

Guenther emerged as one of the more reliable members of a Mud Hens bullpen that was regularly in flux with pitchers coming and going. His 3.86 ERA included a couple rough appearances as an opener, but a 3.12 ERA purely out of the bullpen.

“I was able to figure out a few things and get back to throwing the ball well with a new elbow and a couple new pitches,” Guenther said.

He was sitting in the Hens bullpen Wednesday, watching Lael Lockhart warm up for his start, when manager Tim Federowicz told him to hug everybody and get out of there. He had a locker waiting at Comerica Park.

The stuff is different than before surgery. The fastball that flirted with the mid-90s a few years ago averages 90-91 miles per hour now, according to Statcast, a good reason why he added a sinker. It sets up a low to mid-80s changeup -- a pitch he added after surgery -- that had a 43.8 percent whiff rate in Triple-A along with a low-80s slider. Despite the changeup, he gave up a .314 average to right-handed hitters, compared with a .178 average off lefties.

“For me, it’s all about location and execution,” Guenther said. “I’m not a guy with overpowering stuff, so it’s kind of finding the areas where my pitches play best and finding a way to hit those more consistently.”

Ironic, then, that he hit both left-handed batters he faced Thursday and retired all but one of the righty batters. The exception was Bobby Witt Jr., whose ninth-inning double plated Kyle Isbel.

Guenther will get more chances after this. The Tigers, after all, have innings to fill, and roles with them.

“We have a much different ‘pen just with the transition to a couple different guys,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I think the guys that are here on this team know that we’re going to search for the right combo and we’re going to play the guys that we feel like are best-suited to win as many games as we can.”