When the Detroit Tigers began their 2016 campaign, a few players who were expected to be on the 25-man roster started the season on the DL. One such player was reliever Alex Wilson, who was sidelined with shoulder soreness.

Wilson, who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox alongside now ex-members of the Tigers organization Yoenis Cespedes and pitching prospect Gabe Speier in December of 2014, was a big-time bright spot for Detroit last season. He didn’t begin the 2015 campaign with the big league club, but he ultimately became one of the team’s only dependable relievers and even made one spot start. Overall, he posted a 3-3 record, a 2.19 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP across 70 total innings.

Over the weekend, Tigers fans were given great news when it was reported that Wilson had been activated from the DL. The 29-year-old right-hander made his 2016 debut against the Houston Astros on Sunday and did very well, pitching 1.1 innings, allowing zero runs, zero hits, zero walks and striking out two.

If Wilson can indeed pitch the way he did last year, it will provide a major spark for a Tigers bullpen that has already been pretty good. In particular, left-hander Justin Wilson has looked exceptionally sharp, posting a 0.00 ERA and a 13.50 K/9 over 5.1 innings of work. Eighth-inning man Mark Lowe has a slightly inflated 4.26 ERA over a small sample size of 6.1 innings of work, but his FIP is just 2.00 and he has a 7.11 K/9. Closer Francisco Rodriguez has also been looking better after a rough debut against the Miami Marlins back on Apr. 5.

Going into this season, many thought that the Tigers could have one of their better bullpens in recent years. Although it is indeed early and there have been a few bumpy spots, the relief corps currently has a very respectable ERA of 2.82, and there is still plenty of reason for optimism going forward.

The return of (Alex) Wilson should only make the Tigers’ bullpen even better. Detroit’s pen should also soon be getting another boost once Blaine Hardy is ready to rejoin the team.