Detroit Tigers
Manager: AJ Hinch (first season).
2020: 23-35, fifth place.
Training Town: Lakeland, Florida.
Park: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 17/22.
He’s Here: Manager AJ Hinch, C Wilson Ramos, OF Robbie Grossman, RHP Jose Urena, LHP Derek Holland, LHP Robbie Ross Jr., LHP Miguel Del Pozo, C Dustin Garneau, RHP Erasmo Ramirez, 3B Renato Nunez, INF Greg Garcia.
He’s Outta Here: Manager Ron Gardenhire, C Austin Romine, RHP Ivan Nova, RHP Jordan Zimmermann, 1B C.J. Cron, 1B Brandon Dixon, RHP Anthony Castro.
Going campin’: The rebuilding Tigers haven’t made the postseason since 2014 and haven’t really been in contention since 2016. Hinch takes over as manager after serving his suspension in the aftermath of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. He inherits a team with a handful of promising pitching prospects, a couple of whom made their big league debuts in 2020. Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal had their ups and downs last season with the Tigers. Matt Manning is also highly regarded but hasn’t reached the majors yet. Detroit got some bad news in December when the team announced that RHP Alex Faedo — another one of those promising prospects — would need reconstructive arm surgery. INF Spencer Torkelson, the top pick in last year’s draft, is another one to watch. Among the established players, Miguel Cabrera is approaching his 38th birthday and needs 13 home runs to reach 500. The Tigers weren’t too active this offseason, but Ramos should help the team’s catching situation and Grossman adds a veteran bat to the outfield. Lakeland’s director of parks and recreation said recently that seating capacity at spring training games would be reduced to 2,000 in order to maintain physical distancing protocols. The city said additional protocols would be announced in the coming weeks.
