Praying for you @Bols.
If it makes you feel any better, I can change the owner of a team under my commissioner settings.
We want you to do this with us. You’re one of the best posters on this board.
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OK. I’ll stay in until I can’t.
Also the feelings are mutual HSV. I think the world of you. I wish more kids in your generation were like you.
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Geez, way to fukin mushhy in here, not a surprise if it was just hsv, I mean he has a soft fb coach so it would make sense. But Bols…sheesh …
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Freep: Detroit Tigers spring training: Key questions to answer in 2026 camp
Full article at link
Does Colt Keith lock down third base?
The Tigers haven’t had an everyday third baseman over the past three seasons, with 13 candidates trying to stick, listed in descending order of plate appearances: Zach McKinstry, Matt Vierling, Gio Urshela, Andy Ibáñez, Nick Maton, Jace Jung, Colt Keith, Jonathan Schoop, Javier Báez, Zack Short, Tyler Nevin, Andre Lipcius and Ryan Kreidler.
Keith is the name to watch for 2026.
That’s because all signs are pointing to Keith as the everyday third baseman, which would make him the first player to hold that role since Jeimer Candelario in 2022. The 24-year-old didn’t make his first MLB start at third base until June 2025, then emerged as the primary option there through August and September before suffering an intercostal injury.
During that stretch, Keith recorded zero defensive runs saved in 254⅓ innings at third base – reflecting average defense. The Tigers need his bat in the everyday lineup, as he has the potential to hit .275 with 20-plus home runs. The best way to keep that production in the lineup without benching another top hitter is by locking him in at third base. He won’t play any second base in spring training, focusing instead on third and first base.
Can Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling bounce back?
The Tigers need better results from Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling in 2026 – and it starts with staying healthy.
In 2025, Meadows and Vierling suffered injuries in spring training and the regular season. Meadows dealt with a rare nerve injury in his right arm, followed by a quad injury; Vierling battled a shoulder injury, then an oblique injury.
Their performances reflected those issues. Meadows, a 26-year-old center fielder, hit .215 with a .621 OPS in 58 games, along with minus-1 defensive runs saved in 468 innings in center field; Vierling, a 29-year-old outfielder, hit .239 with a .617 OPS in 31 games, registering minus-3 defensive runs saved in 203 innings.
Both players have produced better results when healthy. Vierling ranked among the top 30 MLB outfielders in his career-best 2024 season, while Meadows ranked as the sixth-best outfielder in baseball for his elite performance over his final 47 games in 2024.
The Tigers are counting on both to bounce back in 2026.
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freep: Tigers are further away from their goals than ever – and that’s great
full article at link
“We’ve accomplished some cool things the last couple years, but we are right back, even with everybody,” pitcher Casey Mize said.
Then, Mize offered an interesting perspective.
“Now our sights are much higher than they’ve ever been,” Mize said. “We’re probably further away from our goals than we’ve ever been. But I don’t think that is a bad thing. It’s just our goals are higher.”
If you ask me, that’s beyond encouraging. That’s a great thing. To acknowledge that they want to climb even higher.
But that mountain can look daunting, when you stand at base camp. Looking up at the peak.
But that’s never been Hinch’s style, to look that far ahead.
“This team is a good team, and we’ve got to go and stack a ton of days and a ton of games,” Hinch said. “Everybody wants to know what’s going to happen at the end of the year. And I just want to know what’s going to happen tomorrow.
“The expectations have risen over the last few years, and the people that have been in this room for five or six years with me and some of my staff feel it. And that’s a great thing. It’s great to have an opportunity to be good.”
And start climbing that mountain.
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DetNews: Tigers notebook: Troy Melton not sweating role or roster fight
It’s funny to think about it but Troy Melton, who debuted last season and pitched in high-leverage situations down the stretch and into the playoffs, is in his first big league camp.
“It’s weird,” he said.
Not only was he not in big league camp last year, he was never invited over as a reserve for any of the Grapefruit League games.
“When I showed up in Pittsburgh (for his big league debut on July 23), I met the trainers for the first time,” he said. “I had never actually met AJ (Hinch, manager) in person.”
That all changed quickly. Melton went 3-2 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.007 WHIP in 16 games down the stretch, starting four and working various relief roles. He pitched in four postseason games, allowing just one run in his final eight innings and earned a win in Game 4 of the ALDS.
“I got comfortable with the group pretty quick,” he said. “We have a pretty good group of human beings on the staff and in the locker room. It wasn’t hard for me to get used to the guys in the room or the vibe. It got pretty normal, pretty quick for me, which is a blessing.
==
“Just play as well as I can,” he said. “It’s their job to put the best 26 guys on the field. It’s my job to make sure I’m one of the 26. All I’m going to try to do is get people out, make pitches and make their decision hard.”
As for his preference between starter or reliever, he shrugged, “That’s their job.”
For all his talent and all his weapons – he has a six-pitch arsenal that includes a 97-mph four-seamer – Melton had surprising low strikeout and whiff rates in his 45-inning sample – 20% strikeout, 23% chase and 23% whiff.
That’s been a point of emphasis this offseason.
“The rule of pitching is executing as much as you can,” he said. “Just generally executing at a higher rate, that will come with a little more strikeouts and a little less walks. That’s what you want as a pitcher. Throw more strikes, more quality strikes.”
Melton thinks there’s a lot more swing-and-miss in his slider than he showed last season. He limited hitters to a .146 average with the slider, allowing just one extra-base hit off it, with a 29.3% whiff rate.
“Just leaving it too much over the plate,” he said. “Even if they were down, they were hittable down instead of more to my glove side. I can be a little better with that pitch to lefties, too. The easiest one for me is going to be the slider. I didn’t get as much swing-and-miss with it as I have in the past.
“And it was just an execution thing.”
He’s also been encouraged to use more of his arsenal against right-handed hitters. He essentially attacked righties with his two fastballs (four-seam and sinker) and the slider.
“Against lefties I’ve been more broad-scoped,” he said. “I’m going to try to bring that to both sides of the plate.”
All that said, Melton held hitters to a .191 average last year.
“I didn’t get to two strikes at the highest rate,” he said. “There was lots of quick contract, hit or out. I’m just as OK with a quick out as I am a strikeout. They are worth the same for me.”
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I did make it to the back fields today, unfortunately the only time I could be there the players were not on the field yet, too many zoom calls today and I missed them on the field.
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I think Vierling and Meadows will both have bounce back seasons
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I remember when he was drafted and friends felt he was a reach for where they took him. Lots of injuries but one to watch this spring, guessing he could be a call up for injury replacement.
Freep: Trei Cruz strives for Detroit Tigers as switch-hitting Swiss Army knife
full article at link
In 2024, he was having a good season – really making progress – and then everything changed in a blink. While making a throw from centerfield to home plate, he blew out his elbow.
“Tommy John,” he said. “It was heartbreaking at the time when I got it. I was in tears at the time when they told me, because I thought I was gonna have to miss the whole ‘25 season.”
But he didn’t. He worked his butt off and didn’t miss a game in 2025.
Cruz started out at Double-A Erie and crushed the ball, hitting .275 with 7 home runs, 54 walks and 66 strikeouts in 69 games.
So, he got moved up to Triple-A Toledo and raked again, hitting .284 with six home runs, 48 walks and 55 strikeouts in 58 games for the Mud Hens.
“Props to the organization for still believing in me, giving me a chance,” he said.
==
Obviously, there are some advantages, coming from an MLB family.
And his father gave him some smart advice. “My dad had always told me to play infield for as long as I can,” Cruz said. “Because you can always go to the outfield.”
He was drafted as a shortstop. But a few years ago, someone from the Tigers organization said: Hey, have you thought about playing center field?
“I said, ‘Yeah, I mean, I come from an outfield family,’” Cruz said. “I’m the only infielder actually in my family, so I always keep up with it.”
THE BIG PICTURE: Tigers are further away from their goals than ever – and that’s great
So, he started playing outfield for the Tigers.
Which makes him incredibly valuable.
There just aren’t that many switch-hitting shortstops who can play center.
“The defensive versatility is so valuable,” Hinch said. “We’ve asked him to be ready for anything except for catcher and first base this spring. Being added to the 40-man is a big deal. He’s one step closer. He literally could be the answer for anything, if he’s the right guy, because of the fact he can fill in anywhere.”
Cruz was asked to play in the WBC for Team Canada – he was born in Toronto when his father was playing for the Blue Jays – but he declined.
“It was important to stay here,” he said. “I want to make the Opening Day roster, and I want to find a way to help the team win. I think by staying here that I am showing these guys that I can play different positions, and showing that I’m committed to the team and I’m willing to do whatever.”
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DetNews: # Tigers notes: Why AJ Hinch singled out Tyler Holton in team meeting
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Hinch pointed out to the team he pitched Holton in the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th innings last season.
“I said I’d try to get him in the third at some point,” he said, laughing. “Because he can do that with such relative ease, mentally. He’s been such a weapon for us and for me to be able to match him up and effectively flip the lineup.
“And I still remember him closing out a playoff game.”
Holton, who turns 30 on June 13, had what would be considered a great season for most relievers. He worked in a career-high 70 games, posted a 1.042 WHIP, limited hitters to a .226 average and a .266 on-base percentage and allowed just one run in five playoff games.
Problem is, Holton had set an impossibly high bar for himself in his two previous seasons, going 10-4 with a 2.15 ERA and 0.824 WHIP.
“It just gets back to simple baseball,” Holton said. “I have more success whenever I’m getting ahead of hitters and using my pitches in a way that’s going to bring a better outcome and not wasting pitches. I have to be around the zone and I have to be competitive, even on pitches I’m trying to throw outside the zone.
“I can’t just have a bad miss. I need to be really competitive with every pitch and stay on the attack with the hitter and keep them in a defensive mode.”
He did that a lot last season. Just not as much as he did the previous two seasons.
Holton threw 179.2 innings combined in 2023 and 2024. And, just like last year, he covered every role, from opening to closer and all points in between. That’s a heavy load. You wonder if that took a toll on him last year, even though he threw fewer innings (78.2).
“I’d be lying if I said no,” said Holton when asked if he felt fatigued at times last year. “I think our staff does a really good job of communicating and being honest, back and forth, giving you proper rest and recovery.”
The velocity on Holton’s cutter, sinker and four-seam fastball stayed consistent throughout the year, as did the spin rates and general shapes of his six-pitch arsenal. But his efficiency and command wavered more than it had in previous year.
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Those dykes have always been good in multiple positions.
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I was a big Jose Cruz fan back in the day, like granddaddy Jose. He had that really fluid loose swing and running Style and made everything look really easy. Junior was a little tighter probably a little more muscle bound because of the training advances and had a little more pop. When they drafted Trei I was hoping he would be more like Granddaddy and it kind of looks that way to me. That said describing what he did in the article on offense as raking is a little generous. It was certainly a better showing than the previous years and sometimes it just takes time for players to have it all click.
To me though he looks like a throw-in on a deal to a bad team with a good bat that they’re going to dump at the deadline, because everything he does Wenceel Perez does better and has done better in the majors …and we’re not sure he has a roster spot.
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Junior had a couple good seasons for.the Jays. Always thought he had superstar ability and never really reached his full potential.
54 WAR for grandaddy is a helluva career. Led the NL in hits at age 35.
Junior had a 30/30 season? Dang.
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Google goofed. Cruz was 36 when he led the NL in hits ( tied with The Hawk in 1983).
Oldest player to lead the NL in hits all time. Only player in AL older than that to lead the league in hits was Teddy Ballgame at age 40. Cobb and Rose were 35 at their oldest to lead their leagues.
Surprised Tony Gywnn didn’t do it.
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He did Google is full of extra s*** today. Gwymn had 220 hits at age 37, the most hits of any season in his career
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Good guess by me!
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A pitching genius helping position players?
The Tigers haven’t dealt with many throwing-related injuries among position players, but two surfaced at the start of 2025 spring training, when center fielder Parker Meadows suffered a rare nerve injury in his right arm and outfielder Matt Vierling strained the rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Both players are healthy this spring.
To get them there, the Tigers leaned on assistant pitching coach Robin Lund to build pitcher-style throwing programs for both position players. A return-to-play throwing program guided their rehab, followed by a regular throwing program throughout the offseason.
“When you talk about throwing programs, you go immediately to the pitchers,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “but having Robin and his experience with handling the return-to-play and the throwing program and the biomechanical study, we’re just so much further advanced than we used to be with him on our staff at the little details like that.”
The Tigers hired Lund in November 2022.
Before that, Lund served as the University of Iowa’s pitching coach. He earned a doctoral degree in exercise science in 2002, and he worked as an associate professor of kinesiology for more than 15 years.
“When you have a unique injury like Parker and Vierling, we’d be foolish not to use the pitching side of the staff to bridge the gap,” Hinch said.
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https://x.com/i/status/2024186861074178236
Detroit Tigers #3 Prospect Josue Briceño hit a Home Run off of Tarik Skubal today during live batting practice per @EvanPetzold 
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