LAKELAND, Fla. — One moment, it was Miguel Cabrera.
Next, it was Riley Greene.
And then, Spencer Torkelson.
All three players engaged in conversations with Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris during the batting practice portion of Friday’s workout on the TigerTown backfields. A cheerful Cabrera, who is a few years older than Harris, patted his new boss on the back as he walked off the field.
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Manager A.J. Hinch stood in the vicinity.
“Scott is gifted with people,” Hinch said. “It’s not the first time they’ve interacted amongst the group. We’re having some player meetings and things to introduce him in person. He’s been on Zoom, he’s been on phone calls, and he’s been in touch with guys, but it’s a lot to download for him.
“I’m trying to put these guys in a position to show their personality so he can get to them as people. We can study them. He can study them all he wants through what they’ve performed, but getting to know them as people is important to them. It’s cool for him to get a chance to have some casual conversations as well as some of the more serious baseball talk.”
When Harris wasn’t chatting up Cabrera, Greene and Torkelson, he was talking to Hinch while they watched several groups of playing take batting practice. Turns out, they’ve spent a lot of time talking since the 2022 season ended.
“Multiple times a day,” Hinch said, “times however many offseason days.”
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Harris and Hinch surely took a break from their conversations about the Tigers during Harris’ honeymoon, right? At the winter meetings, Harris briefly mentioned he planned to avoid using his phone while celebrating his mid-December wedding and soaking up quality time.
Well, there are other ways to communicate.
“We didn’t talk a ton on his honeymoon,” Hinch said. “We emailed back and forth a few times.”
Hinch, also older than Harris, who was 35 when he was hired in September, seems to be getting along with his new boss, too.
That’s a good sign as the Tigers restructure.
“We were in touch constantly,” Hinch said. “We have a great rapport and great respect for what each of us have to do to be good at our jobs. We’re lined up on a lot of philosophical things, which is a great start. I appreciate his feedback. It’s a fresh set of eyes and knowledge to sharpen me and make me better, and I can give him a lot of feedback on the players.”
Hearing this word a lot
Versatility is a key word for the Tigers.
On Friday morning, they had multiple players working with George Lombard, the Tigers’ bench coach and outfield instructor.
“Nick Maton did some outfield work,” said Hinch, who previously revealed 19 of 31 position players in camp will receive opportunities at multiple positions. “Eric Haase just went through the outfield drill. So, you’ll see a lot of that. There’s a method to the madness.”
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Lombard had the Tigers’ outfielders working on fielding grounders, focusing specifically on body positioning and glove placement. He fired balls out of a machine at the players, kneeling on the turf.
He was simulating balls hit directly at the outfielders, as well as balls in the gap.
After Greene snagged a ball, Lombard was quick with positive reinforcement.
“Nice!” he said.
But Lombard keeps the players on their toes by pushing small motivational buttons. After Brendon Davis made a nice play, Lombard teased Greene. Davis has played third base, shortstop, left field and right field in his professional career.
“Riley, you got some competition,” Lombard said.
“He’s an infielder!” Greene said. “And he’s got an infield glove, a better glove!”
Turnbull throws bullpen
Before Harris showed face at batting practice, he hung out with left-hander Tarik Skubal near the bullpens. Skubal, who could be the Tigers’ ace of the future, is recovering from flexor tendon surgery.
The two talked for a while, but Harris shifted his focus elsewhere at times. He watched closely when right-hander Spencer Turnbull — now healthy after Tommy John surgery — tossed his first official bullpen of spring training.
The Tigers evaluated Turnbull’s movements and comfortability, rather than his execution.
Turnbull said his fastball velocity maxed out at 94 mph. His fastball averaged 93.6 mph in 2019, 93.7 in 2020 and 93.9 in 2021. He underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2021.
“We’re working on the strike throwing,” Hinch said.
Waiver wire
The Tigers claimed left-hander Tyler Holton off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Casey Mize was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
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Holton, 26, had a 4.43 ERA with 17 walks and 43 strikeouts in 44⅔ innings for Triple-A Reno last season. He threw those innings over 24 games (two starts), so he can operate as a multi-inning reliever.
He also logged 10 appearances for the Diamondbacks, posting a 3.00 ERA with two walks and six strikeouts over nine innings. Lefties hit .186 against him in the majors and minors last season.
His fastball averaged 90.5 mph.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.