LAKELAND, Fla. — Jonathan Schoop looks different.
The 31-year-old second baseman arrived Sunday morning for spring training and clearly lost weight this offseason. He might not be in the best shape of his 10-year career, but he is significantly thinner than he was at the end of last season.
“I feel it just waking up and living life,” Schoop said. “I feel better. You guys are going to see. I’m going to go out there, and it’s going to be better. You guys are going to talk more about me this year.”
Schoop, who enters his fourth season with the Detroit Tigers, described the upcoming 2023 campaign as the first part of the second half of his career. He is coming back from the worst offensive performance of his life.
His contract expires after this season.
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In 2022, Schoop played above-average defense but hit .202 with 11 home runs, 19 walks and 107 walks across 131 games. His 57 wRC+, which measures overall offense, ranked last among 130 qualified hitters.
“It was tough,” Schoop said. “It’s time for me to make adjustments now to be better for the second part of my career. I’ve done the first part already, but I have a lot more in the tank to show. This is going to be the second part of my career, and it’s going to be better than before.”
To transform his body, Schoop prioritized his workouts and diet.
He stayed in touch with manager A.J. Hinch throughout the offseason and shared videos of his agility drills.
“He had a tough year, and it didn’t change his mindset or his work or his spirit, but it changed his urgency to do something a little bit different,” Hinch said Sunday. “It’s enlightening to see a veteran player who understands that as he ages, he’s going to have to do things a little bit different.”
Banning the shift might negatively impact Schoop’s defensive metrics, only because he can’t stand on the outfield grass. He will need to rely on his range more than his elite arm strength.
Schoop is expected to be the primary second baseman, but Hinch will give him reps at third base in spring training. He has played second (939 starts), first (104 starts), third (14 starts) and shortstop (four starts) in his career.
“I’m ready to do whatever they want me to do,” Schoop said. “I just like to see my name in the lineup. I just want to play baseball. That’s all I know how to do. I’ve played baseball since I was 4, so if I see my name in the lineup, you can put me wherever. I’m just going to go out there and do my best and play good.”
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Before spring training, Schoop represented Curaçao in the Caribbean Series. He hit .136 in six games; his older brother, Sharlon Schoop, hit .417 in seven games. In March, he will compete for Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.
“I wanted to be a step ahead and see pitches already,” Jonathan Schoop said. “I changed some things in my stance. … My stance opened up so I can see the ball better, make a better decision and put on a better swing.”
The first part of Schoop’s career spanned 10 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles (2013-18), Milwaukee Brewers (2019), Minnesota Twins (2019) and Tigers (2020-22). He hit .225 with 174 home runs across 1,133 games, plus a 4.1% walk rate and 22.2% strikeout rate.
He expects to be better in the second part.
His pursuit begins with the Tigers in 2023.
“I feel like I’m going to be a better hitter,” Schoop said. “In the first part, I put up some good numbers, but I feel like I’m going to be better overall. I’ll take more pitches, walk more, get on base, hit more home runs and hit for average, all those things. I think the second part is going to be good.”
Tram, Javy work together
The Tigers spent part of Sunday’s workout applying tags at second base.
Shortstop Javier Báez, known for his fancy no-look tags, demonstrated how middle infielders need to adjust to a rule change. This season, the bases have widened from 15 inches per side to 18 inches.
Hall of Fame shortstop Alan Trammell, who played 20 seasons for the Tigers, was on the field during the lesson. (Trammell had four Gold Gloves in his 20-year career; Báez has one in his nine-year career.)
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“These guys are pros, and they’ll adjust,” Trammell said, referencing Báez’s opinion. “Let some things happen in the game. Until you get tested, then you react. If everybody makes a perfect throw, that’s not going to happen. You’re going to have to adjust to throws like you always have.”
The bigger bases will provide runners a better chance to steal bases, as will restrictions on pickoff attempts as part of the pitch clock rules. At the same time, it will be more difficult for shortstops and second basemen to apply tags when a runner slides or dives to the back of the bag.
“For years, people have been going to that backside anyway,” Trammell said. “If the throw takes you this way (toward the shortstop’s side of the base), it’s hard to get there, and you’re not going to get him.”
So, Trammell shared his advice.
“Stay down in that area in case they pop on, pop off,” Trammell said. “You might get lucky. But yeah, they’re going to be safe. That’s the only time we got Rickey Henderson, when he slipped past the bag. Seriously, but we didn’t get him very often. Not very many people did.”
‘Ready to go’
Left-hander Tyler Holton appeared in the clubhouse Sunday morning.
The Tigers claimed him off waivers Friday from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 26-year-old posted a 4.43 ERA with 17 walks and 43 strikeouts in 44⅔ innings across 24 games (two starts) for Triple-A Reno last season.
“You got to introduce yourself, make new friendships and build that trust with teammates and coaches,” Holton said, “and familiarize yourself with your environment, so I’m excited to do that. I’ve already met a few guys here, and building those relationships is what I’m wanting to do while I settle in.”
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He logged a 3.00 ERA with two walks and six strikeouts in nine innings across 10 relief appearances for the Diamondbacks, making his MLB debut in April 2022. Lefties hit .186 against him in the majors and minors last season.
Holton, a former ninth-round pick from Florida State, has been throwing bullpens this spring.
“I’m ready to go,” he said.
Donny Sands sands bat
Catcher Donny Sands placed a Gatorade towel on the clubhouse carpet.
He held his bat in one hand and scissors in the other hand.
Wood shavings kept falling to the towel.
“I’m making it a little skinnier,” Sands said of Sunday’s pre-workout activity. “Some bats come just perfect, but the David Ortiz model has a thicker handle, so I’m making it skinnier. Just a tad.”
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In 2021, Sands found his perfect bat. Former teammates Oswaldo Cabrera and Dermis García offered to let him use their Ortiz-model bats. “They gave me one,” he said, “and I hit four homers in three games.”
The wood bat — Marcucci DO34 — is popular amongst professional players. Ortiz, a Hall of Famer and three-time World Series champion, played 20 MLB seasons for the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox, mashing 541 home runs.
“I gotta channel my inner Big Papi,” Sands said.
Where is Colt Keith?
Everyone has arrived at the facility for big-league spring training, except 21-year-old third baseman Colt Keith.
Position players aren’t required to report until Monday, but almost all of them showed up early. Fellow prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy, for example, arrived Wednesday and started working out.
On Sunday, Keith drove to Lakeland from Biloxi, Mississippi.
He will report Monday.
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Keith, the youngest player in camp, hit .301 with nine home runs in 48 games for High-A West Michigan last season. He also hit .344 with three homers in 19 games in the Arizona Fall League.
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.