DENVER — The halfway point of the season has passed, the All-Star break is approaching, and the Detroit Tigers remain in the mix in the American League Central.
The vibes are positive in the clubhouse as starting pitchers Tarik Skubal and Eduardo Rodriguez and center fielder Riley Greene — the three best players on the roster — will return from the injured list soon.
But the Tigers still need to play better.
“I’ll feel better when Greene comes back,” said Miguel Cabrera, hitting .339 with an .895 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 20 games since May 30. “We need to rest our bullpen after the last two or three weeks. We have a chance to join the race, and I think the bullpen is going to help, so they got to be fresh.”
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Entering Monday, the Tigers have a 37-46 record for third place in the AL Central. The Minnesota Twins (42-43) and the Cleveland Guardians (41-42) are ahead, while the Chicago White Sox (37-49) and the Kansas City Royals (25-59) are behind.
The Twins and Guardians have a four-game lead on the Tigers for first place.
“We’re confident that we’re going to be right there at the end of the year,” Zach McKinstry, the leadoff hitter against right-handed pitchers, said. “We have to keep playing the way that we can.”
Manager A.J. Hinch refuses to reflect on the standings. Hinch, an expert at sending messages, needs his players to keep their focus on the day-to-day task, also known as “winning today’s game.”
Remember, Hinch never had a losing season in his five years with the Houston Astros, went to the World Series twice and won the 2017 World Series. He knows what it takes to get to cross the finish line.
So does shortstop Javier Báez.
“To be honest, we need to keep that away,” Báez, a 2016 World Series champion, said about the standings. “I don’t play with numbers. We got to do us. If everybody is healthy, and we do what we can do, we’re going to show it. There’s no talking about the future. Anything can happen in baseball. There were a lot of injuries, and I’m ready for all these guys to come back and be healthy.”
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Rodriguez (index finger) and Greene (fibula) landed on the injured list May 29 and May 31, respectively, while Skubal spent the first half of the season rehabbing from flexor tendon surgery in August 2022.
Greene is expected to begin a rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Toledo.
The offense, not the pitching staff, has been the Tigers’ weakest link over the past two seasons. Greene, a 22-year-old developing into a star, hit .296 with five home runs in 52 games before the injury.
The Tigers lost nine games in a row to begin June after Greene’s injury.
“I think we handled it really well,” said first baseman Spencer Torkelson. “Every team goes through little bumps in a long season, and we clawed our way back and feel like we’re on the right track.”
Quietly, though, Cabrera started turning back the clock when Greene left the May 30 game in the third inning with a stress reaction in his left fibula. His .441 on-base percentage since May 30 ranks 15th among 257 players with at least 70 plate appearances.
A few more players helped fill the void, too. Torkelson, catcher Jake Rogers, infielder Andy Ibáñez and outfielder Kerry Carpenter exceeded their career norms and performed at above-average rates.
“It’s been great,” Cabrera said. “I’ve always told people that we have an opportunity to be good for a long time, and it’s going to take some time. Hopefully, sooner than later if we start playing over .500. We’ll see.”
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Rogers is worth 1.8 fWAR in 54 games this season, which makes him the third-best catcher in the AL behind Jonah Heim and Adley Rutschman. Since May 30, Rogers ranks second to two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, the best player in baseball history, with an isolated power of .326.
Torkelson has hit eight of his 12 home runs in 30 games since May 30. Meanwhile, Carpenter returned from the injured list June 9 and helped the Tigers escape the losing streak. He is hitting .319 with four home runs in his past 22 games.
“I would love to be fully healthy by the All-Star break,” Hinch said during the recent road trip, in which the Tigers won four of seven games against the Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies. “That’s the dream.”
Turns out, the Tigers — hovering around a .500 record since April 13 — should be at full strength leading up to the All-Star break, beginning with Skubal and Rodriguez starting Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, against the Oakland Athletics.
There are 76 games remaining.
It’s time to heat up.
“We have some players that are out that are really crucial and can help us win a lot more games,” Torkelson said, referencing Skubal, Rodriguez, Greene and Akil Baddoo. “I think having them back is only going to help us out.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.