Detroit — Little gestures sometimes can carry a lot of weight. Especially during a rough patch.
It was just a late-night text message, one of thousands manager AJ Hinch has sent out to his players this season. But this one — well, it hit Zach McKinstry at exactly the right time.
“AJ texted me last night and he just said, ‘Keep working. I see you. I know you’re working hard and grinding through this,’” McKinstry said before the game Monday. “Obviously, they see the value in me. There’s been an open line of communication here, and that’s really helpful.”
It’s been a rough 30 days for the Tigers’ utility man. On July 7, McKinstry was hitting .250 with a .331 on-base average, slugging .375 with a .706 OPS. Going into the game Monday, July 8, he was slashing .169/.210/.286 with a .496 OPS since then.
In those 81 plate appearances, he had four doubles, a triple and a home run with 19 strikeouts and four walks.
Pretty steep drop.
“He’s a really good player and we still have a ton of belief in the bat and what he can do,” Hinch said. “But, this has been a sustained stint of hot and cold. We’re going to stick with him, but maybe give him a different look in the lineup.”
Hinch dropped McKinstry out of the leadoff spot Monday, moving him down to the seventh spot.
“These are tough times for him,” Hinch said. “Similar to a lot of our players, when you get into that mode of trying to hang on and continue that good impression and try to establish yourself as a bonafide guy in the big leagues, that’s even more stress you put on yourself.
“So, the more we can take that off him, the better.”
Monday was McKinstry’s 103rd game, a new career high. It’s the first time he’s had a sustained run at being an everyday player. There is a physical stress and a mental stress that comes with that. Physically, McKinstry insists he’s fine. He’s still maintaining his weight-room work and his physical therapy.
“Maybe it’s just a little bit of confidence,” he said. “Maybe if we could see a ball hit the grass a little bit. It feels like every time I hit a ball hard, it ends up getting caught. I’m working on getting the bat head through, working on a little bit of power.
“I’m going to keep grinding and keep going. Maybe things will start falling my way and for the team, too. We’re both grinding through it right now.”
Chasing power, though, might be a symptom of the struggles. The lefty-swinging McKinstry was given the leadoff spot against right-handed starters in May when he walked 20 times and his on-base percentage was .454. He’s walked just eight times in the last two-plus months.
“I would say about 90% of guys swing their way out of this stuff,” Hinch said. “That can be a benefit when you get hits. It’s not a benefit when you don’t. It just exaggerates the problem. It’s about zone control. You still have to get a good pitch to hit and the walks, seeing more pitches, is only going to help you.”
McKinstry agrees that during this stretch, he’s found himself trying to do too much. He’s hitting just .211 on pitches that are in the middle of the plate. That is most uncharacteristic for him and it’s indicative of how this stretch has scrambled his head.
“I definitely feel like I need to slow the game down,” he said. “I feel like it’s sped up a little bit.”
Taking him out of the leadoff spot, Hinch said, should help.
“The stresses that come with the big leagues are different,” he said. “The pressure that you can put on yourself is different. We took him out of the leadoff spot today to alleviate a little bit of that first-inning stress and just give him a different look.
“Hopefully, we can get him back to being on-base driven, get back to having good at-bats and even getting him to get the ball out of the extreme air and put it in play in a more line drive mode.”
Veteran infielder claimed
The Tigers Monday claimed 27-year-old, left-handed hitting infielder Isan Diaz off waivers from the Giants.
Diaz, who has played second and third base throughout his career, had three different stints with the Giants this season, going 1-for-19. He spent parts of three seasons (2019-21) with Miami.
With shortstop Javier Baez expected to leave the team Tuesday to tend to a death in the family in Puerto Rico, it’s likely Diaz, also from Puerto Rico, will be activated to replace him.
“We’re still waiting for Javy’s family to make the arrangements and then he will leave,” Hinch said. “Most likely (Tuesday). He’s emotionally drained from all of this. It was a close relationship and we respect that.”
Baez, though not in the starting lineup Monday, would be available off the bench, Hinch said.
To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Diaz, the Tigers designated left-hander Zach Logue for assignment.
Around the horn
… Reliever Will Vest walked four hitters in his latest rehab outing Sunday for Toledo. He’s walked six in three innings over three different rehab outings. “Physically, he’s doing really well,” Hinch said. “He feels good and there’s no restrictions. His velocity is good. Now we’re going to work on the execution being a little bit better. We will give him another outing in Triple-A to hopefully find the strike zone more.”
… Right-hander Spencer Turnbull will make his next rehab start at Toledo on Wednesday.
Twitter: @cmccosky
Twins at Tigers
First pitch: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit / 97.1
Scouting report:
RHP Sonny Gray (5-4, 3.18), Twins: He’s on a run of three straight quality starts (seven earned runs in 19 innings, 17 strikeouts, one walk). Crazy stat: He’s allowed just five home runs in 124.1 innings this year, and two of them came in his last two starts. The Tigers beat him back on June 15, working four walks and getting him out of the game after four innings. It was his shortest start of the season.
LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 2.96), Tigers: This will be his first start against the Twins this season, but he’s feasted on the other Central Division teams. In five starts against the Guardians (two), Royals (two) and White Sox, he’s 3-1 with a 1.36 ERA (five earned runs in 33 innings), with 40 strikeouts and six walks.