Detroit News

Chris McCosky   | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Remember all that talk from Friday about front-loading Michael Fulmer’s spring workload? Well, forget about that. Fulmer was called home to Oklahoma Friday night. His wife Kelsey delivered their second child, a girl, a few days ahead of her due date. Manager AJ Hinch reported that

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Chris McCosky   | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Every morning, pitching coaches Chris Fetter and Juan Nieves make themselves available to any pitcher who wants a little extra time, time that’s not already budgeted into their busy practice schedules, to work on their mechanics. Just about every morning, Michael Fulmer has taken them up on

Lakeland, Fla. — It’s not the same, it really isn’t. Sure, every spring he’s in the best shape of his career. Every spring, he’s brimming with energy and enthusiasm. Every spring with Miguel Cabrera, hopes and high spirits abound. All that is true again as Cabrera, soon to be 38 years old, embarks on his

Tony Paul | The Detroit News Brandon Inge spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, played in one World Series, was part of a team that made another, once was an American League All-Star, signed enough autographs to fill the Library of Congress, and for a time was regarded as one of the most athletic players

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — It didn’t take but a day or two for new Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch to figure out what previous managers already learned: If you don’t schedule Miguel Cabrera off the baseball field, he won’t ever leave. Cabrera, a month and a half shy of 38, has been his

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — There aren’t many more intriguing and potentially pivotal players on the Tigers pitching staff than lefty Gregory Soto. The baseball world got a taste of that last year when he didn’t allow a run over his first 10 innings, posting a 14-2 strikeout-walk mix. With his elite two-seam fastball

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. – AJ Hinch and his coaching staff had just finalized lineup plans Wednesday for the first couple of exhibition games, which start Sunday, with Tigers’ top prospect Spencer Torkelson to make an early start at third base. Then came the phone call Wednesday night: Torkelson cut his right index

Tony Paul | The Detroit News Baseball fans, clearly, are an eager bunch. Spring-training tickets in both Florida and Arizona are hot commodities, including the Tigers, who earlier this month sold out all 15 of their home Grapefruit League games in three hours. The Tigers are operating at limited capacity at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland,

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Professor AJ Hinch delivered a meaty media session Wednesday morning. The topic: zone defense. Say what now? This wasn’t a basketball discussion. The way Hinch conceptualizes and teaches defensive shifts is akin to playing a zone. “The reality is, we don’t know exactly where the ball is going

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — If you ever questioned the wisdom of bringing players who are still in the lower rungs of the minor-league system to big-league training camp, we draw your attention to the scene on the backfields of Joker Marchant Stadium Wednesday. Twenty-year-old Riley Greene, the Tigers’ No. 4-ranked prospect, was

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. – Tigers manager AJ Hinch has been impressed with what he’s seen so far of Niko Goodrum. “He might be the most graceful athlete we have in our group,” Hinch said. “He’s put together pretty good, just a great-looking athlete, and that’s going to translate to the field.”

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Tarik Skubal was stretching and getting ready for his first live batting practice session of the spring Tuesday, blissfully unaware that the Tigers just made the signing of veteran right-hander and two-time All-Star Julio Teheran official. Another day, another layer of competition. “I don’t focus on that stuff too

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Robbie Grossman took a minute to look around the TigerTown complex Monday before his first official workout with his new team. It took him back. “With all these young kids running around, I was in their shoes at one point,” he said. “Now I know what it’s

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Very soon the focus is going to shift from the manager to the players, from concepts and theories to game action, performance, success and failure. But Monday was AJ Hinch’s day. It was about the Tigers’ first-year manager setting his agenda, laying out his expectations and setting

Lynn Henning | The Detroit News Al Avila was asked during a media session Wednesday if he wouldn’t mind listing the Tigers’ top three or so draft choices heading into the beginning of the 2021 college baseball season, which got going Friday. This was, of course, asked jocularly, even if no one but the Tigers general

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — It’s probably incorrect to call it the first “full-squad” workout. For sure, manager AJ Hinch will gather pitchers, catchers and position players together Monday for the official start of spring training. But he will be several players, key players, short of a full squad, thanks to the inevitable complications

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Tigers manager AJ Hinch said it best about reliever Bryan Garcia. “There’s a lot to like,” he said Sunday. “The statistics on the back of his baseball card look pretty good. There’s a lot of momentum for him moving forward.” The statistics on the back of the baseball

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — The thing about using Miguel Cabrera at first base occasionally this season is, it’s not just about appeasing the desires of the franchise player — though there is certainly an element of that involved. It goes deeper. “My plan is to provide an opportunity for him to be

Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — People who are blessed with uncommon athletic skill can sometimes take that skill for granted. It’s almost like they get bored with it. It’s human nature. You don’t always have to try as hard as others to win. You can sluff off and cut corners and still