Over the winter, the Detroit Tigers signed Robbie Grossman, the 31-year-old switching-hitting outfielder who most recently played with the Oakland Athletics. Grossman perfectly represents the type of player that the Tigers were targeting all off-season: short-term, low-risk, veterans.
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press CLEARWATER, Fla. — Detroit Tigers right-hander Franklin Perez jogged out of the bullpen Wednesday to make his highly anticipated spring training debut. Three and a half years ago, many believed Perez — the centerpiece of the 2017 Justin Verlander trade with the Houston Astros — would be the franchise’s future ace.
The Detroit Tigers will start the 2021 baseball season with a payroll of just over $79 million for their opening day roster, and $96.1 million for the 40 man roster, including player benefits. Those numbers are down from $107 and $114 million in 2020, respectively. After pro rating salaries for the shortened season, the Tigers
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Clearwater, Fla. — Among the smorgasbord of takeaways from the Tigers’ 6-4 spring loss to the Phillies Wednesday is, skipper AJ Hinch is never going to flinch when it comes to using defensive shifts. And why would he? They helped him to five straight winning seasons, two trips to the
Spring training is in full swing and on Wednesday the Detroit Tigers got their second glimpse at one of their most prized pitching prospects in Matt Manning. More importantly, the fans—at least those with MLB.tv— got a peek at his new breaking ball, rumors of which have been churning in the mill over the past
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Long at-bats are the utensils with which veteran hitters can chew up young pitchers, waiting for that one mistake they can crush, even in Spring Training. For Tigers right-hander Matt Manning, it was a springboard. As Phillies second baseman Jean Segura fouled off one fastball after another, sending his leadoff at-bat into
Free Press sports writer Omari Sankofa II and columnist Shawn Windsor discuss standouts from the first half of the Detroit Pistons’ season, what they’re looking forward to during the second half, the NBA trade deadline, return of rookie Killian Hayes and the 2021 draft. Filmed March 10, 2021. #DetroitPistons #KillianHayes
LAKELAND, Fla. — Ian Krol went through a journey to where he was on the mound at Joker Marchant Stadium on Tuesday, shaking hands with catcher Jake Rogers after finishing out a 6-5 Tigers win over the Yankees. Grapefruit League victories are usually meaningless for pitchers, especially those with 225 regular-season appearances in the Majors.
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press Show Caption Hide Caption Detroit Tigers SS Willi Castro explains his three-run HR vs. Yankees Detroit Tigers shortstop Willi Castro talks Tuesday, March 9, 2021, after hitting a three-run homer against the New York Yankees in spring training. Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Clearwater, Fla. — Ian Krol threw a curveball when he pitched for the Tigers in 2014 and 2015. But he didn’t throw this curveball, not the one he’s featured in his three scoreless, hitless outings this spring, the one that’s helped him record six punchouts, the one that may push
Spring training stats don’t matter, and performances can be incredibly misleading, but it’s clear the Detroit Tigers need to find a way to keep their Rule 5 pick Akil Baddoo. If you are unfamiliar with the roster implications regarding Rule 5 picks you can read all about them here. Mostly you just need to know…
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press CLEARWATER, Fla. — When the Detroit Tigers called old friend Ian Krol to offer him a minor-league contract in December, the left-hander — eager to get back to the major leagues for the first time in nearly three years — couldn’t help but smile. The agreement between Krol and general manager Al Avila served as
DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings are honored to celebrate the distinguished achievements of women leaders across the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan throughout Women’s History Month. March is Women’s History Month — commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American
There’s nothing better than a tight division race, and if there’s one area in which the majority of the American League Central clubs are most similar, it’s their bullpens. In 2020, Cleveland (fifth), Minnesota (sixth), Chicago (seventh) and Kansas City (eighth) all finished in the top two-thirds in the AL in bullpen ERA. The White
We have all done it. It might be in a bar aided by some brews, maybe some itchy Twitter thumbs, a live lament after a bad play, a private conversation we aren’t quite comfortable enough to make public. But if one has watched Detroit Tigers baseball long enough, we have all had the hot take…
This week is Detroit Tigers Prospects Week here at Motor City Bengals as we are discussing all things Tigers prospect-related as we roll into week two of spring training. If you look at our Top 20 Detroit Tigers prospects list, you will see it is heavy with pitchers, but the Tigers have do have some…
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press LAKELAND, Fla. — Three years ago, Detroit Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch gazed into the stands at Joker Marchant Stadium while fielding questions about the future of the franchise. At the time, the franchise’s rebuild was in its earliest stage. His message then: “We’re really focused on, and my vision is to ensure,
After a barren winter, new Statcast numbers can feel like an absolute feast. The return of Cactus and Grapefruit League play has brought new opportunities to dive into performance and evaluate where players stand heading into the 2021 season. That is especially true of prospects, some of whom the public hasn’t seen since the end
As the weather begins to heat up, so goes the top young arms. Top pitching prospects Michael Kopech (White Sox), Garrett Crochet (White Sox), Shane McClanahan (Rays) and Deivi García (Yankees) all posted scoreless outings on Tuesday. Kopech made his Major League debut in 2018 before undergoing Tommy John surgery that September and missing the
With three runs in the bottom of the 8th, the Tigers came from behind for their 6th win of Spring Training against the Yankees. The game featured Willi Castro’s 3rd home run of the spring, as well as a Riley Greene double off the wall in left center field.