Phillies at Tigers, 1:05 p.m. ET Phillies: The Phillies are wasting no time ramping up the competition for the final spot in their starting rotation. Nick Pivetta, who hopes to win that job after being moved to the bullpen last season, will start Philadelphia’s Grapefruit League opener. Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Jake Arrieta are solidified as the top three pitchers in the rotation, while Zach Eflin is expected to be the No. 4 starter, though the Phils have said he is also competing alongside Pivetta, Vince Velasquez and left-hander Ranger Suárez for the final two spots. Nola will make his first start on Sunday, while Velasquez will get his first audition of the spring on Monday against the Orioles at Spectrum Field. -- Todd Zolecki Tigers: Miguel Cabrera has been slugging like his old form in workouts after slimming down this offseason. Now it’s time to take that swing into the box against opposing pitching. C.J. Cron is also expected to make his Tigers debut, while manager Ron Gardenhire has a bevy of pitching prospects he can throw in a preview of better times to come in Motown. -- Jason Beck
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/...ne-dies-detroit-tigers-legend-age/2957253001/ "Detroit Tigers legend Al Kaline died Monday afternoon at his home in Bloomfield Hills. Known as "Mr. Tiger," Kaline was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1980 after making 18 All-Star games and helping the Tigers win the 1968 World Series. Full name: Albert William Kaline. Nickname: Mr. Tiger. Born: Dec. 19, 1934, in Baltimore. Height: 6-feet-1. Weight: 175 pounds. Bats: Right. Throws: Right. Family: Wife, Louise; sons Mark and Michael." "Detroit Tigers: Outfielder-first baseman, 1953-74; TV broadcaster, 1976-2001; special adviser to owner Mike Ilitch, 2001; special assistant to president Dave Dombrowski, 2002-15; special assistant to general manager Al Avila, 2015-20. Hall of Fame: Inducted in 1980. Elected in first year of eligibility with 88.3% of the vote. Career highlights: Batted .297 with 399 homers, 3,007 hits, 1,582 RBIs in 2,834 games. … Selected to 18 All-Star Games. … Won 10 Gold Gloves as an outfielder (1957-59, ’61-67). … Won AL batting title in 1955 with a .340 average — at 20, youngest batting champion. … Hit .379 (11-for-29) with two homers and eight RBIs in 1968 World Series. … Became 12th player to record 3,000 hits. … Won Roberto Clemente Award (1973), Hutch Award (1969), Lou Gehrig Award (1968). … Uniform No. 6 was first Tigers number retired (1980). … Was AL’s third-youngest player at 18 in first season (1953) and third-oldest player at 39 in last season (1974)." " Milestones First game: June 25, 1953, at Philadelphia Athletics; replaced Jim Delsing in center field in eighth inning of night game. Hitting: Became the 12th player to reach 3,000-hit plateau. Second to Ty Cobb in Tigers history with 3,007. Became youngest batting champion with a .340 average in 1955. Home runs: Total of 399 is the Tigers record. Nine times hit 20 or more homers. Durability: Tied Tris Speaker’s American League record by playing at least 100 games for 19 consecutive seasons (1954-72). Fielding: Won 10 Gold Gloves as an outfielder. Set AL record by playing 242 consecutive games in the outfield without an error between May 15, 1970 and July 2, 1972. Best game: Walked, then collected four straight hits, including three home runs, versus Kansas City Athletics on April 17, 1955. Two home runs and eight total bases in one inning of that game tied major-league records." A young Mark and Mike Kaline with father Al Kaline in 1965. (Photo: Jimmy Tafoya, Detroit Free Press)
Tremendous pick. Miggy’s replacement in 2023. I’ve been reading up on him and they’re thinking he might fly through the minors.
Below is the Tigers' 60-man player pool: PITCHERS (30): Tim Adleman, Dario Agrazal, Tyler Alexander, Nolan Blackwood, Matthew Boyd, Beau Burrows, Anthony Castro, Shao-Ching Chiang, José Cisnero, Alex Faedo, Buck Farmer, Michael Fulmer, Kyle Funkhouser, Bryan Garcia, Rony García, Zack Godley, Joe Jiménez, Matt Manning, David McKay, Casey Mize, Daniel Norris, Iván Nova, Franklin Pérez, Nick Ramirez, Héctor Santiago, John Schreiber, Tarik Skubal, Gregory Soto, Spencer Turnbull, Jordan Zimmermann CATCHERS (6): Dillon Dingler, Grayson Greiner, Eric Haase, Brady Policelli, Jake Rogers, Austin Romine INFIELDERS (12): Sergio Alcántara, Miguel Cabrera, Jeimer Candelario, Willi Castro, C.J. Cron, Brandon Dixon, Niko Goodrum, Dawel Lugo, Jordy Mercer, Isaac Paredes, Jonathan Schoop, Frank Schwindel OUTFIELDERS (9): Jorge Bonifacio, Daz Cameron, Travis Demeritte, Riley Greene, Derek Hill, JaCoby Jones, Cameron Maybin, Victor Reyes, Christin Stewart UTILITY (1): Harold Castro
Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann will miss most if not all of the 2020 season due to a forearm injury. MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports that the Tigers placed Zimmermann on the 45-day injured list — the equivalent of the 60-day IL for this season — due to a right forearm strain. He was scheduled to pitch in an intrasquad game on Friday but complained of soreness and was examined by team doctors, who made the determination. Zimmermann, 34, is in the last year of a five-year, $110 million contract that has turned out disastrous for the Tigers. Over the last four seasons, Zimmermann has a 5.61 ERA and has become increasingly slowed by injuries. The right-hander suffered a sprained UCL early last season and finished 1-13 with a 6.91 ERA over 112 innings of work. He opted to rehab the injury rather than undergo surgery. As Beck notes, Zimmermann will once again attempt to rehabilitate his injury in order to potentially rejoin the team late in the season. While the Tigers are expected to be a bit more competitive than in 2019, they are still projected to be among the worst teams in the majors. Only the Orioles,. Royals, Mariners, and Giants are projected to accrue fewer wins than the Tigers this year, per Baseball Prospectus. It might seem futile for Zimmermann to attempt to come back and make a few starts for a floundering team, but he recently said he isn’t thinking about retirement. He will, essentially, be pitching for his next contract. NBC
DETROIT -- Matthew Boyd was a Blue Jays prospect dealt to Detroit five years ago after the Tigers traded their Opening Day starter that year, David Price, to Toronto. One week shy of the anniversary of the trade, it’s Boyd’s turn to take the ball for Game 1. For someone who went to a handful of Mariners openers growing up in Seattle, the history isn’t lost on him. Nor is the journey between. “It's an honor. It truly is an honor,” Boyd said. “I remember the days going to watch Jamie Moyer and Freddy Garcia and Félix Hernández over the course of 10-plus years in Seattle, thinking how much fun that would be to do that someday; knowing that I would do it someday. To do it for a franchise like this one -- we love this team, we have a close-knit squad -- every game counts the same, but it's an honor to take the ball on the first day, and I'm excited for it.” The decision was not a surprise; manager Ron Gardenhire acknowledged Wednesday that Boyd was lined up to pitch the opener. Boyd said he’d been told a few days into Summer Camp. He was lined up to pitch Opening Day in March as well, before the coronavirus pandemic forced a change in plans. Boyd’s family had just booked flights to Cleveland for the original March 26 season opener when the season was suspended. They won’t be able to watch the July version in person. “Now family will all be watching back home together in Seattle, within reason,” Boyd said. “I know they're not going to hold a big party. We've got to be careful. We have some high-risk people in our family.” The 29-year-old Boyd gets the honor after a season during which he was the Tigers’ most effective starter for the full year. The southpaw finished sixth in the American League with 238 strikeouts and fourth with 11.56 strikeouts per nine innings, and he posted a 9-12 record with a 4.56 ERA in 32 starts. He had a 2.85 ERA through his first 12 starts, a notable stat heading into a 60-game season. MLB.com
Even in a shortened season and one in which they shouldn’t contend in, I’m excited to see these kids get their feet wet. This is extremely beneficial for the tigers because they won’t overkill the players with the long season, but will give them enough work to see what they truly have for the future.
