Miguel Cabrera just told me, directly, that he has no intention of retiring after this year. His plan, he said, is to finish out his contract and retire after 2023.
Tigers' TV news: Hall of Famer Jack Morris will not be part of the broadcast team on Bally Sports Detroit in 2023. Craig Monroe will be taking on a heavier schedule, working in the analyst chair.
AJ Hinch on the massive crowd downtown for the draft. "We need about a third of them to come into Comerica today before the second round. We will welcome anybody who wants to pre-party at Comerica before we party on with the NFL."
Tigers will continue to pay their minor league players the $400 per week stipend with no end date in sight. No minor league player cuts as of now, either. Good stuff from the Tigers
Miguel Cabrera on ESPN this morning: "I'm going to play two more years. I think that's enough. I will be happy with 20 years in the big leagues if I can make it. I would say thank God for the opportunity and say two more years and I'm done."
--Not new, but more definitely stated
Miguel Cabrera is 40 years old. It's his 21st and last big-league season. He's a sure-fire first ballot Hall-of-Famer. It's 1:24 p.m. on a Tuesday in Cleveland and he's out taking early batting practice. There's no expiration date on pride and professionalism
Miguel Cabrera told the story this morning about the Yankees scout who told him he would only make it to the big leagues as a pitcher. “They fired that guy.”
Miguel Cabrera was genuinely touched and overwhelmed by all of this. Incredible end to an Hall of Fame playing career. AJ Hinch fretted over how best to do the curtain call -- he exceeded any and all expectations.
Ryan Kreidler was told yesterday he did not make the Opening Day roster. This morning as the sun is coming up he is on a practice field with Spencer Torkelson grinding through infield drills. No retreat, no sulk, just keep working. You don’t have to respect that. But I do
AJ Hinch when asked about moving Spencer Torkelson down to the seventh hole: "You see him steadily moving down in the order and the next stop is next to me. We're trying to keep supporting him because he's a good player. But he's not in a good spot."
Confirming, Jace Jung also being promoted on Friday to Tigers. I don't want to speculate on who will be released off the active roster, those are real lives being affected. But, Jung and Sweeney are infielders. Do your own math.
Oh my god. Steven Kwan hits a ground ball to Miggy and he fields it clean. Hadn't taken a defense rep all year. He's waving his cap to the fans. Kids and family on the field. Teammates coming out. Holy crap. J.K. Simmons wants the screenplay for this.
Matt Manning, Jason Foley and Alex Lange chipped in and bought Eric Haase a beautiful Cartier watch as a gift for catching their no-hitter. Tradition lives on.
A true pro. Always at his locker, never ducked a question, even after some of the worst moments of his big-league career. Grew a ton behind the plate as well. He will land on his feet and be back helping some team soon. Thanks for everything Eric.
Michael Lorenzen: "The staff here, they followed through on their promise to me that, 'You're going to come here and we're going to make you better.' They did that."
The Cubs are among the teams showing interest in Nick Castellanos. They probably want to move Jason Heyward to center, add Castellanos RH bat in right. This one has some teeth.
AJ Hinch said this morning that the clubhouse in Lakeland was fired up when this news broke. Lots of texts going out, lots of banter. Congrats Zack Short!!
Zack Short said he found out he made the Mets’ Opening Day roster shortly after he found out his grandmother died “peacefully,” he said.
“It was a crazy morning,” he said. “It happened within two hours or so, when they told me at least.”
He grew up a Mets fan in Kingston, NY.
I can’t help wondering how Justin Verlander is taking all this. The guy has been one of the most vigilant and vocal proponents of a level playing field in baseball. He detests all forms of cheating. Now his championship ring is tainted by the Astros sign-stealing scandal.
Tucker Barnhart gave huge credit to Matthew Boyd for stepping up as Tigers player rep during the lockout. ‘Not a lot of guys would do that, not being here anymore.’ Boyd, a free agent, kept Tigers player informed and ran the final vote.
I asked Miguel Cabrera this morning if his relationship with Jose Altuve has changed in light of the sign-stealing scandal. It has not. "I believe he didn't do it because he say that to my face. He looked me in the eye and said he didn't do it."
How are you liking Kerry Carpenter this month? He's hit in 14 of the last 15 games. In that span:
.400/.450/.782
1.232 OPS
14 runs
6 homers
11 RBI
--Also been playing excellent defense in right field.
Can't understate how good Jake Rogers has been this year. His plus-13 defensive runs saved (Sports Info Solutions) is fourth best in MLB. He's plus-11 catcher runs (Statcast). His pop time to second is 1.91, which is what it was before TJ. Plus, elite pitch-calling.
Statement from Baez: “I’m excited to be a Detroit Tiger. This is a team that is on the rise, and I’ve heard the fans in Detroit are hungry for a winner…I’m looking forward to joining this group to make a run at the playoffs and bring the city a World Series championship.”
Eric Haase on the intentional walk: "That's a good baseball move regardless of the situation, but damn, the city of Detroit was incredible, letting them eat like that...That atmosphere was crazy."
Hilarious exchange between Martin and Castellanos on Martin's wall-crashing catch.
Nick -- "The only way he made that catch was the phenomenal communication. I directed him the whole way."
Martin -- "He didn't say shit."
The Tigers, as of earlier this morning, were still in the mix with free agent starters Michael Pineda and Zack Greinke. So, they aren't done adding to the roster just yet.
Javy Baez on getting thrown out at the plate in the sixth. "I got too aggressive. I thought the ball got away farther, but you can't be the first out at the plate. Plus Miggy was hitting. It was just my mistake."
Here's the real reason Jackson Jobe was on this trip. AJ Hinch arranged for him to meet and spend time with Gerrit Cole, who is Jobe's favorite pitcher. They talked pitching for 15-20 minutes.
Here's Michael Fulmer on Jackson Jobe's slider: “That’s one of the nastiest pitches I’ve ever seen. Watching him throw bullpens, like 3,100 rpm. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life."
Today is the one-year anniversary of Riley Greene's Tommy John surgery. In his locker was a plate of cookies from Tigers' physical therapist Duncan Evans. Pretty cool gesture. "I don't think I make it back to start the year without Duncan," Greene said.
A distinguished baseball life: Victor Martinez begins the final home stand of his career tonight. His teammates, countrymen and opponents shine a warm light on the type of player, and more tellingly, the type of person he has been via
@detroitnews
On Jake Rogers' mound visit without an interpreter, Kenta Maeda said, jokingly, "He claimed he spoke Japanese. I didn't understand what he was saying."
Matt Manning was at his sardonic best after the game. On his talk with AJ Hinch after he was sent back to Toledo, Manning said, "Yeah, I told him I've got a lot to button up before I face the Indianapolis Indians."
John Hicks on facing Kluber: "Honestly, if he throws you a pitch and it starts as a strike, it's probably going to be a ball. And if he throws a pitch that starts as a ball, it's probably going to be a strike. It's like a whiffle ball."
This is an incredible stat: Since July 21, the Tigers starting pitchers rank sixth in the Majors and third in the American League with a 3.31 ERA (130.1IP/48ER).
Gonna miss Carson Kelly. The guy overcame a lot in the last two years and has rebuilt his career. Hope he gets a playoff run before he hits free agency.
Tigers announce that Craig Monroe will be the club's lead TV analyst alongside Jason Benetti. Carlos Pena, Kirk Gibson, Dan Petry and Todd Jones will also do some games.
Cabrera: "Last week in Detroit was tough. It was the first time in five or six years I see the crowd that excited and that much energy. I was nice to see the energy back in Comerica Park. There was a lot going through my mind, like I wanted to do it in Detroit." 1/2
Javier Baez, who made his first fielding error of the season last night, just finished a pretty intense round of early defense with infield coach Joey Cora. He's also about to take some early BP on the field. Ethic is strong.
How about this for the Tigers' opening day lineup?
Akil Baddoo, LF
Robbie Grossman, RF
Jeimer Candelario, 3B
Miguel Cabrera, DH
Javy Baez, SS
Jonathan Schoop, 1B
Tucker Barnhart, C
Riley Greene, CF
Harold Castro, 2B
--Just spitballing here
Tigers rotation as we sit here today:
1. Eduardo Rodriguez
2. Matthew Boyd
3. Michael Lorenzen
4. Spencer Turnbull
5. Matt Manning
--Competing: Joey Wentz, Beau Brieske, Rony Garcia, Alex Faedo.
--To bullpen: Tyler Alexander, Garrett Hill, Mason Englert.
Riley Greene keeps raking. Seven game hit streak, hit safely now in 49 of his last 60 games. Came in slashing .336/.400/.527 in that span. He leads all players who are 23 and younger with a 136 wRC-plus. Legit, to say the least
AJ Hinch doesn't miss a trick. The lineup card that he gave to the Pirates was written over a watermark of Don Kelly crashing into a wall at Comerica when he played for the Tigers. Every game with the Bucs will have a lineup card with a Kelly highlight/low light watermark on it
I'm rooting for Jonathan Schoop. He's a wonderful human being, a class act and total pro. I think there is good baseball left in him. He had to confront his befuddling offensive struggles and losing his everyday job simultaneously. Tough duty. (1/2)