LAKELAND, Fla. — All this stuff will shake out by the end of spring training. Shoot, by then, some new players could be added to the mix, completely throwing these early calculations out of whack.
But as we sit here today, with the Grapefruit League season starting on Saturday, it’s hard to see how the Tigers are going to piece this thing together on the position-player side.
“I think there’s going to be a little bit of a mentality shift here,” president of baseball Scott Harris said Monday. “We’re looking at our team as 13 position players.”
Understood. Not necessarily the typical four-outfielder, five-or-six infielder, two-catcher and one-or-two utility player configuration. More like Javier Báez, Jonathan Schoop, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Austin Meadows, Akil Baddoo and seven utility players.
Got it.
But Harris put a priority this offseason on finding a right-handed hitting outfielder to augment the lefty-swinging Greene, Meadows, Baddoo and Kerry Carpenter. Any manager in the game would be hamstrung by four outfield-only, left-handed hitters, unless on they were named Bonds, Griffey, Jr., Gwynn and Ichiro.
Matt Vierling, acquired from the Phillies in the Gregory Soto trade, is expected to be that guy. He is a right-handed hitter who has done significant damage against left-handed pitching (.307/.343/.423) in his brief time in the majors.
But, as we’ve seen this spring, Vierling is also very much in the mix at third base, second base and possibly first base. Does that mean the Tigers will need to carry another right-handed hitting outfielder on the roster if Vierling proves more valuable in the dirt than the grass?
Is that why veteran right-handed hitting outfielder Jonathan Davis was invited to camp?
Well, yes and no.
“There is plenty opportunity coming off the bench or being part of a shared playing-time situation for anybody,” manager AJ Hinch said. “One of the beauties of the roster we have is, there is really no decision we can’t make for every player. If we want a right-handed hitter not named Vierling, I can name six, seven, eight right-handed hitters that have the capability of playing the outfield.”
Hinch then ticked off some names: Ryan Kreidler, Zack Short, Andre Lipcius and Eric Haase. None of those are outfielders by trade. Haase is likely the Tigers’ opening day catcher. Hinch also could have mentioned Tyler Nevin, Brendon Davis, Cesar Hernandez and Justyn-Henry Malloy — all infielders who have or will be getting outfield reps this spring.
“We’re opening up as many possibilities as we can,” Hinch said.
But of that group, Jonathan Davis stands alone in that he’s an experienced and accomplished defensive outfielder, playing 171 games over parts of five seasons with Toronto, the Yankees and Milwaukee.
“Jonathan has every bit the talent to play in the major leagues,” Hinch said. “His performance in the minor leagues hasn’t always translated, but his opportunity hasn’t been opened up that much, either. We know he’s going to play good defense. We know he’s going to impact the game on the bases and he’s going to make pretty good decisions at the plate.”
Davis, who turns 31 in May, has hit just .185 in sporadic at-bats in the big leagues, but he has a 10% walk rate, which fits the profile the Tigers are seeking. In four Triple-A seasons, Davis slashed .260/.366/.419 with 39 steals in 47 attempts.
He’s never had more than 103 plate appearances in any big-league season.
“I think I’ve had to learn, you know, that I can’t make excuses,” Davis said. “I just have to prepare myself as well as I can over the year. It’s getting better, my preparation for those at-bats. For me, I was so hard on myself every time I stepped in the box and didn’t get a hit.
“A lot of times that can play against you because in this game, if you get limited at-bats, you can’t expect to go up there and hit .300 every time.”
There is no question about his defense. If you want to see what he’s capable of, Google the spectacular catch he made against the Rays last June 29 at Tropicana Field. Running full tilt toward the center field wall, he made a superman dive and caught the ball backhanded just as he crashed head-first into the wall.
Fearless. He didn't shy away from that wall and he’s not about to shrink from the roster fight this spring, no matter how the odds get stacked.
“I think competition is good,” Davis said. “Look at the Phillies. They have an amazing 40-man roster and they compete. When you put guys in a position to compete, you get the best out of everybody.”
The situation with the Tigers’ roster can go a lot of different ways. They could keep the four lefty outfielders but use Carpenter as the designated hitter, platooning with Miguel Cabrera. They could just keep three left-handed hitting outfielders and Vierling. That would set up a fierce battle between Carpenter and Baddoo.
Davis’ best shot, right now, is if Vierling stays on the dirt.
"We shouldn't overlook the importance of these five weeks down here," Harris said. "We're going to learn a lot about our players over these next five weeks. There's going to be a lot of competition in this camp and it is going to bring out the very best out of people.
"And it's going to tell us who deserves to be on the Opening Day roster."
