Spring Training Starts Soon for Rebuilding Tigers
2018 presents opportunities for new players, new manager, and a new approach to the game.
2017 was a rough year for the Detroit Tigers. It started with the death of owner Mike Ilitch in February and ended with the firing of manager Brad Ausmus. Along the way, the team traded away some of its best and most beloved players for younger, unknown prospects. They also finished with 64 wins and 98 losses, tying them with the San Francisco Giants for the worst record in Major League Baseball.
2018 doesn’t look much better, at least on the field. The Tigers are rebuilding, and it may be a few years before they’re a playoff contender again. But as spring training approaches, the new season represents a fresh start for Detroit’s oldest professional sports franchise.
Welcome to Detroit
The players returned to Comerica Park at the end of January for their annual winter caravan. They boarded a pair of buses bound for two days of planned events with fans across Michigan. Many fan favorites were missing from this year’s tour, including Justin Verlander, Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, and Justin Upton. All were traded in 2017. Verlander went to Houston, where he helped the Astros win the World Series. Pitcher Mike Fiers also won a championship ring with the Astros, but he’ll be wearing it in a Detroit uniform this season. The Tigers signed Fiers to a one-year contract to bring depth and experience to the pitching rotation. Fiers says he knows what’s expected of him.
“And that’s start ballgames, go deep into games, and maybe help some of the younger guys,” Fiers says.
Fiers and Jordan Zimmerman have the most experience on the pitching staff. Zimmerman struggled with neck pain in 2017, which was statistically the worst of his career (6.08 earned run average, 2.34 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.550 walks and hits per inning pitched). Injuries plagued other pitchers, including Michael Fulmer. The 2016 American League Rookie of the Year had elbow surgery in September and has spent the off-season rebuilding his arm strength. Fulmer says he feels great.
“I’ve been playing long-toss, been on the mound three or four times, my first bullpen session threw 20 fastballs, letting it go, command was good,” Fulmer says.
“I hate saying this, but I’m shocked at how well I’m feeling right now, and I should have no restrictions coming into spring training at all.” — Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer.
Meet the new ace
As Fulmer enters his third season, he takes on the role Justin Verlander had as the ace of the staff. But the way Fulmer sees it, every starter is vital to the team’s success.
“I see that we have five guys in the rotation and we need all five of them to compete and do a good job this year,” Fulmer says, adding that he thinks they will. “I think we’ve got all the talent in the world in the rotation right now, and I think if everyone learns from each other, we’re gonna be pretty good this year.”
Fulmer turns 25 in March. He’s not eligible for free agency for a few years. And his talent is the kind a rebuilding team needs to become a consistent winner. It’s also the kind other teams covet. Trading Fulmer could slow down the Tigers’ rebuild, but it could also bring two or three good young players in return. General Manager Al Avila says the goal is the same either way.
“We’re trying to win,” Avila says. “We’re trying to build a winning team. He (Fulmer) could be part of that. He may not be part of that, as all the players on the 40-man roster and throughout the whole minor leagues. And every club looks at it that way.
WAR: What is it good for?
Avila knows there’s something else every club looks at these days: data. The Tigers have expanded their analytics staff, which reviews advanced statistics and metrics of each player and shares the information with Avila and the new manager. That would be Ron Gardenhire, who led the Minnesota Twins to six American League Central Division championships. “Gardy” has an old-school reputation. When the Tigers hired him in October, baseball pundits questioned whether he could adapt to today’s game, which is driven by data and metrics such as wins above replacement (WAR). The skipper says he and his coaches aren’t afraid of numbers.
“And we’re gonna be taught the way to use them,” Gardenhire says. “It used to be you sat down with your coaching staff and go over a game plan. Now you have an analytic guy sitting in there with you telling you…this is the right way to play this guy.”
But Gardenhire says he’ll also rely on his baseball instincts, especially when it comes to young players.
“I still want them to think the game through,” Gardenhire says.
“I want them to know when a guy walks to the plate that I don’t have to sit there and point for you to go over there–you know where you’re going. You know where the guy hits the ball. If you take away their instincts, that’s not good.” — Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire.
Gardenhire is still getting acquainted with his new team and hopes to know everyone’s name before spring training. Pitchers and catchers report for camp in Lakeland, Florida on Feb. 13. Opening Day at Comerica Park is March 29.
