The Tigers open the season three weeks from Thursday, and roster decisions abound for A.J. Hinch. Save the starting rotation, there are jobs up for grabs everywhere you look.
Hinch finds himself looking frequently around the infield. For one, who's the Tigers' third baseman? (And if Spencer Torkelson doesn't start hitting, who's their first baseman?) If it's trade acquisition Nick Maton, who posted an .855 OPS last season in limited action with the Phillies and who's popped a couple homers this spring, who are the Tigers keeping behind him?
"I'm pretty intrigued by the third base-second base battle for playing time to kind of counter Nick Maton, who is obviously someone that we expect to be on our team at those two positions and Jonathan Schoop as well," Hinch said on 97.1 The Ticket.
The only thing Hinch can say in certainty about the Tigers' infield is that Javy Baez will be starting at shortstop. The jobs at first and second are Torkelson's and Schoop's to lose, but both players are at risk of hitting their way out of everyday roles -- and in Torkelson's case, down to Toledo -- if they don't show growth at the plate this spring. For Torkelson, who's 2-16 with six strikeouts and zero walks through six games, that means barreling more hittable pitches. For Schoop, it means fewer whiffs and wasted at-bats.
Maton isn't quite a lock for the roster himself, but the Tigers certainly like his offensive profile, including his left-handed bat. He also has the versatility to play multiple spots in the infield. The same could be said on the defensive side for bench candidates like Ryan Kreidler, Andy Ibanez and Tyler Nevin. Meanwhile, Akil Baddoo and Kerry Carpenter could be battling for the final spot in an outfield where the Tigers already have two everyday left-handed hitters in Riley Greene and Austin Meadows.
In "the battle for the extra bench spot," said Hinch, "I like what Andre Lipcius has looked like, Ryan Kreidler, Zach Short, Tyler Nevin, Andy Ibanez, those right-handed hitters that can move around the field a little bit when you start thinking about how to match guys up."
Plenty of games remain for the Tigers to sort this out, and the battle behind the plate bears watching, too. Jake Rogers looks like the early leader to complement Eric Haase. By the end of this month, Hinch expects a surprise player to either "pop up on the Opening Day roster ... or somebody's going to debut in April or early May because of what they do down here."
"There's going to be some debuts that we see, particularly on the position player side, maybe earlier than we expect," said Hinch.
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