Thank goodness for Jeimer Candelario, which sort of says it all. Thank heavens for a hitter without hellish numbers. Because otherwise, the Tigers' infield remains an insult to offense.
Aside from Candelario, who's riding an MLB-best 27-game on-base streak entering Tuesday's contest with the Brewers, Detroit's four primary infielders -- Jonathan Schoop, Niko Goodrum, Willi Castro and Miguel Cabrera -- are hitting .216. Goodrum has the best OPS (.650) among them, which ranks among the worst hitters in baseball.
Maybe someone on the farm can help -- and Schoop, to be fair, has been much better of late. Someone we haven't really heard of. Someone who doesn't rank among the Tigers' top 30 prospects, someone who wasn't even in the system until this year. Because have you seen what Yariel Gonzalez has been up to in Toledo?
Signed by the Tigers this winter after being released by the Cardinals, Gonzalez owns a .400 average in 14 games with the Mud Hens. He owns a 1.224 OPS. The former ranks fourth in the Triple-A Eastern League among hitters with at least 50 at-bats, the latter ranks first.
Gonzalez, who turned 27 on Tuesday, began the season with Double-A Erie. It took him six games to hit his way to Toledo, and he's only been better since. He went 6 for 12 over the weekend and he's 10 for his last 20. The man is mashing, and oh, he hits from both sides of the plate.
He also happens to play just about anywhere in the infield. Listed as a first baseman, Gonzalez has spent the bulk of his time in Toledo at third, with a couple games at second. He played all four infield positions for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate in 2019. The majority of his action in the minors has come at the corners.
Third base in Detroit belongs to Candelario, for now. But first is wide open, Cabrera's contact notwithstanding. The Tigers will continue to play Miggy because he's a franchise icon who sells tickets and because his chase of 500 homers and 3,000 hits warrants it. But A.J. Hinch can't continue playing him every day -- barring a sudden resurgence -- while trying to "win today's game" and establish a culture of accountability. The messages don't jibe.
Speaking of messages, here's what Hinch said last week after the Tigers recalled Victor Reyes following a scorching 12-game stretch in Toledo:
"You bat .400 with an OPS in the 1.100, 1.200 (range), that opens eyes to get another opportunity."
And here's what Hinch said about following through on his words as he tries to raise the standard of performance in Detroit.
"There is a bar that needs to be raised and if you don't (raise it) and we have solutions in other ways, we want to create options for ourselves. We tell our guys in Triple-A, 'Play hard, play good, open some eyes and we'll open some opportunities for you.' If they do that, the only credibility you have to stand on is if you promote that good performance," said Hinch.
He added, "You need to reward the messages that you send."
So let's keep an eye on Gonzalez, who, by the way, hit 11 homers in 56 games in Double-A in 2019 -- his last competitive season. His numbers this year aren't completely out of the blue. And with the Tigers' infield mostly in the red, maybe it's not long before Gonzalez gets his shot.
