A.J. Hinch and Justyn-Henry Malloy backed Colt Keith with their words. Ryan Kreidler did it with his actions, standing in solidarity behind the struggling second baseman as he spoke to a few reporters through watery eyes.
Keith committed another error in the top of the ninth inning of the Tigers' 4-3 loss to the Yankees that might have cost Detroit a chance at a series sweep and a perfect homestand to open the season. The Tigers' last two losses on either side of a five-game winning streak have swung, in part, on misplays by Keith at second.
"Yeah, I mean, it’s a struggle over there," said Keith, a hat pulled low over his brow. "I just gotta keep working to get better and try to find a way to help the team."
With the Tigers trailing 2-0 in the top of the ninth Wednesday, reliever John Brebbia induced a grounder to Keith with two on and none out that should have been a 4-6-3 double play. The ball squirted between Keith's legs to load the bases, and Aaron Judge ripped a single in the next at-bat to double the Yankees' lead.
It was all the more painful for Keith when the Tigers scored three runs off star closer Devin Williams in the bottom half of the inning, only to come up short. In the middle of the rally, Keith struck out for the third time on the day to drop his average to .171 on the season.
The cold bat is one thing. Keith started slowly last year, too, before warming up with the weather. The leaky glove is another. Keith's latest error was his third of the season and he's fortunate not to have been charged with a couple more, like when he froze after fielding a routine grounder that extended the second inning and set up a two-run double in the Tigers' 3-2 loss last Wednesday in Seattle.
"We’ve seen him be a better defender, he’s going to be a better defender," said Hinch. "He can make any play that he hasn’t made. Just mistakes, which happen from time to time."
The backdrop here is worth noting. Keith spent most of the offseason and spring training preparing to play first, after the Tigers signed Gleyber Torres to play second and figured that Spencer Torkelson would start the year in Triple-A. Then Torkelson made the team, Torres was injured in the second game of the season and Keith returned to his natural position at second. He's looked anything but natural since.
To Hinch, there's "a stillness" in Keith's defense as a result of being "a little flat-footed" that's causing regular plays to speed up on him.
"We gotta get him back athletic again, moving his feet and attacking the ball. Playing offense on defense, as opposed to letting the hop play him," Hinch said. "Sounds simple enough, and he’s going to get opportunities to make those plays."
Keith agreed with his manager's assessment that "I have to play with confidence to make plays," then added, "right now it’s at an all-time low."
The 23-year-old spoke softly in front of his locker. His eyes occasionally welled up as he answered for his mistakes. Give him credit for, well, fielding each question he faced. Asked if all the flip-flopping on defense has anything to do with his uneven play, Keith said, "I'm a professional and I gotta be ready to play second and first at the same time, so it’s definitely not that. I worked on it in the spring."
Is it as simple as a case of the yips?
"I don’t know. I think I’m just gonna go out there and keep trying to play with confidence and keep working on my craft," he said. "I can definitely do it, I know I can do it. Just gotta keep putting in the work."
The Tigers intend to give him the chance, although Torres is nearing his return from the injured list. He could be back as soon as Friday. The Tigers believe in Keith because of his bat, which is only compounding his problems with the glove. Asked if he worries about one affecting the other, Hinch said, "I don't worry about Colt." The Tigers need him to break through this season to reach their ceiling as a team.
"I think Colt is a really good player. We’ve seen this," said Hinch. "Obviously he wants to be doing everything perfectly and right now things aren’t perfect for him, but it doesn’t change my belief in him or where he fits into the batting order or on this team. Guys go through these stretches, and when they go through them at the beginning it feels like the world’s caving in a little bit. When it’s soaked up in the middle of the season, no one really worries about it.
"We have to remember this guy was really good last season, especially as he got more and more comfortable and the weather warmed up. So, no, I don’t fear what’s going on with Colt."
Keith, indeed, was one of the best offensive second baseman in the majors for most of last summer, after a brutal start to his big-league career. He hit .293 with an .838 OPS from May through July, before fading down the stretch. His defense at second was fine. Unproblematic. It's a problem now, especially for a team that's already missing key defensive players in Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling. Torres' imminent return does draw Keith's spot in the lineup into question, especially with Torkelson swinging it well.
"You just want to have his back," said Malloy. "It's tough, and he does everything he can. He busts his balls. He works really hard at his craft like everybody else in this room to be prepared for every single game that we play. So when things aren't going his or anyone's way, you just feel for them, you back them up and you know that over the course of the year things are going to turn around for him and he's going to get hot with the glove and hot with the bat because that's who we know he is. We're always behind him, and he's going to be just fine."
The Tigers are 7-5 after an 0-3 start, and just won five of six on their opening homestand. They'll take it. But they could be 9-3 with cleaner defense on the part of Keith, and he knows it. He opened the Yankees series by flinging a ball into the visitor's dugout when he rushed his throw after bobbling a grounder, and ended it by botching a ball he's fielded countless times in his life. His season can only go up from here. The Tigers will likely plateau if it doesn't.