You may not have known the name Robbie Grossman when the Tigers signed him to a two-year, $10 million deal on Tuesday. AJ Hinch knows him well. Grossman played for Hinch in Houston in the 2015 season, back when Hinch wasn't much of a household name himself.
So when the Tigers came calling in free agency, Grossman liked the idea of reuniting with one of his first big-league managers. He said a few chats with Hinch sealed his decision.
"I have the utmost respect for him," Grossman said Wednesday. "Looking forward to working with him again. He was a huge reason that I made the decision I made. We just caught up and talked a little bit about the team and our needs going forward. I’m all on board and ready to get down to Lakeland."
Generally, the Tigers need more hitters. More specifically, hitters who put the ball in play and get on base. Grossman, who led the A's in OPS last season and ranks 10th in walk rate among qualified AL hitters since 2016, fits the bill. He's a switch-hitter who does most of his damage from the left side -- another need for Detroit.
For Grossman, a swing adjustment last offseason paid big dividends in 2020. He increased his rate of hard contact and posted a career-high slugging percentage. He was on a 25-homer pace over a full season. He'll give the Tigers a solid bat in the middle of the order and a trusted glove in the outfield. He hasn't made an error since June of 2018.
"On the baseball side, I’m just going to be myself. Continue to get better and put up quality at-bats," he said. "But more so on the clubhouse side, I’ve been around a lot of young guys, a lot of young teams, a couple rebuilding teams and I’ve been around winning cultures. I know what it's like coming to the field every day and expecting to win."
That's the mindset Hinch is aiming to instill in the Tigers this season. The same mindset he instilled in the Astros in 2015 when he took over a team with the most losses in baseball over the prior four seasons and loads of young talent. (Sound familiar?) Hinch led Houston to the playoffs that year and then the World Series title two years later.
"Going forward, you’re going to see how smart and witty and knowledgeable he is about baseball. How he can connect to players and talk to players. How he brings a culture himself of just going about his business. It's second to none," Grossman said. "Couldn’t be more excited."
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The Tigers made Grossman a priority in free agency. He's the first player they've signed to a multi-year contract since 2016. He's not here to be flipped at the deadline. He's here to help this team win and help this team grow, as he continues to grow himself.
"They were very aggressive and let me know that I was a guy they really wanted. That meant a lot to me," he said. "Now it’s my job to go out there and earn it."