A.J. Hinch rarely ran out the same lineup in consecutive games last season. The Tigers didn't have enough talent to warrant it. Hinch mixed and matched instead, looking for the best configuration of players to "win today's game." That's likely to change this season.
It already has this spring.
As the Tigers near Opening Day April 8 against the White Sox, Hinch seems to be zeroing in on a lineup he likes -- including, yes, Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene. When the Tigers take the field against the Phillies Wednesday in Lakeland, they'll look just like they did in their previous game Monday against the Yankees.
Of note: Akil Baddoo will be in left, leading off. Shortstop Javier Baez will be hitting third -- not Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera, the DH, will be hitting fifth, a demotion that speaks to A) the decline in his production and B) the rise in talent around him. Greene will be in center, hitting seventh, one spot ahead of Torkelson, who will be playing first. Catcher Tucker Barnhart will round out the order.
Add in Robbie Grossman, one of 10 big-leaguers with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases last season; Jeimer Candelario, who tied with J.D. Martinez and Bryce Harper for the MLB lead in doubles; and Jonathan Schoop, who tied with Freddie Freeman for the MLB's third most multi-hit games ... and the Tigers have a legitimately promising lineup for the first time since 2017 when they were anchored by Cabrera, Martinez, Ian Kinsler, Justin Upton and Nick Castellanos. They haven't finished in the top half of the majors in runs scored since 2016.
Cabrera, 38, has hit third or fourth in over 90 percent of his big-league at-bats. He has not started a game hitting lower than fourth since 2008, his first season with the Tigers. That will change this season, and the future Hall of Famer is fine with it. A.J. Hinch told reporters that he talked to Cabrera this offseason about the possibility of sliding him to fifth or sixth "depending on the situation" and "and he's all-in on whatever we need to do to win the games."
"I think when you add players, specifically Báez, to the middle of the order, somebody's going to move, and Miggy's very well aware of that," Hinch said. "We had a good conversation, and then we haven't talked about it since. I told him I was going to do it in the spring to see. I like to take a look at that structure and see where it fits -- and he's all in, and I love that about him."
