Sarasota, Fla. – Matt Vierling was talking last week about his transition from rehabber to competitor and about the sweet difference between being sore and being hurt.
“I couldn’t be happier to feel the aches and pains of spring training again,” he said with a smile. “Going home, lying in bed and my legs are aching and I’m like, that’s awesome. At least I’m not sitting on the training table (like last year).
“Screw that. I want to hurt. I am grateful to feel that feeling again.”
Don’t look now, but the other feels are coming back for him, too. Like his timing at the plate and his baseball speed and his instincts.
Vierling ripped singles to the pull side in his first two at-bats Thursday in the Tigers’ 6-5 spring training loss to the Orioles in Sarasota. The second one left his bat at 108 mph. He also made a Grade-A defensive play in the third inning.
“For him to play with freedom is the biggest thing, where he doesn’t have a choice,” Hinch said. “He’s not thinking about it, it’s not a concern, he’s not questioning it, just let it go and play with a ton of freedom. It’s huge to get that rep this early in camp and build some confidence.”
The game was tied 2-2 and Jeremiah Jackson was on second. Vierling, playing right field, charged hard on a sinking liner by Tyler O’Neill. He short-hopped the ball on the dead run, gathered himself and threw a laser to the plate, directly to catcher Thayron Liranzo, who applied the tag on Jackson.
“He is not forgotten, by any means,” manager AJ Hinch said before the game. “Missing him last year was very underrated. It was a bigger deal than we even thought.”
Vierling was limited to 31 games last season by first a rotator cuff injury and then an oblique strain.
“I hate being hurt, I don’t do great with it,” he said. “I think it’s something I’ll ever be good at just because the competitor in me wants to play. But I learned that, like, take your time with things. Patience. I learned patience. Things will come. Don’t panic and prepare.”
He’s learned a completely new way to prepare and maintain his body’s health, from extra weight room work, to a new throwing program devised by assistant pitching coach Robin Lund, to limiting the amount of throws he makes during the course of his days.
“I probably came into spring over-prepared, meaning just the quantity of throws,” he said. “I was already prepared to make 60 throws a day. But the fact that I know all of this now has been great for me. I’m keeping track of where I’m at, quantity-wise. I feel real confident about things.”
Hinch smartly designed Vierling’s multi-positional workload this spring with arm health in mind. The first three weeks of camp, Vierling has played outfield exclusively. Next week, he’s going to work in at first base (less arm strain) and then, last, he will work in at third base.
“AJ has made it a lot easier for me,” he said. “It’s two different arm slots, two different throws. In the outfield, you can use more of your whole body. You need to get it in as fast as you can, but you still have an extra second to set your feet and throw.
“In the infield sometimes you don’t. It’s strictly arm. To be able to focus on outfield first has made it a lot easier. But third base is still a thing and I’m going to make sure I tell (Hinch) that as much as I can.”
Vierling’s value to this team is unassailable; his role and his playing time, though, is still in question.
“Every team is a little bit different,” Hinch said. “So when you come back to the team healthy, like, he’s a huge re-addition for us. But the competition for playing time, as you’ve seen, is tough. The team has changed.”
Right now, there are six outfielders penciled on the Opening Day roster – Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, Wenceel Perez, Jahmai Jones and Vierling. In addition, infielders Zach McKinstry and Javier Baez can play outfield.
On the infield, the right side is set with Spencer Torkelson and Gleyber Torres. Colt Keith is settling in at third base with McKinstry, Baez and prospect Kevin McGonigle battling at shortstop.
“Obviously, you need to fight for playing time,” Hinch said. “But Matty has a clear ability to help us, from every day to a role on and off the bench. Health is super key for him. We want to get him back in the flow of being available every day.”
Vierling isn’t holding anything back in spring. He tried to score from first base in the third inning Thursday. He slid head first into home plate, right into Orioles’ beefy catcher Samuel Basallo.
The two got tangled up, hooking arms, but Basallo, who tagged Vierling out, got the worst of it, leaving the game with what the Orioles called right side abdominal discomfort.
“It’s feeling great, man,” Vierling said. “Just getting the body tuned up, back into the grind. It’s felt like forever. I’d never really gone through that, like a couple of extended absences where everybody else is playing and you’re not.
“But I do feel like, if I just keep coming back and get in a groove, it will be there.”
Six-man rotation?
Because the Tigers will open the season playing 18 games in 20 days, Hinch was asked if he would consider carrying an extra starting pitcher to start the season.
“No,” was his immediate answer. “We’re not planning on that.”
That’s not to say it won’t happen in some form at some point this season.
“We do believe in inserting that at the appropriate time,” Hinch said. “You could see it, just as you did last year. But you have to accommodate for rain, too. We could stick a sixth starter in there and end up in a seven- or eight-day rotation because of rain or snow or cold. With the way our schedule lays out, I would anticipate a five-man rotation.”
When might a sixth starter be activated?
“If we wanted to give someone an extra day of rest,” Hinch said. “Or maybe add one strategically against a certain team. Maybe throw a bullpen game just so everyone knows it’s still a strategy. We definitely have the strength of depth to do that.”
Around the horn
Tarik Skubal, who will start Sunday in Lakeland, is scheduled to pitch for Team USA in its second game in the WBC against Great Britain. “Now that I think about it, I wondered why Great Britain scouts came to Arizona to watch me throw a bullpen this winter,” Skubal said with a laugh. “Now I know.”
… Lefty Framber Valdez will make his spring debut Monday against the Braves in Lakeland. Valdez will travel with the Tigers to his home country next week, the Dominican Republic, for the Dominican Series. But he will not pitch. He will be in ambassador mode.
… The WBC exodus has begun. Jahmai Jones (Korea) left camp Wednesday to fly to Japan. Hao-Yu Lee (Chinese Taipei) was scheduled to leave after the game in Sarasota Thursday. He was the designated hitter against the Orioles.
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Hurt so good: Tigers’ Matt Vierling healthy and hitting his stride
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
