Lakeland, Fla. – AJ Hinch has stood here before, on the edge of the outfield grass, in the glare of the Florida sun, on the day of the first full-squad spring workout. But as Tigers manager, he’s never stood exactly here, surrounded by this type of team.
After back-to-back playoff appearances, you can call the Tigers postseason regulars, not interlopers. After back-to-back blockbuster pitcher signings on the eve of spring training, you can call them postseason favorites, expected to win the AL Central and perhaps much more.
These moments can get lost in time, with nine months of baseball ahead, but Hinch wasn’t letting this one escape. He squinted into the morning sun and explained why this could be the start of something special.
“I love this team,” Hinch said Sunday. “I love the personality of this team, the makeup of this team, the competitiveness of this team. I’ll never take this day for granted. The analogy I use is, we’re back at the bottom of the mountain, with clear goals.”
Everything seems possible and poetic in Florida in the spring. But Hinch’s words run a little deeper now, with clear, loftier goals that appear even more attainable. The roster is back virtually intact, the same group that posted the best offensive numbers in the majors for half the season, then survived a late swoon that almost cost them a playoff spot.
This is Hinch’s sixth season here, and president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ fourth. Improvement has been mostly steady – 77-85, 66-96, 78-84, 86-76, 87-75 – with crushing playoff losses to end the past two seasons. That 15-inning torture test in Seattle last October in the decisive Game 5 left a scar. A few months after the devastation comes invigoration that’s palpable here, from the corner of Kaline Dr. and Horton Way, all the way to the back fields behind Joker Marchant Stadium.
You could see it in the actions of owner Chris Ilitch, who invested more than $100 million to reinforce the pitching staff. First came Framber Valdez, a consensus top-10 starter who signed for $115 million. Then came the return of the icon, Justin Verlander, exactly 20 years after he helped reignite Detroit’s baseball flame with a World Series run. Earlier, the Tigers signed the major’s active saves leader, Kenley Jansen, to a $9-million deal.
“I mean, we brought some dawgs in,” outfielder Riley Greene said. “It’s like, whooaa. When you see it, you get excited.”
And of course, there’s Tarik Skubal, who was awarded a $32-million contract in arbitration. The Tigers could’ve tried to trade him – and still could at the deadline – but opted to run it back, for good reason. Skubal is the centerpiece of what feels like an “all-in” season, even if that’s not exactly how the team views it.
“I would reject the notion that we’re just pushing chips in,” Harris said last week. “We try to win every year. I think what these moves say is that this organization is on a great trajectory. This is the best roster we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
‘We gotta do our part’
They boast one of the elite starting rotations in baseball – Skubal, Valdez, Verlander, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize – which theoretically can compensate for offensive deficiencies. No new hitters were acquired but weaknesses were addressed, and it’s up to the returning players to make it work.
Greene and Spencer Torkelson combined for 67 home runs and 370 strikeouts (a franchise record 201 by Greene) last season. Greene, a two-time All-Star, admits he tried too hard to hit home runs, without enough regard for pitch selection or game situation.
“I was swinging at everything,” Greene said. “I worked on the mental side of things (this offseason), picking and choosing my spots. Hey, if you have two strikes with a runner on second, maybe try not to hit a homer 5,000 feet.”
Torkelson experienced a similar fate, especially during that ugly stretch the final month when the Tigers squandered a 15-and-a-half game division lead. He finished with a .240 batting average and .789 OPS, but being a truly feared slugger requires consistent production in several areas.
Hinch emphasized a return to plate discipline, drawing walks, not swinging at bad pitches. And he has a great teaching tool, because with that approach, the Tigers built the best record in baseball before the offense staggered to the finish.
“I think it only helps going through something like that, where maybe we did get a little tight, and maybe played not to lose,” Torkelson said. “I definitely think we got outside our approach the last month. Now we know what it feels like to fail, and we’re not really scared of that.”
For all the focus on the shiny pitching pieces, the Tigers actually could make their biggest leap on offense, where they finished middle of the pack in most categories – 11th in runs, 12th in OPS. Kerry Carpenter battled through injuries and still finished with 26 home runs. He came up clutch with two blasts in the ALDS but also struck out eight times.
In the fateful 15-inning loss to the Mariners, the Tigers could’ve won it any number of times with a sacrifice fly or a ground ball.
“There were times where we struck out when all we needed was a ball in play to score somebody,” Carpenter said. “Being selfless with your at bat is something I think I can get better at. I’m trying to do damage every time, but sometimes damage isn’t what’s needed. They’re spending money to make us better, that’s kind of all we can ask for as players. We gotta do our part now.”
‘Embrace’ the expectations
Experience should help, because lessons are most poignant when incurred in the suffocating tension of playoff baseball. The Tigers have won two rounds the past two seasons before losing tight clinchers to Cleveland and Seattle.
After a completely unexpected playoff run in 2024, the Tigers weren’t satisfied, but also not devastated. It’s different now. With their potentially fearsome fivesome, they have a puncher’s chance – actually, a power pitcher’s chance – to reach the World Series. They look at their rotation and believe they have a shot every outing.
“One thousand percent,” Torkelson said. “Sometimes when they make additions like this, you feel that little extra pressure of, like, now we have to win. That’s when you need to take a step back and say no, we created this standard four years ago when AJ took over and it hasn’t changed.”
Maybe the standard hasn’t changed but the possibilities sure have. The Tigers were the talk of baseball the past week, and Hinch isn’t necessarily trying to tamp down expectations.
“We’ll embrace it and ignore it, if that’s possible,” Hinch said. “It doesn’t matter today. I think our players respect (the expectations), and they respect what October baseball is like. But October baseball doesn’t mean anything in February.”
On the first full day of spring training, there was no sense in contemplating a distant playoff run. Hinch’s point, delivered to his team, was to remember how they got here, and don’t forget the discipline it takes to go even farther.
bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
@bobwojnowski
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Wojo: Tigers should embrace heightened expectations, but with caution
Reporting by Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
