Detroit Tigers News: April is here, but baseball is not

Welcome to the last Monday of March. Normally, I would use this space as an opportunity to briefly recap the weekend series and let you know what was next up for the team. I don’t have real baseball, but I do have pretend real baseball. We are simulating the season on MLB The Show 20. In the most recent game, our beloved Tigers lost to the Indians after the bullpen blew a lead. Feels just like real baseball, doesn’t it?

A healthy Miggy?

It’s been a rough couple of seasons for Miguel Cabrera. A bad 2017 seasons followed by a biceps tear in 2018, and a dreadful 2019 leave many folks wondering what we are going to see from the 37-year-old when the 2020 season finally gets under way. Jules Posner at Forbes takes a brief look at the last few years for Cabrera. An unlucky 2017, a better 2018 until injury, and a 2019 that most likely saw Cabrera’s effectiveness sapped by a knee issue leave some indication that, if healthy, he could have a 2020 that is a little closer to what we’re all used to to seeing.

New rules

In a move where the utility of ownership saving one or two million bucks somehow outweighs the burden of paying young athletes enough in bonus money to allow them to possibly pursue a career without having to live out of an apartment with 14 other people and eat macaroni and cheese for every meal, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association came to an agreement on the draft over the weekend.

If you’re wondering what this deal means for the Tigers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press has you covered. The short of it: a shortened draft, deferred bonus payments, and a variety of other changes serve to benefit owners over players. Meet the new boss.

Greiner staying fresh

When the season was delayed due to the coronavirus, the original plan for Grayson Greiner was to stay in Florida and keep working out. As the days went on, that possibility evaporated. Greiner now finds himself at home in Columbia, S.C. relying on his family to help keep him sharp.

“Either my wife or my dad will go up there with me and flip me balls or feed the machine just so I can get some swings in,” explained Greiner. “ (I) just (want to) see some velocity because once this things over and we go back to spring training or regular season I don’t want to have a two month hiatus where I haven’t seen any velocity or any pitching.”

Greiner hopes that when things clear up and baseball gets the go ahead to move forward, players should be ready to go after about two or three weeks worth of warm ups. Until that time comes, he is doing what he can to stay ready.

Dan Hubbs? Dan Hubbs!

Chris McCosky has a story on the new director of pitching development and strategy for the Tigers, Dan Hubbs. The juicy part? The forward momentum of the organization in utilizing modern technology and practice to evaluate and improve talent. Hubbs is here because he knows how that works. He also seems to be appreciated because he still maintains enough of that old school attitude to relate to others around the media and front office. It seems to be a good mixture.

Blaine Hardy undergoes Tommy John surgery

Old friend Blaine Hardy punched his ticket to board the old Thomas Jonathan train recently. Hardy had Tommy John surgery just a week ago in Minnesota. With many higher profile pitchers having this done, it has raised questions about elective surgeries and whether this sort of thing should be done under the current circumstances. In some places, like with Noah Syndergaard, the surgery has been deemed essential. In Hardy’s case, it’s a moot point. Elective surgeries were still permissible at the time he had it done.

Evan Gattis demonstrates how to be a bad person

Former Houston Astro, and very much involved member of the sign stealing scandal (remember that?) of 2017, Evan Gattis recently tweeted a picture of a mug with Mike Fiers on it that said “Snitches get stitches.” The mug is being sold by a Houston-based establishment that doesn’t deserve to be named. It would seem that Gattis gave common sense and decency a day off, and decided that endorsing something like this was a good idea. The train of dudes being butthurt about getting caught doing something wrong continues to dump coal into the boiler. I don’t know why.

Around the horn

Old friend Gordon Beckham released by the San Diego Padres. The Wilpons are still trying to sell the New York Mets, despite the effects of the coronavirus. The Kansas City Royals added Trevor Rosenthal to their 40-man roster.

Baseball is awesome