LAKELAND, Fla. — Jonathan Schoop had to wait at home in Curaçao for his visa to be approved while Spring Training began without him. Yet the infielder, who signed back with Detroit just before camp opened, still needed to stay fresh and see live pitching so he could be ready for game action whenever he cleared protocols at Tigertown.
Fortunately, on a baseball-crazy island, he had some connections.
“The Curaçao national team, they’re going to go compete in some tournament,” Schoop said. “They were practicing and then they started playing some games, so then I just joined and just [went] in there to see some pitching.”
It wasn’t quite Major League pitching, and it didn’t prepare Schoop completely for his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday. He went 0-for-2 with a walk, a popout and a strikeout in Sunday’s 5-1 win against Baltimore, his original club. But the work at least ensured that he wouldn’t be starting from scratch to get his timing at the plate when he was finally cleared to enter Tigertown.
Schoop has just more than two weeks of Spring Training to get ready for Opening Day. Part of that will be used to get his timing at the plate. Part, too, will be to get himself reacclimated to third base. It’s the position where he started his Major League career eight years ago, and a position he might revisit in manager A.J. Hinch’s quest for infield versatility.
“We talked about it, and I’m going to play some third to show that I can move around,” Schoop said. “I can play third whenever they need me. If the team is better with me at third base, I’m ready.”
If Schoop indeed becomes a realistic option at third, the Tigers could have an infield of players who can play different positions, with shortstop Willi Castro acting as the constant. Jeimer Candelario can play either infield corner, as can Renato Núñez, though the Tigers aren’t likely to use Núñez at third. Isaac Paredes has bounced between second and third base all week, and he can also play short in a pinch. Niko Goodrum, Harold Castro and Greg Garcia can play all over.
It may seem like overkill at first glance, but it gives Hinch strategic options according to matchups.
“Our curiosity is: What is the best alignment with specific guys? If we have these four people playing infield today, and this pitcher pitching, what’s the best defensive alignment?” Hinch said. “And it might change based on ground balls. It might change based on right-handed vs. left-handed hitters. We’re not going to move guys in the middle of innings, but that’s why you may see Paredes at third and Schoop at second, or Schoop at third and Paredes at second, when those two guys are playing. And I’ve got to factor in Candy, and where his best position is.
“So it’s fun, because there’s a lot of different combos. Eventually you’ll get a rhythm to what we’re going to ask these guys to do, but I’ve got to take a pretty fast look at it.”
Don’t count out D-No
What looked like a brief bid for a rotation spot for Daniel Norris might not be finished, even though he has made just one start this spring. Norris’ three scoreless innings on just 29 pitches on Sunday made a strong impression on Hinch, who isn’t assigning the left-hander any specific role just yet.
Norris will not pitch again before Thursday’s off-day, at which point Hinch and other staff plan to meet and discuss a variety of topics, including how to use Norris over the final days leading up to Opening Day.
“Even if [Norris] doesn’t make the rotation, he’s going to be a weapon,” Hinch said. “I don’t think [being a] bulk reliever is doing him justice. I think he can still vie for a rotation spot. We’ve got plenty of time to do that. He can also be a weapon. We’ll see.”
Quick hits
• The more Akil Baddoo hits, the more the Rule 5 Draft pick can be judged not just based on his long-term potential, but on what he can do for the Tigers right now. With home runs in back-to-back games, he’s making his argument.
On Saturday, he pulled a sharp line drive down the right-field line. He followed that Sunday with an opposite-field homer off a breaking ball.
• Zack Short returned from COVID protocol with a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning during his first at-bat in eight days.
“There’s a lot of pop in that bat,” Hinch said. “No pun intended, he’s pretty short to the ball.”
• Incumbent closer Bryan Garcia has returned to camp after leaving for a stretch this past week for COVID protocols. He’s scheduled to pitch in relief on Tuesday, which will mark his first game action since March 5.