Detroit Tigers

LAKELAND, Fla. — Former Central Michigan Chippewa Zach McKinstry is headed back to the state. The Tigers acquired the left-handed hitter and versatile infielder from the Cubs on Monday in exchange for Minor League reliever Carlos Guzman. The trade was part of a series of moves Monday that brought Detroit closer to finalizing its Opening

The Tigers entered 2021 with low expectations, made lower after a miserable first month, then played better the rest of the way for a 77-win season. That raised expectations for ’22, then everything went wrong and they lost 96 games. This year’s Tigers should be able to find a middle ground. While president of baseball

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck’s Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. The Tigers have long been a popular team in Latin America, not just due to Miguel Cabrera but because of fellow Venezuelan greats Magglio Ordóñez, Carlos Guillén and Anibal Sánchez before him. Now,

Opening Day is upon us, and with it comes the celebration of a new Major League season. One of the biggest questions surrounding each of the 30 MLB clubs heading into Thursday’s season opener is: What will the very first starting lineup of the regular season look like? With the help of each MLB.com beat

LAKELAND, Fla. — The last time Trevor Rosenthal faced Major League hitters, he was pitching in the 2020 NLCS at Globe Life Field in Texas. Corey Seager was among the Dodgers hitters he faced, and the Padres relievers who pitched before him included Luis Patiño and Matt Strahm. That was 2 1/2 years and two

But the thing is: Those teams can survive their absences. They’ll miss those players, of course, but they can get by. Need proof? It was just two seasons ago that the Braves lost superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending knee injury in July … And went on to win the World Series. But as

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Matthew Boyd has nothing left to prove at Spring Training. The left-hander was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday night, a 4-1 win over the Blue Jays, in part to allow the Tigers to look at other pitchers competing to make the Opening Day roster. “Matt’s done everything that we really wanted

DETROIT — Lori Patterson is out to set the record straight. Patterson, who serves as the executive director of Figure Skating in Detroit, said the biggest misconception of the program is its fundamental reason for existing. “What a lot of people don’t know is that Figure Skating in Detroit isn’t just about figure skating,” Patterson

LAKELAND, Fla. — Kan Ikeda was like millions of baseball fans on Tuesday night, glued to a screen watching Shohei Ohtani face Mike Trout with the World Baseball Classic on the line. Unlike millions of fans, the action was right outside his door. Kan was in the clubhouse for Team Japan during games, in charge

Twenty-five years after a pair of lefties scaled the mound at Tropicana Field for the first game in Tampa Bay franchise history, the Tigers and Rays will again send a couple of southpaws to the hill to begin the 2023 season next Thursday at 3:10 p.m. ET. On March 31, 1998, it was the Tigers’

Opening Day starts are special, whether it’s a young pitcher getting his first chance in that spotlight or a veteran who has done it many times before. There’s the excitement, the pageantry and the chance to help your team begin the season in style. Each year, only 30 pitchers are honored with such an assignment,

With the World Baseball Classic over and Opening Day not until Thursday, you might be feeling a bit of a baseball void right now. But you don’t have to. Here are some of the games that you can check out during MLB.TV’s free preview. MLB.TV’s free preview starts off with a full day of baseball,

Speed has always a key tool for position players. It’s about to get a whole lot more important. New rules coming to Major League Baseball in 2023 — namely the ones limiting disengagements on the mound and increasing the size of the bases — are set to encourage an increase in basestealing. We’ve already seen

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Joey Wentz developed a fandom for European football this offseason, watching English Premier League games when his workouts allowed. He even caught a brief glimpse of Liverpool’s rout of Manchester United before his Spring Training start on March 5. Maybe it’s fitting, then, that his chance at a spot in Detroit’s season-opening

LAKELAND, Fla. — Akil Baddoo had such a jump from first base that the ground ball from Andy Ibañez was well behind him as he reached second base. He knew the ball was in play, so he didn’t slide. He just didn’t know where it ended up, which is why he took a quick step

TAMPA, Fla. — Kerry Carpenter put himself in an 0-2 hole by chasing a Luis Severino changeup down and out of the strike zone. He went for another changeup, but fouled it off. All Carpenter wanted was a fastball that he could handle in the strike zone. Two pitches later, he got it, 96 mph

LAKELAND, Fla. — The bags were strewn across the Tigers clubhouse, between a set of chairs and a set of lockers. One bag was designed in the style of the Puerto Rican flag. Another looked more like a Tigers bag. It was a fitting scene that marked the return of Javier Báez from the World

Spring Training presents a valuable opportunity for many players to open eyes, whether it’s a veteran competing for a roster spot, a young player looking to cement his role or a top prospect getting a chance to play in big league games for the first time. Here are the players — one for every team

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In a tuneup before his final tuneup, Eduardo Rodriguez looked as if he was ready for the regular season to begin tomorrow. That’s good news for the Tigers, who have a lot of questions about their overall roster still to answer before camp breaks in about a week and a

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck’s Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. In case you’ve been distracted by March Madness (hey, it happens), Opening Day is less than two weeks away, and the Tigers are entering their final week of Spring