Tigers make it official: This trio won’t make Opening Day
Evan Petzold
LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers optioned four players to Triple-A Toledo: Righthanded relievers Rony García and Brendan White, outfielder Parker Meadows and infielder Andre Lipcius.
Meadows, Lipcius and White, all recent additions to the 40-man roster, significantly boosted their stock within the organization in spring training but won’t make the Opening Day roster.
“When you come to camp as a first-year 40man player, you can do a lot of things,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who met with the players Tuesday morning. “You can move your timeline up, you can move your timeline back. I told all of them, they did nothing but help themselves.
“I developed a lot of a trust in their work. I gave them all something to think about and do to make themselves better, but I thought they showed well and handled themselves great. I can easily see all of them contributing at some point.”
Left-hander Zach Logue, expected to pitch in several roles for Toledo, has been reassigned to minor-league camp. The five roster moves leave the Tigers with 49 players remaining in MLB spring training.
The Tigers need to cut 23 more players. “Things sharpen up a little,” Hinch said. “That (clubhouse) gets a little bit depleted. The extra lockers are gone, and more lockers are open. The toughest decisions are ahead, and we need to appropriately focus on where we’re at.”
In spring training, Meadows has a .300 batting average with four home runs, three walks and 11 strikeouts in 33 plate appearances. The left-handed hitter would benefit from improving against left-handed pitchers and non-fastballs.
Lipcius, meanwhile, is hitting .273 with three homers, zero walks and three strikeouts in 33 plate appearances. The natural third baseman, who has also played second, would benefit from improving his defense at first base.
“First and foremost, we want them comfortable in our clubhouse and around the players that they can soon call teammates,” Hinch said. “We also want to never let them forget that they’ve not arrived yet. There are things for each of those guys to do to enhance their careers.”
Both Meadows and Lipcius will return to play in big-league spring games before the Mud Hens begin their season March 31 at Fifth Third Field. They’re scheduled to start in games over the weekend.
White, who is less likely to return because of the ongoing bullpen battles, has a 2.25 ERA with two walks and six strikeouts in four innings across four appearances in spring training.
He throws five pitches: a fastball, sinker, slider, cutter and splitter.
“For him, developing his pitches is going to be key,” Hinch said. “We always talk about the slider, but now, how do you make the slider better? What type of hitters are you going to use it against? How do you keep a major-league standard while you’re in Triple-A, where you can get away with a little bit more? Things like that.”
Hinch referenced White’s outing March 6 against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park. He allowed one run, two hits and two walks in the third inning. The damage could have been worse, but he bounced back from his mistakes by striking out Enrique Hernández for the final out.
It was an example of developing confidence. “They did an incredible job in camp in the opportunities they were given,” Hinch said. “The goal of this camp was for them to get familiar with our clubhouse and us to get familiar with them as players.”
Medical update
The Tigers released their medical update Tuesday, which included five players: Infielder Andy Ibáñez, right-handed pitcher Casey Mize, infielder Tyler Nevin, left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal and outfielder Matt Vierling.
Ibáñez sprained his left finger with Team Cuba before the World Baseball Classic and is progressing in his recovery, but the Tigers are bringing him back to Lakeland for further evaluation and treatment.
Cuba advanced to the WBC quarterfinals and will play Australia on Wednesday in Tokyo. Ibáñez has already been ruled out for that game. He could play in the semifinals Sunday in Miami.
“That’s one of the reasons that he’s coming back early,” Hinch said. “That’s still an option if Cuba advances, but we need to see him first.”
Nevin (left oblique strain), initially in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day roster, started playing catch Monday and is working through defense drills. He is scheduled to hit off the tee by the end of the week.
Vierling (right knee sprain) has been hitting in live batting practice and working through a return-to-play progression focused on running. By the end of the week, he is scheduled to have completed base running and outfield drills.
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