Tiger Notes: Bobby to Seay Dr. Andrews, Clete/Kelly Update, Everett Hits, So Does Verlander

The Tigers won’t make any roster cuts today, but you can expect to see another round of cuts tomorrow morning. I doubt they will be the final cuts, but several guys will head to minor league camp. Final cuts will likely come next Wednesday or Thursday, ahead of the final two games of the exhibition season, played in Milwaukee versus the Brewers.

He wasn’t yet worried about it, but last night’s first inning two-run double showed that Adam Everett might be breaking out of a long spring training slump. Everett’s never going to hit much anyway, but after starting just 1 for 20, there was a small amount of chatter that Everett might end up being cut.

I won’t say that ST numbers mean nothing, but they don’t mean a whole lot compared to a player’s track record, especially a veteran like Everett. The time I do think think you want to see results in camp is with guys trying to establish themselves. It’s a different animal than when you are just trying to get into regular season form. Everett will be fine, and he’ll hit about as well as he did a year ago.

For those of you who might have missed the day game yesterday, televised on FSD, this afternoon’s game in Lake Buena Vista versus the Braves is being shown on ESPN as well as MLB.tv.

Justin Verlander gets the start against Derek Lowe, and he’ll also get to hit, as the Tigers will not be employing the DH, unlike earlier meetings with National League clubs. Expect Verlander to be stretched out a bit more today, he should be out there for close to 100 pitches at this point in the spring.

Among the Tigers not on the bus this morning was Clete Thomas. Thomas left yesterday’s game with a bruised shoulder blade after being hit by a pitch. He left camp this morning to get additional tests, but as of now I don’t expect it’s anything that would hinder his chances to make the team after a very fine camp. The Free Press has a good write-up on Clete’s performance so far.

Don Kelly did make the trip and will get the start at second base today while batting leadoff. Kelly has shown a live bat and good speed while playing all over the field for the Tigers in camp, but I have to think he’s fighting an uphill battle for the final roster spot. Kelly is out of options though, and his performance so far will make him attractive to other clubs. If the Tigers try to pass him through waivers, expect someone else to claim him.

It’s actually a similar situation to the one the Tigers encountered last season when they traded for then-Braves outfielder Josh Anderson. Anderson was out of options and the Braves knew they would lose him if they waived him, so they shipped him off to the Tigers in exchange for a minor league arm. We could see something like that happen with Kelly within the next couple of days.

Lastly, reliever Bobby Seay is off to see Dr. James Andrews about his ailing left shoulder. This is never good news. The Tigers haven’t disclosed anything about the MRI Seay underwent last week, but Seay has said “It was never bursitis, never tendonitis. Not even close.” Sounds like he’s gonna be out for a while. Suddenly, it’s looking like a good thing the Tigers spent the winter stockpiling lefties.