Detroit Tigers: Baseball Is Back This Week!

Here at The Corner, we round up Detroit Tigers news and rumors around the Tigers blogosphere so that you don’t spend hours surfing the web searching.

Detroit Tigers Pitchers and Catchers report back in two days. Baseball is back this week! Tigers relief pitchers Drew VerHagen and Joe Jimenez are looking to bounce back in the bullpen. Chris McCoskey, of the Detroit News, writes that VerHagen and Jimenez should serve as pockets of hope during the rebuild.

VerHagen is no longer trying to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. Instead, he’s competing for a late-inning relief job during the 2018 season.  Joe Jimenez struggled last season on the mound, but he isn’t going to let that deter him according to Evan Woodbery.

McCoskey also writes about James McCann bringing his twins to Spring Training in Lakeland. McCann’s newborn twins had spent seven weeks in the NICU.

The Detroit Tigers are celebrating the ’68 World Series win during all of the 2018 seasons. Former 30-game winner Denny McClain is part of that team. Many fans know him as being the last 30-game winner in baseball, and part of the 68 pitching staff. But, he also has a shady side to him-including being a convicted criminal with ties to the mob. Bill Shea, of Crain’s Detroit, writes that makes him a marketing nightmare for the team.

Next: Spring Training Position Battles To Watch

With Spring training starting this week, it marks the first Spring off the rebuild. Evan Woodbery, of MLive.com, writes that the rebuild could last two-to-three years and is going to test the patience of loyal Tiger fans. Pat Caputo, of the Oakland Press, on the other hand, sees Spring Training as a great part of the rich tradition of baseball.

Finally, despite being in a rebuild The Tigers are expected to have little turnover in their 25-man roster. Beat writer Jason Beck breaks down the Tigers projected opening day roster.