Tigers' '17 pick reunites with former teammate

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.

DETROIT -- When the Tigers drafted Dane Myers in 2017, the former two-way player from Rice University typed a note into his phone with his career goals. Among them was to pitch at Comerica Park.

Seven years later, Myers finally got his chance to step onto the field Wednesday … and dig into the batter's box, for the Marlins, against the Tigers.

“It’s pretty wild,” Myers said a couple days earlier. “It’s been a long road.”

Myers pinch-hit for Nick Gordon in the seventh inning and flied out to left field, then finished out the Marlins’ 2-0 win in left. The only way it would’ve been more fitting would be if he had flied out to former Tigers Minor League teammate Kerry Carpenter in right.

“He’s awesome,” Carpenter said. “I love that guy.”

Myers’ journey from Tigers pitching prospect to Marlins outfielder had plenty of twists and turns. Carpenter saw a lot of it, starting when they were teammates in rookie ball in 2019 -- Carpenter a just-drafted hitting prospect, Myers just hitting for the first time after a midseason intervention.

“It was kinda crazy,” Myers recalled of the switch. “I remember my good days pitching, I was like 93-95 [mph]. And then my last year pitching I was down to like 86-87. Arm was feeling OK, so it was kinda weird. Mechanics weren’t that good on the mound, so I think that probably played a role in it.

“I was planning on going up and asking the front-office guys if I could switch over to hitting again. I remember getting a call four or five hours before we had to go to the field, and they were like, ‘Hey, come to the field early. Make sure you get here before anybody else is here.’ And I was like, ‘I’m probably getting released. I should’ve asked this question a week or two ago.’

“But I get there and it's [then-player development director David] Littlefield and the Low-A manager [Andrew Graham] and they were like, ‘Hey, we’ve seen you hit a little bit in instructs, and we think your path to the big leagues is hitting.’”

Myers took the chance, which brought him back to Rookie ball.

“Being the [older player] down in Rookie ball was pretty humbling,” Myers said. “I remember my first couple ABs in Lakeland, missing balls by three or four feet, and [thinking], ‘I have a long way to go.’ But they were patient with me. They let me take a good amount of at-bats before I got thrown into games.”

Myers made his hitting debut on July 18, 2019, batting eighth for the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Carpenter batted second.

“He hit a double his first at-bat,” Carpenter said, “and I was like, ‘This guy’s incredible.’ He’s such a good athlete, and I liked his swing from the jump.”

Myers had a pitcher’s mentality, being able to think about how his opponent would attack him. But he needed to get the hitter’s mentality again.

“I got to pick Kerry’s brain a good amount,” Myers said. “He’s got a little bit different of a bat path than I do, but in terms of being on time and being ready for the fastball, that’s kind of the things I took from him, and I think he may have taken a little bit from me, too.”

While Carpenter and Myers were teammates again at Double-A Erie in 2021, their breakthrough season came the following year. While Carpenter used a swing change to embark on a power tear that eventually propelled him to Detroit, Myers hit 25 homers with 21 stolen bases and an .896 OPS while playing corner outfield and infield.

Myers was left off the 40-man roster, and the Marlins snagged him in the Rule 5 Draft.

“They obviously had a tough decision,” Myers said. “I remember my Rule 5 year they had a bunch of good guys that they had to protect, and I ended up not being one of them. But I can’t look at it too harsh. I know it’s a business. I know they got other guys to take care of. So it’s not too much of a chip [on my shoulder] …

“Not a lot of guys get a second chance at a career, and that’s what I got, and I appreciate the Tigers for giving me that.”

The Tigers saw Myers last year in Miami, but seeing him in Detroit was special. For Myers, looking back over those notes from his Draft day made it all the sweeter.

Said Carpenter: “He’s a freak athlete. I’m so glad he got his chance.”