Traded for each other last year, Flaherty and Liranzo square off

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris had been looking forward to Wednesday¡¯s matchup since re-signing starting pitcher Jack Flaherty earlier this month.

¡°It¡¯s going to make for some pretty fun live BPs to watch in Spring Training when he¡¯s facing [Trey] Sweeney and [Thayron] Liranzo,¡± Harris said on Feb. 7.

Credit the Tigers for playing into the narrative with Flaherty, who was traded to the Dodgers last July for Sweeney and Liranzo. On Wednesday, as Flaherty readied for his first time facing hitters since re-joining Detroit, one of the first hitters he faced was Liranzo, the switch-hitting catcher who has become a Top 100 prospect since joining the Tigers organization.

¡°The good thing was seeing pitches from him,¡± Liranzo said through interpretation by Tigers Spanish communications director Carlos Guillen. ¡°The most important part was I secured myself without striking out against him.¡±

For a young hitter seeing live pitching for one of the first times in camp, that¡¯s a big deal. But Liranzo did more than just make contact. He had a decent fly ball to the outfield off Flaherty.

¡°It¡¯s always interesting when you get traded for someone,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°Then you come back and get to play with them and against him in these kind of settings.¡±

For Flaherty, the goal wasn¡¯t to compete against a prospect, but to focus on his own game and getting ready for the season. He emphasized strike throwing and delivery, including striding further down the mound and towards the plate. He felt himself shorten that stride during his stretch run with the Dodgers.

For Liranzo, the learning experience of his first Major League camp is going well.

¡°I¡¯m blessed to have had this opportunity,¡± he said. ¡°Jake Rogers has been on top of me all the time giving me advice, as well as [coaches] Ryan Sienko and Brayan Pe?a. Fortunately, I¡¯m a quick learner.¡±

Day 3 highlights

? Kenta Maeda will start the Tigers¡¯ Grapefruit League opener on Saturday against the Phillies, according to manager A.J. Hinch, a reward for an offseason in which Maeda put him more early work and built up his arm ahead of camp. His fastball has been around his regular-season average from last year.

? Justyn-Henry Malloy had a good morning of infield drills at first base, a position the Tigers added to the outfielder¡¯s skill set in the offseason to increase his versatility and improve his chances at earning a bench spot. He¡¯s expected to get much of his game action there for the first phase of Grapefruit League play.

? Kerry Carpenter made an impressive sliding catch in right field and a nice running grab in shallow right center during pop-up drills as he tries to make his case for more opportunities in the outfield.

? Not only was Wednesday the Tigers¡¯ annual Spring Training photo day for media outlets, it was the day that position players were measured for the automated strike zone that will be used for a challenge system in some Spring Training parks, including Joker Marchant Stadium. The Tigers will play most of their Grapefruit League games with the system.