LAKELAND, Fla. -- A year ago, Matt Manning was one of the Tigers¡¯ final moves out of Spring Training, and ended up spending most of April with the team as a sixth starter for doubleheaders and makeup games.
This year, Manning was one of the first moves out of camp. And while there¡¯s a path for him to get back to the big leagues, it¡¯s going to require some work.
¡°It got to the point where we made the decision that he¡¯s not going to make the team from the onset,¡± Hinch said. ¡°And once you do that, you owe it to the player to tell him. That¡¯s why we called him in today.¡±
Compared to last Spring Training, when Manning was partly a victim of poor luck on home runs, Manning¡¯s camp this year was an all-around struggle. He allowed eight runs on 10 hits over six innings with eight walks and six strikeouts. Manning already faced long odds to crack the roster amidst a crowded rotation competition.
¡°This year we talked a lot about his pitch usage, getting himself to trust his stuff in the zone, finding the right breaking ball, using his split more,¡± Hinch said. ¡°So it¡¯s a combination of things, but he¡¯s really just a small adjustment away from really helping us. He has tremendous stuff. He¡¯s a great athlete. He wasn¡¯t able to put it together this spring, but we¡¯re going to see him again hopefully over here in another Major League game by the end of the spring.
¡°There¡¯s little, subtle adjustments. He¡¯s not very far off. I know his spring performance wasn¡¯t his best, but as we¡¯ve always said, it¡¯s not all about spring, it¡¯s about tying it all together. It¡¯s an important year for him and for us, and I truly believe he¡¯s going to pitch in the big leagues, and maybe relatively soon.¡±
In addition to Manning, the Tigers optioned righty relievers Chase Lee, Tyler Mattison and Tyler Owens to Triple-A Toledo, while assigning fellow relievers and non-roster invites Ryan Miller and Ricky Vanasco to Minor League camp. Owens, the Tigers¡¯ No. 29 prospect after joining the organization from Texas in last summer¡¯s Carson Kelly trade, made an impression with 4 ? scoreless innings and four strikeouts, including a scoreless ninth inning during Sunday¡¯s 5-3 win over the Pirates.
Urquidy could pitch for Tigers this season
Though José Urquidy¡¯s contract with the Tigers is financially weighted towards next season, both in base salary and incentives, Hinch indicated he could return from Tommy John surgery and pitch for Detroit this season.
That would line up with the original timetable the Astros released when Urquidy underwent Tommy John surgery with them last June.
¡°We expect him to help us at some point this season, whenever his health allows,¡± Hinch said. ¡°He can attack a lot of different lineups, and now we have to get him healthy, and he¡¯s well on his way. I talked to him before we signed him, just to see where he was at mentally, and he seems to be in a really good place. He¡¯ll be on a rehab schedule and at some point during the season, we expect him to ramp up.¡±
Hinch managed Urquidy with the Astros during his rookie season in 2019, and used him as a starter in the World Series; he beat the Nationals in Game 4 with five scoreless innings.
¡°I love him. I love the way he pitches,¡± Hinch said. "I love his arsenal. ¡ He¡¯s a strike thrower, and that doesn¡¯t take away from his stuff. The art of pitching is a really strong suit of his. Who wouldn¡¯t want to add that to an organization? And given that he¡¯s trending now towards pitching this season, he became more and more of a target for us.¡±
Skubal labors some in third start
Tarik Skubal could see the seams spinning as Tommy Pham¡¯s opposite-field loft carried down the right-field line.
¡°It was going foul,¡± Skubal explained afterwards, ¡°and I could see the seams and it started to cut. It was going foul and started to cut back fair and I go, ¡®Wow.¡¯¡±
So ended Skubal¡¯s scoreless spring as he prepares to defend his American League Cy Young Award. Joey Bart followed Pham¡¯s solo homer with an RBI single three batters later, but Skubal rebounded to strike out Billy Cook to end the third inning, then fanned Adam Frazier to begin the fourth and his outing.
Skubal struck out four over his 3 ? innings. He compiled 11 swinging strikes over 63 pitches, a near-even mix of fastballs, sinkers, sliders and changeups.
¡°I think it was a good work day,¡± Skubal said. ¡°Did I have my best stuff or best execution by any means? I think it¡¯s pretty clear to say no. But in terms of a work day, I think it was really beneficial to work out of the stretch, to continue to make pitches, to pitch into the fourth inning, and make pitches when you¡¯re tired.¡±