J.D. Martinez (Photo file)
J.D. Martinez
Detroit News columnist Lynn Henning runs us through the Detroit Tigers' roster, assessing different players and coming to a conclusion most fans don't want to hear or believe:
The 2017 Tigers: It looks like a .500 club, maybe a tad better. There’s still time for a team to change complexion ahead of Opening Day. But even with a rotation that today looks as if it could be surprisingly good, this team lives in the American League Central. And as long as the Indians remain there, the playoffs likely aren’t more for Detroit than a wispy wild-card playoff thought.
Henning provides a positive prognosis for pitchers Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris, Matthew Boyd.
Not so for Anibal Sanchez, who Henning describes this way:
Anibal Sanchez: Difficult to believe he’ll go north. Tigers must pay him either way. Looks today as if he’ll exit Lakeland with $21.8 million as severance salary. Remember that Sanchez is on the slight side (barely 6 feet). The Tigers front office wasn’t wild in 2012 about a long-term deal, knowing body size, age, and Sanchez’s past ills ranked as a gamble. Tigers owner Mike Ilitch felt differently. And that explains why he was signed — just as some of those earlier fears and realities are tied to some ragged recent years in Detroit.
He also has questions about pitcher Mike Pelfrey:
Mike Pelfrey: The Tigers need a long reliever. Pelfrey could qualify, but it would require a different Pelfrey from the one on display this spring. Otherwise, he, too, will be handed a buyout ($8 million).
Here's what Henning writes about some relievers.
Shane Greene: Has too much gunpowder in that arm to fail. It’s a bit bewildering why he hasn’t been more consistent. But Tigers, properly, will wait on a guy with some of the best pure stuff on Detroit’s staff.
Francisco Rodriguez, Alex Wilson, Blaine Hardy, Justin Wilson: Good pitchers who are among safer bets to be trusted with the car keys late in a game. No serious issues, although Justin Wilson must get a second pitch going.
Henning also has good things to say about key hitters like J.D. Martinez and Nicholas Castellanos.