WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 How are the Tigers going to use Justin Verlander 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:05.559 this season? This is kind of a big, it's kind 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:07.500 of a big deal, a heartwarming little story to 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:11.800 start things off. Yeah, life truly does go full 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:14.240 circle and you can go home again. I think he 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.420 is going to be the fifth starter. I think he 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:20.460 is going to be a mentor in the locker room to 00:00:20.460 --> 00:00:23.379 a lot of these young pitchers, the sage veteran 00:00:23.379 --> 00:00:26.059 that they can lean on. Don't think his impact 00:00:26.059 --> 00:00:28.539 will truly be felt though until probably all 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:32.759 -star break maybe after that But again a great 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:35.039 signing by the Tigers especially deferring the 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:37.920 money to 2030 because who the heck knows what's 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:43.219 gonna happen at that point in time You're listening 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:47.159 to the litter box a Detroit Tigers podcast with 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:54.450 your hosts Chet West and Bill Patterson Welcome 00:00:54.450 --> 00:00:57.570 back, Tigers fans, to another episode of the 00:00:57.570 --> 00:01:00.469 Litterbox, Detroit Tigers podcast. We have news 00:01:00.469 --> 00:01:02.149 coming in hot and heavy to the point where Bill 00:01:02.149 --> 00:01:04.609 and I have barely been able to put the microphone 00:01:04.609 --> 00:01:07.329 down over the last couple of days. The Detroit 00:01:07.329 --> 00:01:11.209 Tigers are bringing back A1 Justin Verlander. 00:01:11.409 --> 00:01:14.030 Home sweet home for Justin. Looks like he's going 00:01:14.030 --> 00:01:16.730 to cap his career off here in Detroit. We're 00:01:16.730 --> 00:01:19.109 going to discuss that, the ramifications it may 00:01:19.109 --> 00:01:21.709 have on our pitching staff, on our young pitchers 00:01:21.709 --> 00:01:25.390 and players. We'll discuss the injury to Reese 00:01:25.390 --> 00:01:27.950 Olsen and the news we got that he will be out 00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:32.769 for the season. And we will touch on Dylan Dingler's 00:01:32.769 --> 00:01:36.650 elbow cleanup procedure, which caught a few of 00:01:36.650 --> 00:01:38.269 us by surprise. And then we're going to touch 00:01:38.269 --> 00:01:40.569 on the spring training roster for you and get 00:01:40.569 --> 00:01:43.310 you ready for things. Today is reporting day 00:01:43.310 --> 00:01:45.750 for pitchers and catchers. Let's get things going. 00:01:46.390 --> 00:01:49.519 Bill, talk to me about your feelings. Want to 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:52.140 know how elated you are with the Justin Verlander 00:01:52.140 --> 00:01:55.560 signing? It's great I mean given that we're not 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:58.500 expecting him to be anything more than the fifth 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:00.640 starter what the Tigers have done is they're 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:03.680 taking a page from the Los Angeles Dodgers playbook 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:07.340 chat and That is you can no longer go into a 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:09.879 season with five starting pitchers. It's too 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:13.110 taxing hitters are too good And with pitchers 00:02:13.110 --> 00:02:15.930 throwing spin rates the way they do, arms are 00:02:15.930 --> 00:02:18.050 gonna go down, guys are gonna get hurt, they're 00:02:18.050 --> 00:02:20.370 gonna get developed blisters, ailments. Look 00:02:20.370 --> 00:02:22.889 at what happened last year between Jobe and Olsen. 00:02:23.250 --> 00:02:25.889 We utilized like 40 starting pitchers last year 00:02:25.889 --> 00:02:29.289 and that's not even counting the chaos. So having 00:02:29.289 --> 00:02:33.270 eight starters is somewhat we're kind of counting 00:02:33.270 --> 00:02:35.289 right now. We're having to go pretty deep on 00:02:35.289 --> 00:02:37.340 that. It's a good thing, Chet. You can never 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:39.080 have enough pitching. You can never have enough 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:40.560 pitching. And I'm going to say it one more time. 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:43.479 You can never have enough pitching. So if the 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:46.800 Tigers don't get the bats that we are hoping 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.740 they need from within, guess what? They can make 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:53.639 a move in June. They can make a move in July 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.139 and pick up somebody either as a rental or as 00:02:57.139 --> 00:03:00.310 a long term. And quite frankly, You know, for 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:02.990 those out there that were upset by the Tigers 00:03:02.990 --> 00:03:07.030 not signing Bo Bichette, I think the two signings 00:03:07.030 --> 00:03:10.569 between Valdez and Verlander are a much better 00:03:10.569 --> 00:03:13.689 use of resources and lead me to believe that 00:03:13.689 --> 00:03:16.710 the Tigers are all in for this season. Does that 00:03:16.710 --> 00:03:19.189 mean it's going to happen? Chet, nobody knows, 00:03:19.229 --> 00:03:22.169 but we can certainly hope. And I do think there's 00:03:22.169 --> 00:03:24.930 a step in the right direction. For sure. I think 00:03:24.930 --> 00:03:28.919 this team's floor is making it one Step further 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:30.860 than they have made it the last two seasons. 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:33.939 I expect them to be contenders in the American 00:03:33.939 --> 00:03:38.500 League I expect them to be in the ALCS and we'll 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:40.819 see how the chips fall We just don't know but 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:43.520 the pitching not only starting in those eight 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:46.099 starters chat But also the bullpen depth that's 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:49.699 been accumulated the 4h chat. We're looking good 00:03:49.870 --> 00:03:54.169 Looking great. I am so I think I'm in your camp 00:03:54.169 --> 00:03:56.509 on verlander I don't know what to really expect 00:03:56.509 --> 00:03:59.210 what we're gonna get from last year with the 00:03:59.210 --> 00:04:02.770 Giants He had a really rough start to his to 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:05.949 his campaign there But then in the last half 00:04:05.949 --> 00:04:07.729 of the season, I would have loved to have had 00:04:07.729 --> 00:04:10.590 him on our roster So the Giants were neck -and 00:04:10.590 --> 00:04:13.210 -neck with the Padres trying to gun for a playoff 00:04:13.210 --> 00:04:16.870 spot They were his last 13 starts. He had a sub 00:04:16.870 --> 00:04:21.740 -270 light out he was going seven innings almost 00:04:21.740 --> 00:04:26.160 routinely exactly and he was he became call him 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:29.819 a horse in that rotation but he was he was much 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:32.279 better than they probably would have expected 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:34.930 him to be at all throughout the season The first 00:04:34.930 --> 00:04:37.430 half was rough. There's no there's no discounting 00:04:37.430 --> 00:04:39.910 that I get over a five ERA and no wins for like 00:04:39.910 --> 00:04:42.629 the entire first half of the season. But he did 00:04:42.629 --> 00:04:44.990 pull it around and gave us some vintage looking 00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:46.649 Verlander out there for the second half of the 00:04:46.649 --> 00:04:49.230 season. I'm only hoping we can see some of that 00:04:49.230 --> 00:04:52.250 this year. I think he's going to get used as 00:04:52.250 --> 00:04:55.550 more of a swing guy. more than likely depending 00:04:55.550 --> 00:04:57.689 on injuries you never know but i think he's gonna 00:04:57.689 --> 00:05:00.269 get used as more of a swing guy maybe a long 00:05:00.269 --> 00:05:03.290 middle relief guy maybe a guy who spots starts 00:05:03.290 --> 00:05:06.129 for people on days when they need it something 00:05:06.129 --> 00:05:09.149 along those lines one more to add go i think 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:13.790 he's gonna be a home start specialist interesting 00:05:13.790 --> 00:05:16.829 and so if i guess when you talk about him pitching 00:05:16.829 --> 00:05:19.910 long relief that goes Against the counter intuition 00:05:19.910 --> 00:05:22.250 that you and I have said that like chaos is dead. 00:05:22.250 --> 00:05:24.569 We're not gonna do that We've sure graduated 00:05:24.569 --> 00:05:27.449 from that which we all hope is true I think that 00:05:27.449 --> 00:05:29.850 they are gonna pitch him almost exclusively at 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:33.310 Comerica as much as they can I mean, well, can 00:05:33.310 --> 00:05:36.850 I explain why? Yeah, go ahead I mean dust off 00:05:36.850 --> 00:05:39.170 your verlander jersey. The place is gonna be 00:05:39.170 --> 00:05:41.889 packed. It's gonna be electric So you think he 00:05:41.889 --> 00:05:44.209 needs that extra emotional boost to get himself 00:05:44.209 --> 00:05:47.779 going for gay? No But think about where he pitched 00:05:47.779 --> 00:05:52.259 the last 13 starts. I believe that more than, 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:55.699 well, two thirds of those were at Oracle or wherever 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:57.500 they're calling AT &T. He needs a pitcher's park. 00:05:57.500 --> 00:05:59.319 He needs a pitcher's park. That's all I'm saying. 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:02.980 He couldn't. I get it. Pitch in Houston any longer. 00:06:03.100 --> 00:06:05.199 So go ahead. We'll see how he goes. We'll see 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:08.199 how he goes So we were we touched on injury issues 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:09.959 there, right? We talked about when could verlander 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:13.420 get slotted in well within about 24 hours of 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:15.500 getting the verlander news We get Reese Olsen 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:18.759 news that he has now shut down for the 2026 season. 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:21.319 This disappoints me I really liked Reese Olsen. 00:06:21.339 --> 00:06:24.139 I really wanted to see him make a comeback this 00:06:24.139 --> 00:06:28.399 year and get in some pitching It does open things 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:32.100 up for my guy Melton in this rotation. It does 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:34.620 open things up to possibly see somebody like 00:06:34.620 --> 00:06:36.920 a Ty Madden in spring trading, even though he's 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:39.339 being projected for the pen. He was at one point 00:06:39.339 --> 00:06:42.160 in time, quite the prospect, with a great arm. 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:44.939 He did show some stuff when he came up. So we'll 00:06:44.939 --> 00:06:47.019 see what happens. What do you think of the Rhys 00:06:47.019 --> 00:06:49.920 Olsen stuff? I mean, is this is Rhys Olsen? Are 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:51.720 we ever going to see him pitch for the Tigers 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:54.819 again? Great question. Don't have an answer for 00:06:54.819 --> 00:06:57.100 you. What frustrates me about this is not the 00:06:57.100 --> 00:07:00.100 injury itself. The fact that he could have had 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:02.759 the surgery last October doesn't change anything. 00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:05.439 He still would have missed this season It's pretty 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.540 intensive shoulder surgery from what I've read, 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:11.319 but he decided to try to rehab it and now that 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:14.829 really puts him further out, and I guess that 00:07:14.829 --> 00:07:16.970 bothers me given that now we know the Tigers 00:07:16.970 --> 00:07:19.069 are all in to win. Sure. What are your thoughts 00:07:19.069 --> 00:07:21.569 on that? I'm just disappointed we're not going 00:07:21.569 --> 00:07:23.430 to get to see him this year. Yeah, I like when 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:26.250 he pitches. It doesn't sound like the timing 00:07:26.250 --> 00:07:28.649 of this surgery is going to put him back any 00:07:28.649 --> 00:07:30.389 more than he would have if he had it last October. 00:07:30.569 --> 00:07:31.910 He's missing the season, he's missing the season. 00:07:32.129 --> 00:07:34.370 Exactly. So I'm just more disappointed we aren't 00:07:34.370 --> 00:07:37.009 going to get to see him. It does. Let's be honest, 00:07:37.250 --> 00:07:41.160 the signings for Framber The signings with Verlander 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:43.519 do soften that blow a little bit. Imagine if 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:45.379 we hadn't signed those two guys and you found 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:46.879 out Reese Olson wasn't going to be pitching. 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:49.300 Then you're sitting there saying, OK, now we're 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:51.800 now we're looking at Keiter Montero right off 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:53.939 the bat and the season starts. Now we're looking 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:57.480 at chaos when the season starts. Becoming the 00:07:57.480 --> 00:08:00.839 best Korea Super League baseball fan, trying 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:03.759 to scour around where our next right hander is 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.360 going to grab another Drew Anderson or something 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:10.819 off the heap. Exactly. I am I'm I'm less disappointed 00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:13.860 or I should say I'm more disappointed. He won't 00:08:13.860 --> 00:08:15.459 be playing this year because I wanted to see 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:18.779 him. But I'm not as concerned based on what we 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:22.160 have in the till. And there are rumors, there's 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:26.040 rumors that the Tigers may not be done. Chris 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:28.879 Bassett may be in their plans for the right price. 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:30.839 People are saying they're still kicking the tires 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:34.220 on some starters. We'll see what happens. Nothing's 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:38.059 developed quite yet that we know for sure. Now, 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:40.279 I want to get to another injury bit of injury 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:44.220 news. Dylan Dingler. Dylan Dingler is going to 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:47.379 hit Dingers, but he had to have his elbow cleaned 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:50.259 out. He's had this done before. He's got a great 00:08:50.259 --> 00:08:53.379 arm. I mean, if he's had it done before and he 00:08:53.379 --> 00:08:55.480 performs as well as he does now and he's having 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.159 it done again, I'm hoping it's some preventative 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.779 maintenance that he's been advised to do on a 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:04.580 periodic basis. Now. I know you have concerns 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:06.740 about this because if he's had it once he's heading 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:09.519 into having it again When is elbow surgery gonna 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:11.600 happen? When is Dylan Dingler going to become 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:14.120 a first baseman instead of a catcher? I don't 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:15.620 know if that'll ever happen. But where do you 00:09:15.620 --> 00:09:18.379 put him after that other than DH? What are your 00:09:18.379 --> 00:09:21.480 thoughts on this whole thing? I don't share your 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.440 Optimism that it's just a cleanup. I feel like 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:27.710 anytime you're having a second Cleanup or surgery 00:09:27.710 --> 00:09:31.070 and again, I'm not a elbow surgeon. It just concerns 00:09:31.070 --> 00:09:33.730 me It also the timing and everything concerns 00:09:33.730 --> 00:09:35.809 me a little bit as well It seems like the last 00:09:35.809 --> 00:09:38.809 two weeks chat we get good news and it's like 00:09:38.809 --> 00:09:41.490 hey chat I got your surprise birthday present. 00:09:41.490 --> 00:09:44.940 It's on your front step And then the neighbor's 00:09:44.940 --> 00:09:47.740 kids come over and put flaming dog poop in a 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:49.960 bag, you know, next to it. And, you know, so 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:51.940 you get a little bit of both heaven and hell, 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:53.980 whatever you want to say. They say he's going 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:56.860 to be ready by opening day. OK, so that would 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:01.100 be a non -issue. But but. I will focus a little 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:02.740 more on some of the catchers we have in spring 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:06.600 training like Joshua Roseno, Theron Lorenzo, 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:10.080 you know, Tomas Nido may end up being on the 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.080 team after all to begin the season. We'll see 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.480 how this thing goes. We don't know that this 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:17.000 is going to keep them out for any extended period. 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:19.580 But the starting pitcher was announced by A .J. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:21.500 Hinche and that is going to be Tarek Schubel 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:25.320 in San Diego on the 26th of March. That sounds 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:29.970 right. I fully expect our mustached friend, Jake 00:10:29.970 --> 00:10:35.830 the Snake Rogers in San Diego. All right. OK. 00:10:36.129 --> 00:10:39.129 All right. OK. So we've gotten through that bit 00:10:39.129 --> 00:10:41.549 of news. Let's talk a little about our spring 00:10:41.549 --> 00:10:44.370 training roster, Bill Chet. The exciting news 00:10:44.370 --> 00:10:47.210 about the 67 gentlemen that are going to be in 00:10:47.210 --> 00:10:52.330 Lakeland, Florida, starting just on the 15th. 00:10:52.389 --> 00:10:54.649 Left handed pitchers, we've got 11 of them in 00:10:54.649 --> 00:10:58.149 my Pick to click chat only because of his name 00:10:58.149 --> 00:11:02.990 is the first one on this list and manual de Jesus 00:11:02.990 --> 00:11:06.990 Sean Gunther Tyler Holton Bailey horn Brant Herter 00:11:06.990 --> 00:11:12.649 Jake Miller Connor Pinkleton Brian Sammons Turk 00:11:12.649 --> 00:11:15.950 Scoobel Drew Summers and of course the newest 00:11:15.950 --> 00:11:19.490 well second newest tiger Framper Valdez check 00:11:19.490 --> 00:11:22.799 who excites you from the left -handed Stance. 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:26.940 I don't know if and manual day Jesus is my pick 00:11:26.940 --> 00:11:30.100 to click He's not he's not on the 40 man, but 00:11:30.100 --> 00:11:33.820 I'm gonna call him any from now on Because and 00:11:33.820 --> 00:11:37.259 manual is a mouthful like you've got three of 00:11:37.259 --> 00:11:39.419 the four eighth club here between Holton horn 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:44.539 and her Okay, I like that. I am gonna say I'm 00:11:44.539 --> 00:11:49.279 expecting a big season out of Tyler Holton. I 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:52.460 have a feeling we're gonna see him Quite often, 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:54.960 maybe towards that setup or back end. I know 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.200 we've got a much, much improved back end. I mean, 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:00.019 Tyler might be. Tyler was our setup guy basically 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.100 last year. He might be in the sixth inning or 00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:05.139 the, you know, to just keep us in a game or something. 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:06.980 I don't know how they're going to use him now. 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:10.059 Is he still a setup guy to you? I think he's 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:13.360 going to be the hold master, which the hold master. 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:17.100 Yes. Okay. Holton, the hold master. And he's 00:12:17.100 --> 00:12:20.480 going to lean on his other 4 -H club gentlemen 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:24.340 to set him up. Yeah. To set him to hold. I think 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:26.460 he is just going to get us through the sixth, 00:12:26.500 --> 00:12:29.279 seventh and eighth innings on rough days and 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:32.679 turn it over to Will Vest and some other studs 00:12:32.679 --> 00:12:34.220 that we're going to talk about here. Let me throw 00:12:34.220 --> 00:12:35.879 those at you. Let me throw the right handers 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:37.840 at you. I would appreciate that. We've got the 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:40.340 recently signed Drew Anderson for one year and 00:12:40.340 --> 00:12:43.879 seven million dollars out of the KBO. Phil Bickford, 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:48.970 Bo Brischke. Dugan Darnell, Scott Efros of former 00:12:48.970 --> 00:12:52.789 Chicago Cub fame, Kyle Finnegan, Jack Flaherty, 00:12:53.070 --> 00:12:56.250 Sawyer Gibson Long, Brennan Hannafee, Kenley 00:12:56.250 --> 00:13:00.169 Jansen, Jackson Jobe, Jack Little, Ty Madden, 00:13:00.490 --> 00:13:03.710 Tyler Madison, Troy Melton. You've got Casey 00:13:03.710 --> 00:13:07.590 Mize, Kyder Montero, Ree Solson. Dylan Smith, 00:13:07.909 --> 00:13:11.230 Justin Verlander, Will Vest, a couple other guys 00:13:11.230 --> 00:13:12.769 that have been invited. I'm not going through 00:13:12.769 --> 00:13:15.429 the whole list, but Bill, we got 28 right -handed 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:18.970 pitchers in camp right now. We have 11 lefties. 00:13:19.370 --> 00:13:22.950 That sticks out. Who's pooping that large right 00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:25.169 -handed batch there are you excited to see this 00:13:25.169 --> 00:13:28.029 year? Outside of the usual suspects. I'm going 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:31.809 to say that I think Kyder Montero is going to 00:13:31.809 --> 00:13:35.990 be given every opportunity to pitch in some capacity 00:13:35.990 --> 00:13:38.330 this year. Whether he takes advantage of that 00:13:38.330 --> 00:13:41.289 opportunity is a totally different story chat. 00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:45.850 However, we know that certain starting pitchers 00:13:45.850 --> 00:13:48.690 last year, looking at you, Jack Flaherty, were 00:13:48.690 --> 00:13:52.129 not as reliable game to game as they probably 00:13:52.129 --> 00:13:54.230 should have been for the contract that was signed. 00:13:54.669 --> 00:13:58.360 If that happens and let's just say Troy Melton's 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:01.059 not ready. I hope that's not the case. It could 00:14:01.059 --> 00:14:03.940 mean that Kyder Montero gets, you know. Yep. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:08.259 It's a nice backup to have, right? You just don't 00:14:08.259 --> 00:14:10.279 want him starting all the time. You don't want 00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:12.340 to go and plan for him to be in the top five. 00:14:12.620 --> 00:14:14.759 And I did throw Reese Olson in there by accident 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:16.399 as I'm reading through my list. He is not going 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:18.259 to be there, obviously. We talked about that. 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:21.360 But as we move on, I'm excited for that back 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:24.480 end. I'm excited for Jansen. Finnegan invest. 00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:26.799 That's going to be a great change. Yeah. That's 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:29.039 the big thing. I think that I'm most excited 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:32.600 about as well is just how they're deployed. We 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:36.139 since AJ's been here, we really haven't had the 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:39.460 pure starter 4 -H club. Let's just hypothetically 00:14:39.460 --> 00:14:43.019 say set up and then move it to one of the guys 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:46.080 who shot it down. Yeah. And so I'm excited to 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.980 see how that plays out this year. Let's talk 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:52.179 about catchers chat. We talked about Dylan Dingler 00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:55.200 and his injury. We've also got Jose Berseno, 00:14:55.720 --> 00:15:00.700 we've got Feiron Lorenzo, Tomas Nido. If he makes 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:04.919 this roster, I will be dumbfounded. Yeah. The 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:08.960 aforementioned Mustachio, Jake Rogers, and Eduardo 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:12.799 Valencia. Anything there that you want to comment 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:16.360 on, any picks to click? In theory, you've got 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:18.820 four of those guys on the 40 man in Dingler, 00:15:18.980 --> 00:15:24.179 Lorenzo, Rogers, and Valencia. I don't see, I'm 00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:26.259 assuming, assuming, and I know you don't like 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:28.279 this, the Dingler is gonna be ready opening day. 00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:31.039 I'm assuming it's Dingler Rogers and we're running 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:35.899 that back, right? Wouldn't mind seeing Lorenzo 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:38.740 pick it up this year and possibly get some playing 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:42.340 time. I think that we are gonna see a catcher 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:45.730 trade before - You think so? Before - Okay. Okay, 00:15:46.029 --> 00:15:48.470 okay. All right. Yeah four catchers on the 40 00:15:48.470 --> 00:15:50.710 man's a lot I mean that's you know, and then 00:15:50.710 --> 00:15:52.809 you got two other guys who are viable options 00:15:52.809 --> 00:15:56.210 there potentially and one that is Tracking as 00:15:56.210 --> 00:15:58.889 a top one our prospect in Bersagno who should 00:15:58.889 --> 00:16:01.659 be there So exactly. I mean, the only guy that's 00:16:01.659 --> 00:16:04.639 really like a true Crash Davis career. Yeah. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:07.840 Minor leaguer is Tomas Nido. Yeah. But he was 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:09.740 so great last year that, like, we're all cheering 00:16:09.740 --> 00:16:12.179 for him. He was pretty good, right? Well, I mean, 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:15.100 just his story. Yeah, yeah. No, I get it. So 00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:17.379 infielders, let's jump over to these infielders. 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:21.639 Matt Sanderson, Javier Baez, Trey Cruz, Jace 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:25.259 Young, Colt Keith, Howie Lee, Kevin McGonigal, 00:16:25.700 --> 00:16:30.399 Zach McKinstry, John Peck. Trey Sweeney Spencer 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.279 Torkel sending Gleyber Torres. I am most excited 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:37.399 I think for the obvious which is let's see what 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:40.179 Max Anderson and Kevin McGonigal can do I hope 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:42.980 one of the two makes the big league roster coming 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:45.940 out of this if the Tigers are in it to win it 00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:50.139 and One of those two showing any life in at bats 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.539 Let's not ignore service time and all that. I 00:16:53.539 --> 00:16:55.340 don't think they're going to do that, Bill. They're 00:16:55.340 --> 00:16:58.159 going to look at service time. McGonigal's not 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:00.779 coming out of spring training. He'll be like 00:17:00.779 --> 00:17:02.679 third week of April or whatever it takes to get 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:04.839 him around the service time. I'm not saying that 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:06.819 that's what's going to happen. What I'm saying 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:09.880 is what I'd like to see happen. Now, the other 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:12.279 part of that, Chet, is Max Anderson and Kevin 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:16.200 McGonigal need to earn that. So let me flip this 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:18.079 a little bit to something that I think we can 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:20.829 both agree on. I think the player under the most 00:17:20.829 --> 00:17:23.349 scrutiny is going to be Jace Young. I think this 00:17:23.349 --> 00:17:26.410 is his final. It's his Waterloo, if you want 00:17:26.410 --> 00:17:28.849 to use that. I think Jace Young and possibly 00:17:28.849 --> 00:17:31.230 Trey Sweeney are going to get hard looks this 00:17:31.230 --> 00:17:33.950 spring as to whether they're ready to go or if 00:17:33.950 --> 00:17:36.630 they're, you know, going to get dropped off at 00:17:36.630 --> 00:17:39.670 the next stop. Exactly. Can I move over to outfield 00:17:39.670 --> 00:17:41.690 or is there anything? Fire it up. All right. 00:17:41.750 --> 00:17:45.150 Kerry Carpenter, Max Clark, Riley Green, Jami 00:17:45.150 --> 00:17:50.480 Jones, Corey Jokes, Ben Malgeri, Parker Meadows, 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:53.900 Wensil Perez, Austin Slater, and Matt Furley. 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:59.619 Boy. Well, OK. So Kerry Carpenter, Riley Green, 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:03.019 they're locks for their positions and aren't 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:05.980 going anywhere. We have to deal with Centerfield 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:08.819 at some point in time on this team. Max Clark 00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:12.000 is the guy, right? He's who we got coming up. 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.019 What do you do in the meantime? You know, Parker 00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:17.960 Meadows kind of falls into that Jace Young, Trey 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:21.019 Sweeney, time to prove it deal for me. He's in 00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:23.599 that same crew that's going to get looked at. 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.059 Matt Vierling, to me, is going to always be a 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:28.160 bench player. We tried so hard to make him the 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:30.119 All -Star, the incredible player that we thought 00:18:30.119 --> 00:18:32.099 was going to save the season last year and didn't 00:18:32.099 --> 00:18:34.940 really happen. Jermy Jones is my spark plug. 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:37.599 I like him off the bench. What are your thoughts? 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:41.900 I've got a funny story for you. Yeah. So Parker 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:45.019 Meadows is in Lakeland, and I don't know if you 00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:47.440 heard this today, but when everybody reported, 00:18:48.019 --> 00:18:50.359 he looked over at Justin Verlander in the locker 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:53.220 room and asked the clubhouse attendant, what's 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:55.720 he doing here? He had no idea that they had signed 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:58.240 him. There's a lot going on in a guy's life, 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:00.599 you know? I mean, he doesn't watch the news like 00:19:00.599 --> 00:19:03.819 we do. Or he keeps his phone turned off and is 00:19:03.819 --> 00:19:07.009 just - Or that. He's just working out, watching 00:19:07.009 --> 00:19:09.690 video, sleeping in a van by the river or something. 00:19:10.730 --> 00:19:14.029 Hyperbaric chamber with oxygen flowing. I think 00:19:14.029 --> 00:19:16.650 he's probably just not paying attention or maybe 00:19:16.650 --> 00:19:19.569 it was a joke, Bill. Maybe it was like, hey, 00:19:19.650 --> 00:19:22.029 who's that guy? It was meant to be laughed at 00:19:22.029 --> 00:19:23.809 and it was a joke. Do you think that could have 00:19:23.809 --> 00:19:27.029 been it? It was reported, but we'll see. Well, 00:19:27.670 --> 00:19:30.609 depending on who reported it. Anyhow, so that's 00:19:30.609 --> 00:19:33.359 your squad. That's what we have going into spring 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:36.140 training. Usually you and I pick a guy somewhere 00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:38.420 around now. I think we're going to hold off one 00:19:38.420 --> 00:19:40.559 more episode to pick our guys. That might be 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:43.519 a topic for the next episode is Chet and Bill 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:46.220 pick their guys for the season. It's kind of 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:48.640 an early time to do it, but let's let's get out 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.279 early and we'll have the whole spring training 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:52.839 sweat to go. Listeners, I do want you to know, 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:54.799 though, I do get to pick first this year because 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.829 I won last year's by picking Dylan Dingler. You 00:19:57.829 --> 00:20:00.869 did depict Dylan Dingler. I don't remember that, 00:20:00.930 --> 00:20:02.789 but I'm sure it happened. You cheered for him 00:20:02.789 --> 00:20:05.630 a lot. All right, listeners, thanks for tuning 00:20:05.630 --> 00:20:07.930 in. This is a little spring training update to 00:20:07.930 --> 00:20:10.250 throw at you. If anything else pops up, we'll 00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:12.670 be sure to pass it along. Thanks for listening. 00:20:13.369 --> 00:20:22.390 Go Tigers. Go Tigers. All right. That's gonna 00:20:22.390 --> 00:20:24.890 do it for this episode of the Litterbox, a Detroit 00:20:24.890 --> 00:20:27.650 Tigers podcast. Thanks for hanging out with us. 00:20:27.829 --> 00:20:29.869 We're Bill and Chet. We'll be back soon with 00:20:29.869 --> 00:20:32.690 more Tigers Talk. If you're enjoying the show, 00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:35.950 be sure to follow or subscribe on Spotify, Apple 00:20:35.950 --> 00:20:38.849 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 00:20:39.289 --> 00:20:41.710 And hey, if you got a minute, leave us a quick 00:20:41.710 --> 00:20:44.950 review. Till next time, go Tigers.