On this week’s Detroit Tigers Woodward notes, Scott Harris addresses a need for a lefty in the bullpen, manager A.J. Hinch speaks on the newest Tigers and there’s a new manager in Toledo and more.

President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris, while speaking to the media on Saturday, alluded to the Tigers making a small move to add another lefty to the bullpen. With Tyler Alexander as the only lefty in the bullpen, Detroit signed veteran Chasen Shreve to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Last season for the Mets, he allowed 19 earned runs on six home runs and gave up 10 walks, posting an ERA of 6.49 and a FIP of 5.01. He has bounced around between the Yankees, Cardinals, and the Pirates before joining the Mets last season.

According to Statcast, he throws a four-seamer, a splitter and a slider. His splitter generated a 42.5% whiff rate, which put him in the top 10 of the league with the splitter. Batters hit just hit .128 against it. It’s an effective pitch on righties, because it breaks down and away. However, his splits for his career, he has given up more home runs (33) than against lefties, but righties are still batting .226 against him for his career.

Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch talks trade with MLB Network Radio

Here’s the audio from MLB Network Radio with Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch on trading for Nick Maton, Matt Vierling and Donny Sands. You can find the complete breakdown we did on Saturday here. 

With the trade, it falls right into what Harris said about last month during the Winter Meetings about the philosophy changes in how the Tigers are addressing their roster needs.

“We have a lot of holes on our roster, and we’re trying to stay as open-minded as possible to any way to get better. But one thing we won’t waver on is we’re going to invest in our young players. We are going to earmark at-bats and innings for our young players. One of our most valuable resources in this organization is opportunity at the Major League level. It’s important for us to redistribute the at-bats that we created over the last month with some of our decisions towards some of our young players that have a chance to be here for a long time.

Both Maton and Vierling will more than likely be competing for a spot on the roster. They can also play both the outfield and infield, but speaking the media on Sunday, Maton spoke about his strength is playing in the infield, where he can play short or second.

Gabe Alvarez, Brayan Peña return to Erie and West Michigan.

The Tigers announced on Monday that Gabe Alvarez, who managed the SeaWolves to their first Eastern League playoff appearance since 2013, will return as the team’s manager. The former Tigers 3rd baseman (1998-2000) led the SeaWolves to a 1st place finish, a series win over Richmond in the playoffs and a spot in the Eastern League Finals.

Peña returns for his third season at the helm for the Whitecaps. He finished 72-59 last season and becomes the first manager to serve three seasons or more since Andrew Graham in 2014. If you ever get a chance to see a game at LMCU Ballpark, his high energy and enthusiasm shows when he is coaching third base.

Toledo will see a new name as Anthony Iapoce will be the new manager for 2023. Last season, he was the senior hitting coordinator with the Boston Red Sox. He spent time with the Cubs as a minor league instructor around the same time that Harris was working in their front office, so there’s some familiarity.

The voice of the Detroit Tigers is honored

Detroit Tigers radio play-by-play announcer Dan Dickerson was chosen as the 2022 Michigan Sportscaster of the Year. He was selected by the National Sports Media Association, who vote on the award. Congrats to Dan on the award!

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