Rosenthal: Tigers, Mariners succeeding with patchwork lineups, Cubs thriving at Wrigley

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The team that brought us pitching chaos last season is now playing hitting roulette. Call them cunning. Call them creative. Just know the Detroit Tigers are finding the right combinations again.

At 18-11, the Tigers own the best record in the American League. They’re 18-8 since getting swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in their opening series. And they’re 13-3 at Comerica Park, their home start since 1911, when they played not at the old Tiger Stadium, but that old bandbox, Bennett Park.

Those records are all the more impressive considering the Tigers’ injured list includes their primary catcher, four outfielders and seven pitchers of varying importance. Sure, every team deals with injuries. But few go about it as imaginatively as the Tigers.

General manager Scott Harris built his team to be deep and versatile. Less than two weeks into the season, following an injury to Manuel Margot on top of the spring-training losses of Matt Vierling, Parker Meadows and Wenceel Pérez, the Tigers were scrambling to put together an outfield.

Enter Zach McKinstry, who started every playoff game for the Tigers last season at third base, only to become the team’s most frequently used right fielder in the early going.

Enter Javier Báez, who began the season with only 16 2/3 innings of outfield experience as a professional, and lately has made regular starts in center.

All contenders need surprises. First baseman Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 pick of the 2020 draft who hit 31 homers in 2023, isn’t exactly a surprise, but he entered spring training without an obvious path to a starting job. Now he leads the team with eight homers and is second with an .896 OPS, giving the Tigers the production they thought they might get with third baseman Alex Bregman, who signed with the Boston Red Sox instead.

The Tigers seek every possible matchup advantage on the offensive side, just as they do on the pitching side. Manager A.J. Hinch platoons, pinch hits and occasionally uses his entire bench. But it all starts with the players. The willingness of veterans like McKinstry and especially Báez to stay flexible is paramount to the Tigers’ success.

McKinstry, a former 33rd-round pick of the Dodgers, figures to resume his super-utility role now that Kerry Carpenter has returned to the outfield after dealing with a mild hamstring strain. McKinstry has even batted third in a number of recent games, which will happen when you’re carrying a team-high .902 OPS.

Báez, in the fourth year of a six-year, $140 million contract, seemed like a lost cause last season, when injuries helped limit him to 80 games and the Tigers made their stunning run to the postseason mostly without him. In spring training, he asked Hinch, “How can I help the team win?” He will serve as a part-time bridge in the outfield until Vierling and Meadows return, and continue playing multiple infield spots as well.

The Tigers’ greatest strength, of course, is their pitching. Their 2.86 team ERA leads the AL and ranks third in the majors. Rarely are they out of a game. And once their injured players return – Meadows had an .840 OPS after Aug. 1 last season – their offense, 11th in runs per game, might be even more productive.

Until then, and possibly beyond, the Tigers will keep spinning the roulette wheel. Conventional, they are not. But it isn’t just luck that they’re hitting on the right numbers again.

Here come the Mariners

Logan Evans holds the Mariners’ trident after his major-league debut on April 27. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

On April 6, the Seattle Mariners’ season took an early turn for the worse. Right fielder Victor Robles suffered a dislocated left shoulder in San Francisco. And the Mariners were swept by the Giants, falling to 3-7.

Since then, the Mariners have won six straight series, including all three on a trip east to Cincinnati, Toronto and Boston. Their other series triumphs were at home against AL West rivals Houston and Texas, and over the weekend, against Miami.

Like the Tigers, the Mariners are succeeding with a patchwork lineup. The injury to Robles and season-ending loss of second baseman Ryan Bliss to a left biceps tear forced the team to recalibrate. So did the move of Jorge Polanco from third base to designated hitter, which initially was triggered by a minor oblique strain and also has prevented him from batting right-handed.

The early disruptions figured to be detrimental to a club that last season ranked 21st in runs. Instead, the Mariners are getting production from unexpected sources at a time when their best offensive player, center fielder

Julio Rodríguez, is sputtering.

Rookie third baseman Ben Williamson, an elite defender, is among the welcome contributors. So are second baseman Leo Rivas and, at least in terms of on-base percentage, infielder Miles Mastrobuoni. And let’s not forget Dylan Moore, a Gold Glove utility man last season who is second on the team in OPS.

Polanco, if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, would be second only to Aaron Judge in OPS+. Shortstop J.P. Crawford is hitting the way he did in 2023. Some regression is inevitable, but the team’s walk rate is 2 percent higher than it was last season and its strikeout rate is down 3.4 percent from its league-high mark in 2024.

The Mariners’ foundation, their starting pitching, is showing cracks. Right-handers Logan Gilbert (elbow flexor strain) likely is out until June, and George Kirby (right shoulder inflammation) won’t be back much before then. But fill-in righty Emerson Hancock is coming off back-to-back impressive starts on the road against Cincinnati and Boston. The Mariners also feature the hottest closer in the game — Andres Muñoz, who is 10-for-10 in save opportunities and has yet to allow a run in 14 innings.

Taming the Wrigley monster

The Cubs last season scored the fifth-fewest runs at home. During one series against the New York Yankees in September, with the wind blowing in, they produced only two runs in three games.

Entering his second season as manager, Craig Counsell knew something had to change. During the offseason, he emphasized to his coaches the importance of adjusting both to the wind blowing in and the wind blowing out. In spring training, he made the same case to his players.

“A lot of the offseason for me was about, where can we create advantages for our group of players?” Counsell said. “It’s kind of like a therapist. You have to acknowledge Wrigley. There are 13 position players and 13 pitchers. Every day, one side’s pissed, one side’s happy. But we’ve got to win a baseball game.”

Wrigley was at its most unpredictable during the Cubs’ recent eight-game homestand. The wind was blowing out during the Cubs’ wild 13-11 win over Arizona and their electric back-to-back one-run victories over the Dodgers. On Friday, in a 4-0 victory over Philadelphia, some Cubs players told Counsell they had never seen the wind blow in from left field that hard.

Under such conditions, team-oriented at-bats become critical. Contact is more important, capturing bases more valuable, the bunt more of a weapon. Hitters, Counsell said, enjoy playing that kind of offensive game, even if they are disincentivized to pursue it.

“When the wind is blowing in? The home run doesn’t exist. It’s baseball without a home run,” Counsell said. “It’s really embracing that. And maybe if the other team doesn’t completely embrace that, we can get an advantage. It’s the same conditions. Can we just be a little ahead of it?”

So far, so good: The Cubs are 9-5 at Wrigley, averaging six runs per game. For more on how the Cubs are adapting to their home park offensively, here’s a story from The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney.

In praise of Wilmer

Wilmer Flores leads the Giants with 28 RBIs. (Eakin Howard / Getty Images)

Nearly 10 years later, it’s a shame San Francisco Giants designated hitter Wilmer Flores is still probably best known for the trade that wasn’t.

Flores, now 33, evolved into one of the game’s most respected veterans, revered by teammates and opponents alike. He also developed into an underappreciated hitter who began the week leading the majors with 28 RBIs.

“Flo’s one of the most flexible, intelligent, prepared, and easygoing teammates I’ve ever been around,” former Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Give me my choice of right-handed hitters, give me a big moment with everything on the line — and he’s right there, shoulder to shoulder with the biggest stars in the game. Quiet assassin.”

In 2015, Flores was with the Mets, a 23-year-old, homegrown utility infielder. As the trade deadline neared, the Mets agreed to send him to the Milwaukee Brewers. News of the deal — Flores and Zack Wheeler, who was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, for outfielder Carlos Gomez — leaked out while the Mets were playing at Citi Field.

Flores, upon learning of the reports, grew visibly teary, but remained in the game because the deal was pending the standard medical review. As it turned out, the trade never came to fruition. The Mets backed out due to concern over a hip issue with Gomez.

Flores, now 33, spent three more seasons with the Mets and one with the Diamondbacks before joining the Giants as a free agent in 2020. He has never been an All-Star, never won a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger. But after a difficult 2024 — Flores underwent season-ending knee surgery in August — he is again a force.

While Flores will never be a Statcast darling — his average exit velocity is better than only 14 percent of all hitters, his bat speed only 3 percent better — he draws raves for his situational hitting.

“He’s a pro’s pro,” Giants manager Bob Melvin. “He’s such a leader on our team. The quality of his at-bats are just off the charts.”

And finally …

The Tampa Bay Rays are 6-2 since promoting rookie center fielder Chandler Simpson, including five straight road wins against NL West powers Arizona and San Diego.

Simpson, who considers himself the fastest man in baseball, is a high-contact phenom who aims to hit like Luis Arraez while offering more speed and better defense. This is only his third year of playing outfield, but he is excelling defensively as well as sparking the Rays offensively, with a .400/.455./.433 slash line and three stolen bases in his first eight games.

The rap on Simpson, 24, is his lack of power. It’s possible he will rob more home runs than he hits over the course of his career. But five of his 12 hits have met the hard-hit standard, with exit velocities of 95 mph or above. And when he makes soft contact, it actually can be beneficial because he runs so well.

Obviously, Simpson’s sample is much too small for anyone to draw conclusions about whether he can succeed in the majors. But after playing only 78 games at Double A and 17 at Triple A, he is off to an intriguing start.

(Top photo of Spencer Torkelson: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)

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