Caputo: 3 Detroit Tigers Spring Training Story Lines
By: Pat Caputo
@patcaputo98
1. The health of Anibal Sanchez - The year Sanchez won the AL ERA title was an aberration. He has mostly performed like a No.3 or No.4 starter throughout his career. Last season, he wasn't even close to that before he was shelved for the season. He has had two injury-plagued seasons in a row and was hit really hard in 2015. The Tigers need bounce back seasons from several players. Given their pitching problems last year, a comeback performance from Sanchez is as important as any.
2. What do the Tigers have in Dixon Machado? He has been a solid Triple-A player, and does flash MLB ability, but is he a 4-A player or bonafide major leaguer? It's important for the Tigers to determine because if they think Machado can play, he could be worked in a platoon with Andrew Romine, opening up the possibility the Tigers could trade Jose Iglesias for a needed part. Iglesias' star has faded after an outstanding first half of last season because of injuries, attitude and performance that does not measure up well metrically.
3. Will the Tigers work more on fundamentals? The Tigers are largely a veteran team, so you wouldn't think this is an issue. But particularly in regard to base running, the Tigers have come up short fundamentally in recent years. When is the time to correct those type of issues? Spring training.
