Producer's note: After recording, the Detroit Tigers optioned Jace Jung to Triple-A Toledo, which means he won't make the Tigers' Opening Day roster. Keep that in mind as you listen to this episode.
With 10 days until Opening Day, the position battles for the Tigers in spring training have heated up to the max. The Tigers have 10 of 13 position players locked in, three of five starting pitchers locked in, and seven of eight relief pitchers locked in. A lot could happen in the final week of camp, but the Opening Day roster is coming into focus with clear frontrunners in those competitions. Still, the Tigers have a lot of questions to answer as the regular season approaches.
Center fielder Parker Meadows has been ruled out for Opening Day with an upper arm nerve issue, so how long will Wenceel Pérez be relied upon as the primary center fielder? Without Jace Jung, is a platoon of Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez good enough at third base? Most notably, should the Tigers have just put Jung on the roster because of his long-term upside on offense?
Other topics include Javier Báez and Spencer Torkelson testing out new positions, Riley Greene in center field, the Spring Breakout prospect game (Bryce Rainer!), and what we saw from Andrew Navigato. Another thing: Did Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris do enough this offseason to prepare the Tigers for success this season?
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