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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?><rss xmlns:advance="http://www.advance.net/rss" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" version="2.0">
  2. <channel>
  3. <title>Detroit Tigers</title>
  4. <link atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/</link>
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  8. <description>Latest news, rumors and opinions about the Detroit Tigers baseball team.</description>
  9. <language>en</language>
  10. <copyright>Copyright 2018</copyright>
  12. <lastBuildDate>Sat, 22 Dec 2018 14:05:19 UTC</lastBuildDate>
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  29.  
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  33.  
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  35.  
  36. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Latest news, rumors and opinions about the Detroit Tigers baseball team.</itunes:subtitle><item>
  37. <title><![CDATA[Which player would you rather have: Bryce Harper or Manny Machado?]]></title>
  38. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/sports/"><![CDATA[Michigan Sports]]></source>
  39. <description>
  42. <![CDATA[
  46. <p>
  47. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are the biggest names in this year&apos;s MLB free agency market.
  49. </p>
  52. <p>Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are the biggest names in this year's MLB free agency market, and many teams are falling over themselves to gain their services. Harper brings star power to any team he's a part of and is an MVP caliber player when healthy. Machado is one of the most productive hitters and fielders in the league.&nbsp;<strong>But who would you rather have?&nbsp;</strong></p>
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  57. <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><big>PERSPECTIVES</big></strong></p>
  58. <p>Machado is nice, but if you want to build a franchise around someone, it should be Harper. He already has an MVP and even in an "off" year he still had 34 home runs and 100 RBI. And the Las Vegas native is only 26 years old. He also gives you star power, a guy to center your marketing around and put people in the stands because they want to see what he will do next. Harper is the man you want.</p>
  59. <p><a href="https://www.nj.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/12/ff1a0690e2887/mlb-rumors-manny-machado-bryce.html" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small">MLB news and rumors: Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, more</a></p>
  60. <p>Harper is fine, but people are overblowing his value because of that one MVP. Machado is the&nbsp;same age, and he's still trending in the right direction, whereas former Washington National took a huge step back last year. The former Dodger has a better career&nbsp;<a href="http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/DSNfH" target="_blank">WAR</a>&nbsp;than his&nbsp;<a href="http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/aOdi4" target="_blank">counterpart</a>&nbsp;and has proven he can hit in tough spots last year in the playoffs. The Florida&nbsp;native can also play defense as his two gold gloves can attest to. Harper might be the bigger name, but if you want a consistent producer on both sides of the ball, you want Machado.</p>
  61. <p><em>The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter </em><a href="https://twitter.com/thetylt"><em>@TheTylt</em></a><em>, on Instagram </em><em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thetylt/">@TheTylt</a></em><em> or on </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheTylt/"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, we'd love to hear what you have to say.</em></p>
  62. <div id="asset-25073833">&nbsp;</div>
  64. ]]>
  67. </description>
  68. <link>http://www.mlive.com/sports/2018/12/which_player_would_you_rather.html</link>
  71. <author><![CDATA[
  75. <span class="author vcard">
  77. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/user/TheTylt/posts.html">
  84. The Tylt
  85. </a>
  87. </span>
  90. ]]></author>
  91. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/sports/2018/12/which_player_would_you_rather.html</guid>
  98. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@tigers</category>
  100. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">nd-ls</category>
  105. <pubDate>Sat, 22 Dec 2018 14:00:37 UTC</pubDate>
  106. <updated>2018-12-22T14:05:19Z</updated>
  112. <enclosure length="254929" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.advance.net/mlb_2013_national_desk/photo/25073833-large.jpg"/>
  114.  
  118.  
  119.                    
  120.                      <advance:original>
  121.                        
  122.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  123.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>The Tylt</advance:originalimagecredit>
  124.                        <advance:originalimagecaption/>
  125.                      </advance:original>
  126.                    
  127.  
  128.                
  131. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are the biggest names in this year&amp;apos;s MLB free agency market. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are the biggest names in this year's MLB free agency market, and many teams are falling over themselves to gain their services. Harper brings star power to any team he's a part of and is an MVP caliber player when healthy. Machado is one of the most productive hitters and fielders in the league.&amp;nbsp;But who would you rather have?&amp;nbsp; PERSPECTIVES Machado is nice, but if you want to build a franchise around someone, it should be Harper. He already has an MVP and even in an "off" year he still had 34 home runs and 100 RBI. And the Las Vegas native is only 26 years old. He also gives you star power, a guy to center your marketing around and put people in the stands because they want to see what he will do next. Harper is the man you want. MLB news and rumors: Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, more Harper is fine, but people are overblowing his value because of that one MVP. Machado is the&amp;nbsp;same age, and he's still trending in the right direction, whereas former Washington National took a huge step back last year. The former Dodger has a better career&amp;nbsp;WAR&amp;nbsp;than his&amp;nbsp;counterpart&amp;nbsp;and has proven he can hit in tough spots last year in the playoffs. The Florida&amp;nbsp;native can also play defense as his two gold gloves can attest to. Harper might be the bigger name, but if you want a consistent producer on both sides of the ball, you want Machado. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. &amp;nbsp;</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  135. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  137. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/user/TheTylt/posts.html"&gt;
  144. The Tylt
  145. &lt;/a&gt;
  147. &lt;/span&gt;
  150. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are the biggest names in this year&amp;apos;s MLB free agency market. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are the biggest names in this year's MLB free agency market, and many teams are falling over themselves to gain their services. Harper brings star power to any team he's a part of and is an MVP caliber player when healthy. Machado is one of the most productive hitters and fielders in the league.&amp;nbsp;But who would you rather have?&amp;nbsp; PERSPECTIVES Machado is nice, but if you want to build a franchise around someone, it should be Harper. He already has an MVP and even in an "off" year he still had 34 home runs and 100 RBI. And the Las Vegas native is only 26 years old. He also gives you star power, a guy to center your marketing around and put people in the stands because they want to see what he will do next. Harper is the man you want. MLB news and rumors: Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, more Harper is fine, but people are overblowing his value because of that one MVP. Machado is the&amp;nbsp;same age, and he's still trending in the right direction, whereas former Washington National took a huge step back last year. The former Dodger has a better career&amp;nbsp;WAR&amp;nbsp;than his&amp;nbsp;counterpart&amp;nbsp;and has proven he can hit in tough spots last year in the playoffs. The Florida&amp;nbsp;native can also play defense as his two gold gloves can attest to. Harper might be the bigger name, but if you want a consistent producer on both sides of the ball, you want Machado. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. &amp;nbsp;</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@tigers, nd-ls</itunes:keywords></item>
  151.  
  155.  
  156.  
  157.  
  159.  
  160.  
  161.  
  162. <item>
  163. <title><![CDATA[Tigers cut ties with veterans James McCann, Alex Wilson]]></title>
  164. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  165. <description>
  168. <![CDATA[
  172. <p>
  173. The two players were not offered contracts for 2019 and are now free agents.
  175. </p>
  178. <p>DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers are cutting ties with James McCann, their primary catcher for the last four seasons, as they look to pare down costs and get more offensive production behind the plate.</p>
  179. <p>The Tigers&nbsp;declined to offer a 2019 contract to McCann by Friday night's deadline, making him a free agent. He would have been due about $3.5 million if the team had elected to go through the arbitration process.</p>
  180. <p>Instead, the Tigers will have a new primary catcher for the first time since 2014.&nbsp;</p>
  181. <p>The Tigers also elected to non-tender veteran right-handed pitcher Alex Wilson, who would have been due about $2.8 million in arbitration. Wilson, 32, has been among the Tigers' most reliable relievers over the last four seasons, posting a 3.20 ERA in 264 innings.&nbsp;</p>
  182. <p>The Tigers offered contracts to the rest of their arbitration-eligible players: outfielder Nicholas Castellanos; right-handed pitchers Michael Fulmer and Shane Greene; and left-handed pitchers Matthew Boyd, Daniel Norris and Blaine Hardy.&nbsp;</p>
  183. <p>The team will have several weeks to negotiate deals with those players. If they can't reach an agreement, the dispute will go before an arbitrator, although that rarely happens.&nbsp;</p>
  184. <p>John Hicks and Grayson Greiner will get the first crack at replacing McCann, although it's likely the Tigers will also sign a veteran catcher to provide depth in Detroit or Triple-A Toledo.&nbsp;</p>
  185. <p>McCann, 28, was drafted by the Tigers in the second round out of the University of Arkansas in 2011.&nbsp;</p>
  186. <p>He made his debut in 2014 and took over the No. 1 catcher role a year later. In 452 games with the Tigers, he's hit .240/.288/.366 with 40 home runs, 58 doubles and eight triples.</p>
  187. <p>He was known for his "cannon" arm behind the plate, throwing out 37 percent of base-stealers during his career. But his defensive ability was considered less advanced when it came to pitch-framing -- that is, inducing umpires to call strikes on borderline pitches.&nbsp;</p>
  188. <p>The decision to non-tender Wilson was a mild surprise. Although never an overpowering strikeout pitcher, Wilson was a consistent strike-thrower who rarely walked batters and got plenty of ground balls.&nbsp;</p>
  189. <p>Both McCann and Wilson could eventually re-sign with the Tigers if they find the free-agent market cool, but it's more likely that they will find new homes.&nbsp;</p>
  190. <p>The Tigers now have 38 players on their 40-man roster, including <a href="https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/11/fa836a5ce03823/who-is-matt-moore-six-things-t.html" target="_blank">left-handed pitcher Matt Moore</a>, whose signing has not yet been officially announced.&nbsp;</p>
  191. <p>They will be able to select as many as two players in next month's Rule 5 Draft.&nbsp;</p>
  192. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/11/fa836a5ce03823/who-is-matt-moore-six-things-t.html" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small"></a></p>
  194. ]]>
  197. </description>
  198. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/james_mccann_tigers_5.html</link>
  201. <author><![CDATA[
  205. <span class="author vcard">
  207. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  214. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  215. </a>
  217. </span>
  220. ]]></author>
  221. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/james_mccann_tigers_5.html</guid>
  228. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  230. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  232. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  234. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">alex-wilson</category>
  236. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">james-mccann</category>
  238. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  243. <pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2018 01:00:33 UTC</pubDate>
  244. <updated>2018-12-01T01:02:51Z</updated>
  250. <enclosure length="569789" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25053781-large.jpg"/>
  252.  
  256.  
  257.                    
  258.                      <advance:original>
  259.                        
  260.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  261.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  262.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Detroit Tigers catcher James McCann (photo by Mike Mulholland, MLive)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  263.                      </advance:original>
  264.                    
  265.  
  266.                
  269. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>The two players were not offered contracts for 2019 and are now free agents. DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers are cutting ties with James McCann, their primary catcher for the last four seasons, as they look to pare down costs and get more offensive production behind the plate. The Tigers&amp;nbsp;declined to offer a 2019 contract to McCann by Friday night's deadline, making him a free agent. He would have been due about $3.5 million if the team had elected to go through the arbitration process. Instead, the Tigers will have a new primary catcher for the first time since 2014.&amp;nbsp; The Tigers also elected to non-tender veteran right-handed pitcher Alex Wilson, who would have been due about $2.8 million in arbitration. Wilson, 32, has been among the Tigers' most reliable relievers over the last four seasons, posting a 3.20 ERA in 264 innings.&amp;nbsp; The Tigers offered contracts to the rest of their arbitration-eligible players: outfielder Nicholas Castellanos; right-handed pitchers Michael Fulmer and Shane Greene; and left-handed pitchers Matthew Boyd, Daniel Norris and Blaine Hardy.&amp;nbsp; The team will have several weeks to negotiate deals with those players. If they can't reach an agreement, the dispute will go before an arbitrator, although that rarely happens.&amp;nbsp; John Hicks and Grayson Greiner will get the first crack at replacing McCann, although it's likely the Tigers will also sign a veteran catcher to provide depth in Detroit or Triple-A Toledo.&amp;nbsp; McCann, 28, was drafted by the Tigers in the second round out of the University of Arkansas in 2011.&amp;nbsp; He made his debut in 2014 and took over the No. 1 catcher role a year later. In 452 games with the Tigers, he's hit .240/.288/.366 with 40 home runs, 58 doubles and eight triples. He was known for his "cannon" arm behind the plate, throwing out 37 percent of base-stealers during his career. But his defensive ability was considered less advanced when it came to pitch-framing -- that is, inducing umpires to call strikes on borderline pitches.&amp;nbsp; The decision to non-tender Wilson was a mild surprise. Although never an overpowering strikeout pitcher, Wilson was a consistent strike-thrower who rarely walked batters and got plenty of ground balls.&amp;nbsp; Both McCann and Wilson could eventually re-sign with the Tigers if they find the free-agent market cool, but it's more likely that they will find new homes.&amp;nbsp; The Tigers now have 38 players on their 40-man roster, including left-handed pitcher Matt Moore, whose signing has not yet been officially announced.&amp;nbsp; They will be able to select as many as two players in next month's Rule 5 Draft.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  273. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  275. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  282. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  283. &lt;/a&gt;
  285. &lt;/span&gt;
  288. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>The two players were not offered contracts for 2019 and are now free agents. DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers are cutting ties with James McCann, their primary catcher for the last four seasons, as they look to pare down costs and get more offensive production behind the plate. The Tigers&amp;nbsp;declined to offer a 2019 contract to McCann by Friday night's deadline, making him a free agent. He would have been due about $3.5 million if the team had elected to go through the arbitration process. Instead, the Tigers will have a new primary catcher for the first time since 2014.&amp;nbsp; The Tigers also elected to non-tender veteran right-handed pitcher Alex Wilson, who would have been due about $2.8 million in arbitration. Wilson, 32, has been among the Tigers' most reliable relievers over the last four seasons, posting a 3.20 ERA in 264 innings.&amp;nbsp; The Tigers offered contracts to the rest of their arbitration-eligible players: outfielder Nicholas Castellanos; right-handed pitchers Michael Fulmer and Shane Greene; and left-handed pitchers Matthew Boyd, Daniel Norris and Blaine Hardy.&amp;nbsp; The team will have several weeks to negotiate deals with those players. If they can't reach an agreement, the dispute will go before an arbitrator, although that rarely happens.&amp;nbsp; John Hicks and Grayson Greiner will get the first crack at replacing McCann, although it's likely the Tigers will also sign a veteran catcher to provide depth in Detroit or Triple-A Toledo.&amp;nbsp; McCann, 28, was drafted by the Tigers in the second round out of the University of Arkansas in 2011.&amp;nbsp; He made his debut in 2014 and took over the No. 1 catcher role a year later. In 452 games with the Tigers, he's hit .240/.288/.366 with 40 home runs, 58 doubles and eight triples. He was known for his "cannon" arm behind the plate, throwing out 37 percent of base-stealers during his career. But his defensive ability was considered less advanced when it came to pitch-framing -- that is, inducing umpires to call strikes on borderline pitches.&amp;nbsp; The decision to non-tender Wilson was a mild surprise. Although never an overpowering strikeout pitcher, Wilson was a consistent strike-thrower who rarely walked batters and got plenty of ground balls.&amp;nbsp; Both McCann and Wilson could eventually re-sign with the Tigers if they find the free-agent market cool, but it's more likely that they will find new homes.&amp;nbsp; The Tigers now have 38 players on their 40-man roster, including left-handed pitcher Matt Moore, whose signing has not yet been officially announced.&amp;nbsp; They will be able to select as many as two players in next month's Rule 5 Draft.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, alex-wilson, james-mccann, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
  289.  
  293.  
  294.  
  295.  
  297.  
  298.  
  299.  
  300. <item>
  301. <title><![CDATA[From big to small, Michigan has some of America's best sports cities]]></title>
  302. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/sports/"><![CDATA[Michigan Sports]]></source>
  303. <description>
  306. <![CDATA[
  310. <p>
  311. With the Lions, Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers, the Motor City is just one of just 12 metropolitan areas in the United States that has teams in all four major sports.
  312.  
  313.  
  315. </p>
  318. <p>Michigan loves sports. Michigan loves its teams.</p>
  319. <p>With the Lions, Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers, the Motor City is just one of just 12 metropolitan areas in the United States that has teams in all four major sports.</p>
  320. <p>Sports teams at Michigan and Michigan State are among the best in the country. Three Mid-American Conference schools, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan also dot the Division I landscape.</p>
  321. <p>And let's not forget Grand Valley State, which may have the best Division II athletic program in the nation. &nbsp;</p>
  322. <p>Combine all these factors and more, and Michigan becomes home to some of the best sports cities in America, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/best-sports-cities/15179/">numbers crunch by the personal finance website Wallethub.</a></p>
  323. <p>Michigan cities are ranked throughout the report released on Nov. 28. Most notable is East Lansing, which ranks as the second-best sports town in the small city category. The home of Michigan State University trailed only Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the home of the North Carolina Tar Heels.</p>
  324. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2018/06/move_over_vegas_study_says_det.html" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small">Move over Vegas, study says Detroit is still 'Hockeytown'</a></p>
  325. <p>Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan, was No. 8 in the mid-sized city ranking, just ahead of South Bend, Indiana, the home of Notre Dame.</p>
  326. <p>Detroit itself finished 11<sup>th</sup> in the overall rankings, just ahead of Minneapolis and just behind Dallas. The ranking was buoyed by its hockey ranking, where it was No. 2., but hurt by football where it was No. 25 and soccer where it was No. 99.</p>
  327. <p>Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago are the top-ranked sports cities, according to the report. Riverside, California is the lowest-ranked big city.</p>
  328. <p>In order to determine the best sports cities, WalletHub combined the results from its previous rankings of each sport.</p>
  329. <p>Each sports category was assigned a weight corresponding with the total percentage of adults in the U.S. who claim to follow that particular sport, according to&nbsp;<a href="http://sportsvideo.org/main/files/2014/06/2014-Know-the-Fan-Study_US.pdf">The Global Sports Media Consumption Report</a>. In essence, football carries more weight than hockey or soccer.</p>
  330. <p>Here are some other highlights from the report:</p>
  331. <ul>
  332. <li>Detroit trails only Boston as top cities for hockey fans.</li>
  333. <li>Mount Pleasant, the home of Central Michigan University, was No. 33 in the small-city ranking</li>
  334. <li>Kalamazoo, the home of Western Michigan University, was No. 89 in the small-city ranking</li>
  335. <li>Grand Rapids (several small colleges) was No. 92 in the mid-size city rankings</li>
  336. <li>Ypsilanti, the home of Eastern Michigan University, was No. 92 in the small-city rankings</li>
  337. <li>Other small-city rankings: Rochester Hills (Oakland) - 145, Houghton (Michigan Tech) - 173, Big Rapids (Ferris State) - 176, Sault Ste. Marie (Lake Superior State) - 187, Marquette (Northern&nbsp;</li>
  338. </ul>
  340. ]]>
  343. </description>
  344. <link>http://www.mlive.com/sports/2018/11/from_big_to_small_study_says_m.html</link>
  347. <author><![CDATA[
  351. <span class="author vcard">
  353. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/BrandonChampion7/posts.html">
  360. Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com
  361. </a>
  363. </span>
  366. ]]></author>
  367. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/sports/2018/11/from_big_to_small_study_says_m.html</guid>
  375. <pubDate>Thu, 29 Nov 2018 18:40:00 UTC</pubDate>
  376. <updated>2018-11-29T20:35:12Z</updated>
  383. <enclosure type="image/jpeg" url="https://expo.advance.net/img/7e7da47178/width960/70b_179mjm112618wingscbj13.jpeg"/>
  386.  
  390.  
  391.                    
  392.                      <advance:original>
  393.                        
  394.                        <advance:originalimageid/>
  395.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  396.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin (71) celebrates with forward Anthony Mantha (39) after a goal during their NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Monday, November 26, 2018. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
  397. </advance:originalimagecaption>
  398.                      </advance:original>
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  400.                      <advance:original>
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  403.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  404.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Detroit Tigers right fielder Nicholas Castellanos (9) fouls off a pitch during their second game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park in Detroit, on Friday, April 20, 2018. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
  405. </advance:originalimagecaption>
  406.                      </advance:original>
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  408.                      <advance:original>
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  410.                        <advance:originalimageid/>
  411.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  412.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Lions QB Matthew Stafford breaks the huddle. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
  413.  
  414. </advance:originalimagecaption>
  415.                      </advance:original>
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  417.                      <advance:original>
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  419.                        <advance:originalimageid/>
  420.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  421.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin (23) yells out to teammates during the first quarter of their NBA game against the New York Knicks at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, November 27, 2018. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
  422. </advance:originalimagecaption>
  423.                      </advance:original>
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  427.                        <advance:originalimageid/>
  428.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  429.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Michigan State defensive lineman Kenny Willekes (48) reacts after a sack during the second quarter of their Big Ten football game against Ohio State in East Lansing on Saturday, November 10, 2018.  (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
  430.  
  431. </advance:originalimagecaption>
  432.                      </advance:original>
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  436.                        <advance:originalimageid/>
  437.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  438.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Michigan guard Zavier Simpson (3) drives against North Carolina guard Seventh Woods (0) during the first half of their ACC/Big Ten Challenge basketball game at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, November 28, 2018. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
  439. </advance:originalimagecaption>
  440.                      </advance:original>
  441.                    
  442.  
  443.                
  446. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>With the Lions, Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers, the Motor City is just one of just 12 metropolitan areas in the United States that has teams in all four major sports. Michigan loves sports. Michigan loves its teams. With the Lions, Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers, the Motor City is just one of just 12 metropolitan areas in the United States that has teams in all four major sports. Sports teams at Michigan and Michigan State are among the best in the country. Three Mid-American Conference schools, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan also dot the Division I landscape. And let's not forget Grand Valley State, which may have the best Division II athletic program in the nation. &amp;nbsp; Combine all these factors and more, and Michigan becomes home to some of the best sports cities in America, according to a&amp;nbsp;numbers crunch by the personal finance website Wallethub. Michigan cities are ranked throughout the report released on Nov. 28. Most notable is East Lansing, which ranks as the second-best sports town in the small city category. The home of Michigan State University trailed only Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the home of the North Carolina Tar Heels. Move over Vegas, study says Detroit is still 'Hockeytown' Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan, was No. 8 in the mid-sized city ranking, just ahead of South Bend, Indiana, the home of Notre Dame. Detroit itself finished 11th in the overall rankings, just ahead of Minneapolis and just behind Dallas. The ranking was buoyed by its hockey ranking, where it was No. 2., but hurt by football where it was No. 25 and soccer where it was No. 99. Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago are the top-ranked sports cities, according to the report. Riverside, California is the lowest-ranked big city. In order to determine the best sports cities, WalletHub combined the results from its previous rankings of each sport. Each sports category was assigned a weight corresponding with the total percentage of adults in the U.S. who claim to follow that particular sport, according to&amp;nbsp;The Global Sports Media Consumption Report. In essence, football carries more weight than hockey or soccer. Here are some other highlights from the report: Detroit trails only Boston as top cities for hockey fans. Mount Pleasant, the home of Central Michigan University, was No. 33 in the small-city ranking Kalamazoo, the home of Western Michigan University, was No. 89 in the small-city ranking Grand Rapids (several small colleges) was No. 92 in the mid-size city rankings Ypsilanti, the home of Eastern Michigan University, was No. 92 in the small-city rankings Other small-city rankings: Rochester Hills (Oakland) - 145, Houghton (Michigan Tech) - 173, Big Rapids (Ferris State) - 176, Sault Ste. Marie (Lake Superior State) - 187, Marquette (Northern&amp;nbsp;</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  450. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  452. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/BrandonChampion7/posts.html"&gt;
  459. Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com
  460. &lt;/a&gt;
  462. &lt;/span&gt;
  465. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>With the Lions, Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers, the Motor City is just one of just 12 metropolitan areas in the United States that has teams in all four major sports. Michigan loves sports. Michigan loves its teams. With the Lions, Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers, the Motor City is just one of just 12 metropolitan areas in the United States that has teams in all four major sports. Sports teams at Michigan and Michigan State are among the best in the country. Three Mid-American Conference schools, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan also dot the Division I landscape. And let's not forget Grand Valley State, which may have the best Division II athletic program in the nation. &amp;nbsp; Combine all these factors and more, and Michigan becomes home to some of the best sports cities in America, according to a&amp;nbsp;numbers crunch by the personal finance website Wallethub. Michigan cities are ranked throughout the report released on Nov. 28. Most notable is East Lansing, which ranks as the second-best sports town in the small city category. The home of Michigan State University trailed only Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the home of the North Carolina Tar Heels. Move over Vegas, study says Detroit is still 'Hockeytown' Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan, was No. 8 in the mid-sized city ranking, just ahead of South Bend, Indiana, the home of Notre Dame. Detroit itself finished 11th in the overall rankings, just ahead of Minneapolis and just behind Dallas. The ranking was buoyed by its hockey ranking, where it was No. 2., but hurt by football where it was No. 25 and soccer where it was No. 99. Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago are the top-ranked sports cities, according to the report. Riverside, California is the lowest-ranked big city. In order to determine the best sports cities, WalletHub combined the results from its previous rankings of each sport. Each sports category was assigned a weight corresponding with the total percentage of adults in the U.S. who claim to follow that particular sport, according to&amp;nbsp;The Global Sports Media Consumption Report. In essence, football carries more weight than hockey or soccer. Here are some other highlights from the report: Detroit trails only Boston as top cities for hockey fans. Mount Pleasant, the home of Central Michigan University, was No. 33 in the small-city ranking Kalamazoo, the home of Western Michigan University, was No. 89 in the small-city ranking Grand Rapids (several small colleges) was No. 92 in the mid-size city rankings Ypsilanti, the home of Eastern Michigan University, was No. 92 in the small-city rankings Other small-city rankings: Rochester Hills (Oakland) - 145, Houghton (Michigan Tech) - 173, Big Rapids (Ferris State) - 176, Sault Ste. Marie (Lake Superior State) - 187, Marquette (Northern&amp;nbsp;</itunes:summary></item>
  466.  
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  476.  
  477. <item>
  478. <title><![CDATA[Tigers signing veteran lefty Matt Moore to fill spot in rotation]]></title>
  479. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  480. <description>
  483. <![CDATA[
  487. <p>
  488. Moore, a 29-year-old New Mexico native, was once one of the game&apos;s most promising young pitchers.
  490. </p>
  493. <p>The Detroit Tigers checked off one of the items on their winter wish list on Tuesday, reportedly signing veteran left-handed starter Matt Moore to a one-year deal.</p>
  494. <p>The news was first reported by&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan" target="_blank">Yahoo's Jeff Passan</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/feinsand?lang=en" target="_blank">MLB.com's Mark Feinsand</a>, who said the deal would be in the $2.5 million range pending the completion of a physical.&nbsp;</p>
  495. <p>Moore, a 29-year-old New Mexico native, was once one of the game's most promising young pitchers. But after an All-Star appearance in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays, he endured injury-shortened seasons in 2014 and 2015.&nbsp;</p>
  496. <p>He's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/moorema02.shtml" target="_blank">9-23 with a 5.99 ERA over the last two seasons</a> with the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.&nbsp;</p>
  497. <p>Moore is likely to open the season as the Tigers' fifth starter, much as free-agent signee Mike Fiers did a year ago. If Moore pitches well, he can be dealt at the trade deadline. If he struggles, he can pushed to the bullpen to free up space for a younger pitcher.&nbsp;</p>
  498. <p>Moore is the Tigers' first Major League free-agent signing in what is likely to be a quiet winter.&nbsp;The Tigers are also hunting for a veteran shortstop to replace Jose Iglesias, who is a free agent.&nbsp;</p>
  499. <p>Moore is expected slot behind Jordan Zimmermann, Matthew Boyd, Michael Fulmer and Daniel Norris, giving the Tigers three lefties in their rotation. Only Zimmmermann and Fulmer are right-handed.&nbsp;</p>
  500. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/11/478703e7968201/photos-of-tigers-pitcher-matth.html#incart_river_index" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small"></a></p>
  502. ]]>
  505. </description>
  506. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/matt_moore_tigers.html</link>
  509. <author><![CDATA[
  513. <span class="author vcard">
  515. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  522. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  523. </a>
  525. </span>
  528. ]]></author>
  529. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/matt_moore_tigers.html</guid>
  536. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  538. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  540. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  542. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@tigers</category>
  544. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">matt-moore</category>
  546. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  551. <pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2018 19:23:17 UTC</pubDate>
  552. <updated>2018-11-27T20:51:35Z</updated>
  558. <enclosure length="283111" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25046543-large.jpg"/>
  560.  
  564.  
  565.                    
  566.                      <advance:original>
  567.                        
  568.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  569.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  570.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Texas Rangers starting pitcher Matt Moore delivers a pitch to the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018, in Arlington. (AP Photo/Jim Cowsert)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  571.                      </advance:original>
  572.                    
  573.  
  574.                
  577. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Moore, a 29-year-old New Mexico native, was once one of the game&amp;apos;s most promising young pitchers. The Detroit Tigers checked off one of the items on their winter wish list on Tuesday, reportedly signing veteran left-handed starter Matt Moore to a one-year deal. The news was first reported by&amp;nbsp;Yahoo's Jeff Passan and MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, who said the deal would be in the $2.5 million range pending the completion of a physical.&amp;nbsp; Moore, a 29-year-old New Mexico native, was once one of the game's most promising young pitchers. But after an All-Star appearance in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays, he endured injury-shortened seasons in 2014 and 2015.&amp;nbsp; He's&amp;nbsp;9-23 with a 5.99 ERA over the last two seasons with the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.&amp;nbsp; Moore is likely to open the season as the Tigers' fifth starter, much as free-agent signee Mike Fiers did a year ago. If Moore pitches well, he can be dealt at the trade deadline. If he struggles, he can pushed to the bullpen to free up space for a younger pitcher.&amp;nbsp; Moore is the Tigers' first Major League free-agent signing in what is likely to be a quiet winter.&amp;nbsp;The Tigers are also hunting for a veteran shortstop to replace Jose Iglesias, who is a free agent.&amp;nbsp; Moore is expected slot behind Jordan Zimmermann, Matthew Boyd, Michael Fulmer and Daniel Norris, giving the Tigers three lefties in their rotation. Only Zimmmermann and Fulmer are right-handed.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  581. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  583. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  590. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  591. &lt;/a&gt;
  593. &lt;/span&gt;
  596. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>Moore, a 29-year-old New Mexico native, was once one of the game&amp;apos;s most promising young pitchers. The Detroit Tigers checked off one of the items on their winter wish list on Tuesday, reportedly signing veteran left-handed starter Matt Moore to a one-year deal. The news was first reported by&amp;nbsp;Yahoo's Jeff Passan and MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, who said the deal would be in the $2.5 million range pending the completion of a physical.&amp;nbsp; Moore, a 29-year-old New Mexico native, was once one of the game's most promising young pitchers. But after an All-Star appearance in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays, he endured injury-shortened seasons in 2014 and 2015.&amp;nbsp; He's&amp;nbsp;9-23 with a 5.99 ERA over the last two seasons with the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.&amp;nbsp; Moore is likely to open the season as the Tigers' fifth starter, much as free-agent signee Mike Fiers did a year ago. If Moore pitches well, he can be dealt at the trade deadline. If he struggles, he can pushed to the bullpen to free up space for a younger pitcher.&amp;nbsp; Moore is the Tigers' first Major League free-agent signing in what is likely to be a quiet winter.&amp;nbsp;The Tigers are also hunting for a veteran shortstop to replace Jose Iglesias, who is a free agent.&amp;nbsp; Moore is expected slot behind Jordan Zimmermann, Matthew Boyd, Michael Fulmer and Daniel Norris, giving the Tigers three lefties in their rotation. Only Zimmmermann and Fulmer are right-handed.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, @tigers, matt-moore, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
  597.  
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  607.  
  608. <item>
  609. <title><![CDATA[Tigers add Franklin Perez, but others left unprotected: What it means for Rule 5 Draft]]></title>
  610. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  611. <description>
  614. <![CDATA[
  618. <p>
  619. The decision adds some suspense to draft, which is Dec. 13 in Las Vegas.
  621. <span class="video_icon_left_small"><a href="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_rule_5_franklin_perez.html">Watch video</a></span>
  623. </p>
  626. <p>The Detroit Tigers&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/DetroitTigersPR/status/1064556594053165057" target="_blank">added pitching prospect Franklin Perez to the 40-man roster</a> last week, protecting him from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft.</p>
  627. <p>That move was no surprise.</p>
  628. <p>More surprising was that Perez was the only prospect the Tigers elected to protect. One year after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2017/11/tigers_roster_additions.html" target="_blank">they added seven players to the roster</a> -- including a handful who seemingly had little chance of being selected in the Rule 5 Draft -- the Tigers went the opposite direction in 2018.</p>
  629. <p>The decision adds some suspense to draft, which is Dec. 13 in Las Vegas: The Tigers will almost certainly draft someone from another team. Might they lose someone, too?</p>
  630. <p>Here's <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/minorleagues/rule_5.jsp?mc=faq" target="_blank">how the process works</a>:&nbsp;Players who signed when they were 18 or younger or eligible to be selected in fifth Rule 5 Draft after their signing; if they signed at 19 years old or later, they're eligible in their fourth post-signing draft. In essence, that means most players drafted out of college in 2015 are now eligible, while international and some high school players from the 2014 class can be selected.</p>
  631. <p>How to keep those players from being poached by other teams? Simply add them to the 40-man roster. That's what the Tigers did last year with outfielder&nbsp;<a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=t512&amp;player_id=595222#/career/R/hitting/2017/ALL" target="_blank">Mike Gerber</a>;&nbsp;shortstop&nbsp;<a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=642727#/career/R/hitting/2017/ALL" target="_blank">Sergio Alcantara</a>; catcher&nbsp;<a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=606988#/career/R/hitting/2017/MINORS" target="_blank">Grayson Greiner</a>; left-handed pitcher&nbsp;<a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=642397#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL" target="_blank">Gregory Soto</a>; and right-handed pitchers&nbsp;<a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=642575#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL" target="_blank">Gerson Moreno</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=605513" target="_blank">Spencer Turnbull</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=621592#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL" target="_blank">Eduardo Jimenez</a>.</p>
  632. <p>A year later, six of the seven remain on the 40-man roster. (Moreno was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/05/gerson_moreno_tigers.html" target="_blank">released and re-signed to a minor-league deal in June</a> after&nbsp;undergoing Tommy John surgery).</p>
  633. <p>When the Tigers front office met&nbsp;after the season to discuss 40-man roster additions, Perez was the only no-brainer.&nbsp;</p>
  634. <p>The <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/02/franklin_perez_tigers.html" target="_blank">centerpiece of the 2017 Justin Verlander trade</a>,&nbsp;Perez has&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/03/tigers_franklin_perez.html" target="_blank">battled injuries</a> since joining the Tigers and has only pitched 19 innings in the last calendar year.</p>
  635. <p>Even so, the 20-year-old remains one of the organization's top prospects and would have been snatched up quickly if he had been left unprotected.&nbsp;</p>
  636. <p>The&nbsp;top pick&nbsp;in the Tigers' 2015 draft class is elite pitching prospect Beau Burrows. But since he was selected out of high school -- and signed at age 18 -- he won't be Rule 5 Draft eligible until next winter.</p>
  637. <p>Outfielder Christin Stewart, selected at No. 34 overall, was <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/09/tigers_christin_stewart.html" target="_blank">added the 40-man roster when he was promoted to the big-league club in September</a>. (So was sixth-round pick Matt Hall, a left-handed pitcher).&nbsp;</p>
  638. <p>That leaves <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=alexan000tyl" target="_blank">Tyler Alexander</a>, a second-round pick out of Texas Christian, as the most glaring omission.</p>
  639. <p>The 24-year-old left-hander doesn't have blow-away stuff but he has shown pinpoint control throughout his minor league journey, walking just 70 batters in 450 innings.&nbsp;</p>
  640. <p>But he gave up 120 hits in 90 innings after making his Triple-A debut at Toledo in 2018. His strikeout rate also dipped to a career-low 5.9 per nine innings. The Tigers are likely betting that those numbers will be unpalatable to other teams.</p>
  641. <p>From the 2014 class, first-round pick Derek Hill is newly eligible this season. The 22-year-old <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hill--000der" target="_blank">hasn't&nbsp;hit much&nbsp;through five minor-league seasons</a>&nbsp;and it's unlikely that a team will expect him to find it in the big leagues.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  642. <p>After all, teams who select players in the Rule 5 Draft can't just stash them in the minors. They must carry the selected player on the <em>active roster</em> for the entire season.</p>
  643. <p>That's what the Tigers did with&nbsp;<a href="http://topics.mlive.com/tag/victor-reyes" target="_blank">outfielder Victor Reyes</a> in 2018, enduring his .239 on-base percentage in 219 plate appearances on the hope that he might be able to contribute in a larger role down the road.</p>
  644. <p>The Tigers will almost certainly draft at least one player in this year's Rule 5 Draft.&nbsp;</p>
  645. <p>They have one vacancy now on their 40-man roster. They can add another if they&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/09/4aece491329482/what-does-future-hold-for-thes.html#incart_river_index" target="_blank">decline to offer a contract to&nbsp;catcher James McCann</a> this week.&nbsp;</p>
  646. <p>The Tigers have had remarkably little roster turnover so far this winter. They&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/10/artie_lewicki_tigers_diamondba.html" target="_blank">waived five players after the season</a>&nbsp;(right-handers Artie Lewicki and Louis Coleman; infielders Harold Castro and Pete Kozma; and first baseman/outfielder Jim Adduci) and later re-signed Castro and Kozma to minor-league deals.</p>
  647. <p>But many more vulnerable players have, at least for the moment, survived the winter purge. That includes players like Gerber, Jimenez, Soto, Mikie Mahtook and Ronny Rodriguez, who might have been on the bubble if the Tigers had decided to add more players last week.</p>
  648. <p>Instead, they added just one.&nbsp;</p>
  649. <p>Perez will be in Lakeland with the big-league club this spring. On Dec. 13, the Tigers will decide which player or players from other clubs will join him.&nbsp;</p>
  650. <p><strong>Notable players in Tigers' minor-league system who are unprotected:</strong></p>
  651. <p>LHP Tyler Alexander</p>
  652. <p>RHP Elvin Rodriguez</p>
  653. <p>OF Derek Hill</p>
  654. <p>OF Jose Azocar</p>
  655. <p>OF Cam Gibson</p>
  657. ]]>
  660. </description>
  661. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_rule_5_franklin_perez.html</link>
  664. <author><![CDATA[
  668. <span class="author vcard">
  670. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  677. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  678. </a>
  680. </span>
  683. ]]></author>
  684. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_rule_5_franklin_perez.html</guid>
  691. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  693. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  695. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  697. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">franklin-perez</category>
  699. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  701. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tyler-alexander</category>
  706. <pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2018 16:02:54 UTC</pubDate>
  707. <updated>2018-11-26T16:03:00Z</updated>
  713. <enclosure type="image/jpeg" url="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lSZ3rKnhBsc/hqdefault.jpg"/>
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  722.                
  725. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>The decision adds some suspense to draft, which is Dec. 13 in Las Vegas. Watch video The Detroit Tigers&amp;nbsp;added pitching prospect Franklin Perez to the 40-man roster last week, protecting him from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft. That move was no surprise. More surprising was that Perez was the only prospect the Tigers elected to protect. One year after&amp;nbsp;they added seven players to the roster -- including a handful who seemingly had little chance of being selected in the Rule 5 Draft -- the Tigers went the opposite direction in 2018. The decision adds some suspense to draft, which is Dec. 13 in Las Vegas: The Tigers will almost certainly draft someone from another team. Might they lose someone, too? Here's how the process works:&amp;nbsp;Players who signed when they were 18 or younger or eligible to be selected in fifth Rule 5 Draft after their signing; if they signed at 19 years old or later, they're eligible in their fourth post-signing draft. In essence, that means most players drafted out of college in 2015 are now eligible, while international and some high school players from the 2014 class can be selected. How to keep those players from being poached by other teams? Simply add them to the 40-man roster. That's what the Tigers did last year with outfielder&amp;nbsp;Mike Gerber;&amp;nbsp;shortstop&amp;nbsp;Sergio Alcantara; catcher&amp;nbsp;Grayson Greiner; left-handed pitcher&amp;nbsp;Gregory Soto; and right-handed pitchers&amp;nbsp;Gerson Moreno,&amp;nbsp;Spencer Turnbull&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;Eduardo Jimenez. A year later, six of the seven remain on the 40-man roster. (Moreno was&amp;nbsp;released and re-signed to a minor-league deal in June after&amp;nbsp;undergoing Tommy John surgery). When the Tigers front office met&amp;nbsp;after the season to discuss 40-man roster additions, Perez was the only no-brainer.&amp;nbsp; The centerpiece of the 2017 Justin Verlander trade,&amp;nbsp;Perez has&amp;nbsp;battled injuries since joining the Tigers and has only pitched 19 innings in the last calendar year. Even so, the 20-year-old remains one of the organization's top prospects and would have been snatched up quickly if he had been left unprotected.&amp;nbsp; The&amp;nbsp;top pick&amp;nbsp;in the Tigers' 2015 draft class is elite pitching prospect Beau Burrows. But since he was selected out of high school -- and signed at age 18 -- he won't be Rule 5 Draft eligible until next winter. Outfielder Christin Stewart, selected at No. 34 overall, was added the 40-man roster when he was promoted to the big-league club in September. (So was sixth-round pick Matt Hall, a left-handed pitcher).&amp;nbsp; That leaves Tyler Alexander, a second-round pick out of Texas Christian, as the most glaring omission. The 24-year-old left-hander doesn't have blow-away stuff but he has shown pinpoint control throughout his minor league journey, walking just 70 batters in 450 innings.&amp;nbsp; But he gave up 120 hits in 90 innings after making his Triple-A debut at Toledo in 2018. His strikeout rate also dipped to a career-low 5.9 per nine innings. The Tigers are likely betting that those numbers will be unpalatable to other teams. From the 2014 class, first-round pick Derek Hill is newly eligible this season. The 22-year-old hasn't&amp;nbsp;hit much&amp;nbsp;through five minor-league seasons&amp;nbsp;and it's unlikely that a team will expect him to find it in the big leagues.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; After all, teams who select players in the Rule 5 Draft can't just stash them in the minors. They must carry the selected player on the active roster for the entire season. That's what the Tigers did with&amp;nbsp;outfielder Victor Reyes in 2018, enduring his .239 on-base percentage in 219 plate appearances on the hope that he might be able to contribute in a larger role down the road. The Tigers will almost certainly draft at least one player in this year's Rule 5 Draft.&amp;nbsp; They have one vacancy now on their 40-man roster. They can add another if they&amp;nbsp;decline to offer a contract to&amp;nbsp;catcher James McCann this week.&amp;nbsp; The Tigers have had remarkably little roster turnover so far this winter. They&amp;nbsp;waived five players after the season&amp;nbsp;(right-handers Artie Lewicki and Louis Coleman; infielders Harold Castro and Pete Kozma; and first baseman/outfielder Jim Adduci) and later re-signed Castro and Kozma to minor-league deals. But many more vulnerable players have, at least for the moment, survived the winter purge. That includes players like Gerber, Jimenez, Soto, Mikie Mahtook and Ronny Rodriguez, who might have been on the bubble if the Tigers had decided to add more players last week. Instead, they added just one.&amp;nbsp; Perez will be in Lakeland with the big-league club this spring. On Dec. 13, the Tigers will decide which player or players from other clubs will join him.&amp;nbsp; Notable players in Tigers' minor-league system who are unprotected: LHP Tyler Alexander RHP Elvin Rodriguez OF Derek Hill OF Jose Azocar OF Cam Gibson</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  729. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  731. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  738. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  739. &lt;/a&gt;
  741. &lt;/span&gt;
  744. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>The decision adds some suspense to draft, which is Dec. 13 in Las Vegas. Watch video The Detroit Tigers&amp;nbsp;added pitching prospect Franklin Perez to the 40-man roster last week, protecting him from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft. That move was no surprise. More surprising was that Perez was the only prospect the Tigers elected to protect. One year after&amp;nbsp;they added seven players to the roster -- including a handful who seemingly had little chance of being selected in the Rule 5 Draft -- the Tigers went the opposite direction in 2018. The decision adds some suspense to draft, which is Dec. 13 in Las Vegas: The Tigers will almost certainly draft someone from another team. Might they lose someone, too? Here's how the process works:&amp;nbsp;Players who signed when they were 18 or younger or eligible to be selected in fifth Rule 5 Draft after their signing; if they signed at 19 years old or later, they're eligible in their fourth post-signing draft. In essence, that means most players drafted out of college in 2015 are now eligible, while international and some high school players from the 2014 class can be selected. How to keep those players from being poached by other teams? Simply add them to the 40-man roster. That's what the Tigers did last year with outfielder&amp;nbsp;Mike Gerber;&amp;nbsp;shortstop&amp;nbsp;Sergio Alcantara; catcher&amp;nbsp;Grayson Greiner; left-handed pitcher&amp;nbsp;Gregory Soto; and right-handed pitchers&amp;nbsp;Gerson Moreno,&amp;nbsp;Spencer Turnbull&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;Eduardo Jimenez. A year later, six of the seven remain on the 40-man roster. (Moreno was&amp;nbsp;released and re-signed to a minor-league deal in June after&amp;nbsp;undergoing Tommy John surgery). When the Tigers front office met&amp;nbsp;after the season to discuss 40-man roster additions, Perez was the only no-brainer.&amp;nbsp; The centerpiece of the 2017 Justin Verlander trade,&amp;nbsp;Perez has&amp;nbsp;battled injuries since joining the Tigers and has only pitched 19 innings in the last calendar year. Even so, the 20-year-old remains one of the organization's top prospects and would have been snatched up quickly if he had been left unprotected.&amp;nbsp; The&amp;nbsp;top pick&amp;nbsp;in the Tigers' 2015 draft class is elite pitching prospect Beau Burrows. But since he was selected out of high school -- and signed at age 18 -- he won't be Rule 5 Draft eligible until next winter. Outfielder Christin Stewart, selected at No. 34 overall, was added the 40-man roster when he was promoted to the big-league club in September. (So was sixth-round pick Matt Hall, a left-handed pitcher).&amp;nbsp; That leaves Tyler Alexander, a second-round pick out of Texas Christian, as the most glaring omission. The 24-year-old left-hander doesn't have blow-away stuff but he has shown pinpoint control throughout his minor league journey, walking just 70 batters in 450 innings.&amp;nbsp; But he gave up 120 hits in 90 innings after making his Triple-A debut at Toledo in 2018. His strikeout rate also dipped to a career-low 5.9 per nine innings. The Tigers are likely betting that those numbers will be unpalatable to other teams. From the 2014 class, first-round pick Derek Hill is newly eligible this season. The 22-year-old hasn't&amp;nbsp;hit much&amp;nbsp;through five minor-league seasons&amp;nbsp;and it's unlikely that a team will expect him to find it in the big leagues.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; After all, teams who select players in the Rule 5 Draft can't just stash them in the minors. They must carry the selected player on the active roster for the entire season. That's what the Tigers did with&amp;nbsp;outfielder Victor Reyes in 2018, enduring his .239 on-base percentage in 219 plate appearances on the hope that he might be able to contribute in a larger role down the road. The Tigers will almost certainly draft at least one player in this year's Rule 5 Draft.&amp;nbsp; They have one vacancy now on their 40-man roster. They can add another if they&amp;nbsp;decline to offer a contract to&amp;nbsp;catcher James McCann this week.&amp;nbsp; The Tigers have had remarkably little roster turnover so far this winter. They&amp;nbsp;waived five players after the season&amp;nbsp;(right-handers Artie Lewicki and Louis Coleman; infielders Harold Castro and Pete Kozma; and first baseman/outfielder Jim Adduci) and later re-signed Castro and Kozma to minor-league deals. But many more vulnerable players have, at least for the moment, survived the winter purge. That includes players like Gerber, Jimenez, Soto, Mikie Mahtook and Ronny Rodriguez, who might have been on the bubble if the Tigers had decided to add more players last week. Instead, they added just one.&amp;nbsp; Perez will be in Lakeland with the big-league club this spring. On Dec. 13, the Tigers will decide which player or players from other clubs will join him.&amp;nbsp; Notable players in Tigers' minor-league system who are unprotected: LHP Tyler Alexander RHP Elvin Rodriguez OF Derek Hill OF Jose Azocar OF Cam Gibson</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, franklin-perez, tigers-2018, tyler-alexander</itunes:keywords></item>
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  756. <item>
  757. <title><![CDATA[Tigers prospect Jake Rogers a defensive star, but pushing for progress at plate]]></title>
  758. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  759. <description>
  762. <![CDATA[
  766. <p>
  767. If he can make strides at the plate, the 23-year-old could be in the Detroit Tigers lineup within a year.
  769. <span class="video_icon_left_small"><a href="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/jake_rogers_tigers_1.html">Watch video</a></span>
  771. </p>
  774. <p>PEORIA, Ariz. -- Jake Rogers is ready to be a Major League catcher.</p>
  775. <p>But he might not get that opportunity unless he can turn himself into a big-league hitter first.</p>
  776. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/11/664902bf431161/2-extigers-sign-deals-to-play.html#incart_river_index" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small"></a></p>
  777. <p>Rogers, acquired last August in <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2017/09/justin_verlander_trade_1.html" target="_blank">the Justin Verlander trade</a>, wrapped up his first full season in the Detroit Tigers organization on Thursday, the final day of the regular season in the Arizona Fall League. After nine months of daily baseball, Rogers and his six Tigers teammates on the Mesa Solar Sox are due for a breather.</p>
  778. <p>Behind the plate, Rogers is one of baseball's most promising prospects. If he can make strides at the plate, the 23-year-old could be in the Detroit Tigers lineup within a year. If he doesn't, his time as a prospect could be fleeting.</p>
  779. <p>"Right now I think he could catch in the big leagues, for sure," said Lou Marson, the former big-league catcher who managed Mesa this fall. "You look at the way he receives the ball, the way he catches and throws, his body language, the way he carries himself. He's done a great job here in the fall league."</p>
  780. <p>But?</p>
  781. <p>"But obviously if you want to be a front-line guy, you're going to have to do some things offensively."</p>
  782. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/11/81eb45ac9e4734/tigers-ronny-rodriguez-has-rel.html#incart_river_index" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small"></a></p>
  783. <p>The offseason won't last long. And when Rogers arrives in Lakeland, Fla., in February, he'll be entering a critical season for his future.</p>
  784. <p>The Tigers will announce in the coming days whether they plan to offer veteran catcher James McCann a contract for 2019. If they don't, Rogers will rise at least temporarily to No. 3 on the organization's catching depth chart (behind John Hicks and Grayson Greiner) and a full-time job in 2020 could be within his grasp.</p>
  785. <p>Rogers' 2018 season got off to a rough start at Double-A Erie, where he hit .157 (.464 OPS) &nbsp;with 47 strikeouts in 152 plate appearances in the first two months of the season. But he worked with Erie hitting coach Mike Hessman and minor-league hitting instructor Scott Fletcher to turn things around. After June 1, he hit .257 (.871 OPS) in 256 plate appearances with 14 home runs, 15 doubles and a robust .528 slugging percentage.</p>
  786. <p>"I had a slow start hitting-wise, but the last three or four months were really good for me," he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  787. <p>Rogers wasn't able to continue that momentum in the AFL, getting eight hits -- although five of them were doubles -- in 48 at-bats (.167 batting average) with three walks and 11 strikeouts.</p>
  788. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/11/5f33bd70217303/tigers-want-coaches-to-force-t.html#incart_river_index" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small"></a></p>
  789. <p>After slugging 18 home runs between two Class A levels for the Houston Astros in 2017, Rogers maintained his power in 2018, although at the cost of a slight uptick in strikeouts and a decline in walks.</p>
  790. <p>His BABIP dipped to .261 in 2018, below career norms, suggesting he was hitting too many fly balls that stayed in park while experiencing some bad luck to boot. With that mind, Rogers has worked on making hard contact and minimizing the holes in his swing.</p>
  791. <p>"Just trying to square the ball up pretty good. The approach is kind of toning it down a little bit and working on putting the ball in play more," Rogers said. "When I do hit, it goes for doubles and home runs, but I need a little bit more consistency and try to avoid the big holes that I was in earlier in the year. There's going to be ups and downs, but the name of the game is minimizing the downs as much as you can. I really need to get more consistent in my swing and go from there."</p>
  792. <p>If Rogers doesn't start the season at Triple-A Toledo, he should be there relatively quickly, putting him on the doorstep of the big leagues.</p>
  793. <p>After that, his performance will affect when he ultimately arrives in Detroit.</p>
  794. <p>"(Reaching Detroit) in your mind but I don't think about it. It's there. You're getting close to where you've always dreamed to going," Rogers said. "But as everyone says, it's always the same game. So you just go out there and play the same game you've been playing ever since you were a little kid."</p>
  796. ]]>
  799. </description>
  800. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/jake_rogers_tigers_1.html</link>
  803. <author><![CDATA[
  807. <span class="author vcard">
  809. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  816. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  817. </a>
  819. </span>
  822. ]]></author>
  823. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/jake_rogers_tigers_1.html</guid>
  830. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  832. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  834. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  836. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">jake-rogers</category>
  838. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  843. <pubDate>Fri, 16 Nov 2018 20:48:50 UTC</pubDate>
  844. <updated>2018-11-16T21:01:56Z</updated>
  850. <enclosure type="image/jpeg" url="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xhKnFAjtkTY/hqdefault.jpg"/>
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  862. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>If he can make strides at the plate, the 23-year-old could be in the Detroit Tigers lineup within a year. Watch video PEORIA, Ariz. -- Jake Rogers is ready to be a Major League catcher. But he might not get that opportunity unless he can turn himself into a big-league hitter first. Rogers, acquired last August in the Justin Verlander trade, wrapped up his first full season in the Detroit Tigers organization on Thursday, the final day of the regular season in the Arizona Fall League. After nine months of daily baseball, Rogers and his six Tigers teammates on the Mesa Solar Sox are due for a breather. Behind the plate, Rogers is one of baseball's most promising prospects. If he can make strides at the plate, the 23-year-old could be in the Detroit Tigers lineup within a year. If he doesn't, his time as a prospect could be fleeting. "Right now I think he could catch in the big leagues, for sure," said Lou Marson, the former big-league catcher who managed Mesa this fall. "You look at the way he receives the ball, the way he catches and throws, his body language, the way he carries himself. He's done a great job here in the fall league." But? "But obviously if you want to be a front-line guy, you're going to have to do some things offensively." The offseason won't last long. And when Rogers arrives in Lakeland, Fla., in February, he'll be entering a critical season for his future. The Tigers will announce in the coming days whether they plan to offer veteran catcher James McCann a contract for 2019. If they don't, Rogers will rise at least temporarily to No. 3 on the organization's catching depth chart (behind John Hicks and Grayson Greiner) and a full-time job in 2020 could be within his grasp. Rogers' 2018 season got off to a rough start at Double-A Erie, where he hit .157 (.464 OPS) &amp;nbsp;with 47 strikeouts in 152 plate appearances in the first two months of the season. But he worked with Erie hitting coach Mike Hessman and minor-league hitting instructor Scott Fletcher to turn things around. After June 1, he hit .257 (.871 OPS) in 256 plate appearances with 14 home runs, 15 doubles and a robust .528 slugging percentage. "I had a slow start hitting-wise, but the last three or four months were really good for me," he said.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Rogers wasn't able to continue that momentum in the AFL, getting eight hits -- although five of them were doubles -- in 48 at-bats (.167 batting average) with three walks and 11 strikeouts. After slugging 18 home runs between two Class A levels for the Houston Astros in 2017, Rogers maintained his power in 2018, although at the cost of a slight uptick in strikeouts and a decline in walks. His BABIP dipped to .261 in 2018, below career norms, suggesting he was hitting too many fly balls that stayed in park while experiencing some bad luck to boot. With that mind, Rogers has worked on making hard contact and minimizing the holes in his swing. "Just trying to square the ball up pretty good. The approach is kind of toning it down a little bit and working on putting the ball in play more," Rogers said. "When I do hit, it goes for doubles and home runs, but I need a little bit more consistency and try to avoid the big holes that I was in earlier in the year. There's going to be ups and downs, but the name of the game is minimizing the downs as much as you can. I really need to get more consistent in my swing and go from there." If Rogers doesn't start the season at Triple-A Toledo, he should be there relatively quickly, putting him on the doorstep of the big leagues. After that, his performance will affect when he ultimately arrives in Detroit. "(Reaching Detroit) in your mind but I don't think about it. It's there. You're getting close to where you've always dreamed to going," Rogers said. "But as everyone says, it's always the same game. So you just go out there and play the same game you've been playing ever since you were a little kid."</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  866. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  868. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  875. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  876. &lt;/a&gt;
  878. &lt;/span&gt;
  881. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>If he can make strides at the plate, the 23-year-old could be in the Detroit Tigers lineup within a year. Watch video PEORIA, Ariz. -- Jake Rogers is ready to be a Major League catcher. But he might not get that opportunity unless he can turn himself into a big-league hitter first. Rogers, acquired last August in the Justin Verlander trade, wrapped up his first full season in the Detroit Tigers organization on Thursday, the final day of the regular season in the Arizona Fall League. After nine months of daily baseball, Rogers and his six Tigers teammates on the Mesa Solar Sox are due for a breather. Behind the plate, Rogers is one of baseball's most promising prospects. If he can make strides at the plate, the 23-year-old could be in the Detroit Tigers lineup within a year. If he doesn't, his time as a prospect could be fleeting. "Right now I think he could catch in the big leagues, for sure," said Lou Marson, the former big-league catcher who managed Mesa this fall. "You look at the way he receives the ball, the way he catches and throws, his body language, the way he carries himself. He's done a great job here in the fall league." But? "But obviously if you want to be a front-line guy, you're going to have to do some things offensively." The offseason won't last long. And when Rogers arrives in Lakeland, Fla., in February, he'll be entering a critical season for his future. The Tigers will announce in the coming days whether they plan to offer veteran catcher James McCann a contract for 2019. If they don't, Rogers will rise at least temporarily to No. 3 on the organization's catching depth chart (behind John Hicks and Grayson Greiner) and a full-time job in 2020 could be within his grasp. Rogers' 2018 season got off to a rough start at Double-A Erie, where he hit .157 (.464 OPS) &amp;nbsp;with 47 strikeouts in 152 plate appearances in the first two months of the season. But he worked with Erie hitting coach Mike Hessman and minor-league hitting instructor Scott Fletcher to turn things around. After June 1, he hit .257 (.871 OPS) in 256 plate appearances with 14 home runs, 15 doubles and a robust .528 slugging percentage. "I had a slow start hitting-wise, but the last three or four months were really good for me," he said.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Rogers wasn't able to continue that momentum in the AFL, getting eight hits -- although five of them were doubles -- in 48 at-bats (.167 batting average) with three walks and 11 strikeouts. After slugging 18 home runs between two Class A levels for the Houston Astros in 2017, Rogers maintained his power in 2018, although at the cost of a slight uptick in strikeouts and a decline in walks. His BABIP dipped to .261 in 2018, below career norms, suggesting he was hitting too many fly balls that stayed in park while experiencing some bad luck to boot. With that mind, Rogers has worked on making hard contact and minimizing the holes in his swing. "Just trying to square the ball up pretty good. The approach is kind of toning it down a little bit and working on putting the ball in play more," Rogers said. "When I do hit, it goes for doubles and home runs, but I need a little bit more consistency and try to avoid the big holes that I was in earlier in the year. There's going to be ups and downs, but the name of the game is minimizing the downs as much as you can. I really need to get more consistent in my swing and go from there." If Rogers doesn't start the season at Triple-A Toledo, he should be there relatively quickly, putting him on the doorstep of the big leagues. After that, his performance will affect when he ultimately arrives in Detroit. "(Reaching Detroit) in your mind but I don't think about it. It's there. You're getting close to where you've always dreamed to going," Rogers said. "But as everyone says, it's always the same game. So you just go out there and play the same game you've been playing ever since you were a little kid."</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, jake-rogers, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
  882.  
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  893. <item>
  894. <title><![CDATA[Christian Yelich, Mookie Betts win 2018 MVP awards]]></title>
  895. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  896. <description>
  899. <![CDATA[
  903. <p>
  904. Milwaukee&apos;s Christian Yelich was close to a unanimous pick for the NL honor.
  906. </p>
  909. <p>NEW YORK (AP) -- Mookie Betts is ready to become an ambassador for baseball, now that he's won a batting title, World Series and Most Valuable Player award with Boston.</p>
  910. <p>"I enjoy being kind of a face around the game. I've kind of used this pedestal or whatever you want to say to spread knowledge that the game is fun," he said Thursday after his runaway victory for the AL MVP award.</p>
  911. <p>Milwaukee's Christian Yelich was close to a unanimous pick for the NL honor. A 26-year-old outfielder just like Betts, Yelich also won a batting championship and led his team to a division title. But while Betts has been with the Red Sox since he signed after the 2011 amateur draft, Yelich didn't join the Brewers until he was dealt to Milwaukee last January by the payroll-paring Miami Marlins.</p>
  912. <p>"I'm thankful it all worked out because being traded, you never know how it's going to be," Yelich said. "Luckily for myself, it all went amazing."</p>
  913. <p>Yelich is signed through 2021 and his deal includes a team option for the following season. Betts didn't want to speculate whether he would be a Red Sox lifer, like former Boston MVPs Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice. Betts can become a free agent after the 2020 season.</p>
  914. <p>"Right now I'm just focusing on the 2019 season coming up," he said.</p>
  915. <p>Betts received 28 first-place votes and 410 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America.</p>
  916. <p>Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, a two-time MVP, followed with one first-place vote and 265 points. Trout tied the record of four second-place finishes shared by Stan Musial, Williams and Albert Pujols. Trout won in 2014 and 2016, finished second in '12, '13 and '15, and was fourth in 2017.</p>
  917. <p>Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez was third with 208 points, and Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez was next with one first and 198 points.</p>
  918. <p>Betts hit a major league-leading .346 with 32 homers, 80 RBIs, 42 doubles and 30 stolen bases as the leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, who won a team-record 108 games and their fourth World Series title in 15 seasons. Votes were submitted before the postseason.</p>
  919. <p>Betts, second to Trout in the 2016 vote, raised his profile when he fed homeless people on the steps of Boston's Public Library after the second game of the World Series. Unlike some baseball players, he doesn't eschew off-the-field limelight. Commissioner Rob Manfred criticized Trout during the All-Star Game for not making enough of a marketing effort.</p>
  920. <p>"I definitely think it's pretty cool in some settings," he said, "and in some setting settings I just kind of want to be with my family."</p>
  921. <p>Both batting champions won MVP awards for the first time since San Francisco's Buster Posey and Detroit's Miguel Cabrera in 2012.</p>
  922. <p>Yelich got 29 first-place votes and 415 points, and the other first-place vote went to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, the NL Cy Young Award winner, who finished fifth. Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez was second with 250 points, followed by Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado with 203.</p>
  923. <p>Yelich won the first batting title in Brewers history with a .326 average. He set career highs with 36 homers and 110 RBIs and had a 1.000 OPS.</p>
  924. <p>Yelich nearly became the NL's first Triple Crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937, finishing two homers shy of Arenado and one RBI back of Baez. Yelich was especially impressive in the second half, hitting .367 with 25 homers and 67 RBIs -- including 11 homers in August and 10 in September.</p>
  925. <p>Milwaukee reached the playoffs for the first time in seven years, swept Colorado in the Division Series then lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-game League Championship Series, falling one win short of its first World Series appearance since 2002.</p>
  926. <p>Yelich gets a $100,000 bonus for winning, and the price of the 2022 team option in his contract increased by $1 million to $16 million.</p>
  927. <p>Yelich celebrated in Southern California with family and friends, including Heisman Trophy winner and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Yelich is from Westlake Village, California, near the site of a recent mass shooting and the Southern California wildfires. He wore a Los Angeles Fire Department cap during TV interviews.</p>
  928. <p>"Almost everyone had to be evacuated, just from the Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Malibu area," he said. "We were fortunate enough to make it with no damage, A lot of people, unfortunately, were not able to say the same."</p>
  929. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
  930. <p dir="ltr" lang="en">One Jacob deGrom vote away from unanimous for <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristianYelich?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChristianYelich</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MVP</a> <a href="https://t.co/CGHKjSj0JH">pic.twitter.com/CGHKjSj0JH</a></p>
  931. -- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1063211597454286848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
  932. <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  933. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
  934. <p dir="ltr" lang="en">The <a href="https://twitter.com/RedSox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RedSox</a> slugger received 28-of-30 first-place votes for AL <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MVP</a>! <a href="https://t.co/Vfp9l9XpOa">pic.twitter.com/Vfp9l9XpOa</a></p>
  935. -- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1063218462632435720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
  936. <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  938. ]]>
  941. </description>
  942. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/2018_mlb_mvps.html</link>
  945. <author><![CDATA[
  949. <span class="author vcard">
  951. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/user/mliveapuser/posts.html">
  958. The Associated Press
  959. </a>
  961. </span>
  964. ]]></author>
  965. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/2018_mlb_mvps.html</guid>
  972. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  974. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  976. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">christian-yelich</category>
  978. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">mookie-betts</category>
  980. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  985. <pubDate>Fri, 16 Nov 2018 03:44:00 UTC</pubDate>
  986. <updated>2018-11-16T03:44:28Z</updated>
  992. <enclosure length="720848" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25026180-large.jpg"/>
  994.  
  998.  
  999.                    
  1000.                      <advance:original>
  1001.                        
  1002.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  1003.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  1004.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>In this Monday, Sept. 17, 2018 file photo, Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Milwaukee. Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich was a runaway winner for the National League Most Valuable Player award after helping the Brewers return to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Yelich received 29 first-place votes and 415 points from the Baseball Writers' Association in balloting announced Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash, File)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  1005.                      </advance:original>
  1006.                    
  1007.  
  1008.                
  1011. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Milwaukee&amp;apos;s Christian Yelich was close to a unanimous pick for the NL honor. NEW YORK (AP) -- Mookie Betts is ready to become an ambassador for baseball, now that he's won a batting title, World Series and Most Valuable Player award with Boston. "I enjoy being kind of a face around the game. I've kind of used this pedestal or whatever you want to say to spread knowledge that the game is fun," he said Thursday after his runaway victory for the AL MVP award. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich was close to a unanimous pick for the NL honor. A 26-year-old outfielder just like Betts, Yelich also won a batting championship and led his team to a division title. But while Betts has been with the Red Sox since he signed after the 2011 amateur draft, Yelich didn't join the Brewers until he was dealt to Milwaukee last January by the payroll-paring Miami Marlins. "I'm thankful it all worked out because being traded, you never know how it's going to be," Yelich said. "Luckily for myself, it all went amazing." Yelich is signed through 2021 and his deal includes a team option for the following season. Betts didn't want to speculate whether he would be a Red Sox lifer, like former Boston MVPs Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice. Betts can become a free agent after the 2020 season. "Right now I'm just focusing on the 2019 season coming up," he said. Betts received 28 first-place votes and 410 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, a two-time MVP, followed with one first-place vote and 265 points. Trout tied the record of four second-place finishes shared by Stan Musial, Williams and Albert Pujols. Trout won in 2014 and 2016, finished second in '12, '13 and '15, and was fourth in 2017. Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez was third with 208 points, and Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez was next with one first and 198 points. Betts hit a major league-leading .346 with 32 homers, 80 RBIs, 42 doubles and 30 stolen bases as the leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, who won a team-record 108 games and their fourth World Series title in 15 seasons. Votes were submitted before the postseason. Betts, second to Trout in the 2016 vote, raised his profile when he fed homeless people on the steps of Boston's Public Library after the second game of the World Series. Unlike some baseball players, he doesn't eschew off-the-field limelight. Commissioner Rob Manfred criticized Trout during the All-Star Game for not making enough of a marketing effort. "I definitely think it's pretty cool in some settings," he said, "and in some setting settings I just kind of want to be with my family." Both batting champions won MVP awards for the first time since San Francisco's Buster Posey and Detroit's Miguel Cabrera in 2012. Yelich got 29 first-place votes and 415 points, and the other first-place vote went to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, the NL Cy Young Award winner, who finished fifth. Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez was second with 250 points, followed by Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado with 203. Yelich won the first batting title in Brewers history with a .326 average. He set career highs with 36 homers and 110 RBIs and had a 1.000 OPS. Yelich nearly became the NL's first Triple Crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937, finishing two homers shy of Arenado and one RBI back of Baez. Yelich was especially impressive in the second half, hitting .367 with 25 homers and 67 RBIs -- including 11 homers in August and 10 in September. Milwaukee reached the playoffs for the first time in seven years, swept Colorado in the Division Series then lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-game League Championship Series, falling one win short of its first World Series appearance since 2002. Yelich gets a $100,000 bonus for winning, and the price of the 2022 team option in his contract increased by $1 million to $16 million. Yelich celebrated in Southern California with family and friends, including Heisman Trophy winner and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Yelich is from Westlake Village, California, near the site of a recent mass shooting and the Southern California wildfires. He wore a Los Angeles Fire Department cap during TV interviews. "Almost everyone had to be evacuated, just from the Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Malibu area," he said. "We were fortunate enough to make it with no damage, A lot of people, unfortunately, were not able to say the same." One Jacob deGrom vote away from unanimous for @ChristianYelich! #MVP pic.twitter.com/CGHKjSj0JH -- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 15, 2018 The @RedSox slugger received 28-of-30 first-place votes for AL #MVP! pic.twitter.com/Vfp9l9XpOa -- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 15, 2018</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  1015. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  1017. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/user/mliveapuser/posts.html"&gt;
  1024. The Associated Press
  1025. &lt;/a&gt;
  1027. &lt;/span&gt;
  1030. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>Milwaukee&amp;apos;s Christian Yelich was close to a unanimous pick for the NL honor. NEW YORK (AP) -- Mookie Betts is ready to become an ambassador for baseball, now that he's won a batting title, World Series and Most Valuable Player award with Boston. "I enjoy being kind of a face around the game. I've kind of used this pedestal or whatever you want to say to spread knowledge that the game is fun," he said Thursday after his runaway victory for the AL MVP award. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich was close to a unanimous pick for the NL honor. A 26-year-old outfielder just like Betts, Yelich also won a batting championship and led his team to a division title. But while Betts has been with the Red Sox since he signed after the 2011 amateur draft, Yelich didn't join the Brewers until he was dealt to Milwaukee last January by the payroll-paring Miami Marlins. "I'm thankful it all worked out because being traded, you never know how it's going to be," Yelich said. "Luckily for myself, it all went amazing." Yelich is signed through 2021 and his deal includes a team option for the following season. Betts didn't want to speculate whether he would be a Red Sox lifer, like former Boston MVPs Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice. Betts can become a free agent after the 2020 season. "Right now I'm just focusing on the 2019 season coming up," he said. Betts received 28 first-place votes and 410 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, a two-time MVP, followed with one first-place vote and 265 points. Trout tied the record of four second-place finishes shared by Stan Musial, Williams and Albert Pujols. Trout won in 2014 and 2016, finished second in '12, '13 and '15, and was fourth in 2017. Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez was third with 208 points, and Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez was next with one first and 198 points. Betts hit a major league-leading .346 with 32 homers, 80 RBIs, 42 doubles and 30 stolen bases as the leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, who won a team-record 108 games and their fourth World Series title in 15 seasons. Votes were submitted before the postseason. Betts, second to Trout in the 2016 vote, raised his profile when he fed homeless people on the steps of Boston's Public Library after the second game of the World Series. Unlike some baseball players, he doesn't eschew off-the-field limelight. Commissioner Rob Manfred criticized Trout during the All-Star Game for not making enough of a marketing effort. "I definitely think it's pretty cool in some settings," he said, "and in some setting settings I just kind of want to be with my family." Both batting champions won MVP awards for the first time since San Francisco's Buster Posey and Detroit's Miguel Cabrera in 2012. Yelich got 29 first-place votes and 415 points, and the other first-place vote went to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, the NL Cy Young Award winner, who finished fifth. Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez was second with 250 points, followed by Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado with 203. Yelich won the first batting title in Brewers history with a .326 average. He set career highs with 36 homers and 110 RBIs and had a 1.000 OPS. Yelich nearly became the NL's first Triple Crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937, finishing two homers shy of Arenado and one RBI back of Baez. Yelich was especially impressive in the second half, hitting .367 with 25 homers and 67 RBIs -- including 11 homers in August and 10 in September. Milwaukee reached the playoffs for the first time in seven years, swept Colorado in the Division Series then lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-game League Championship Series, falling one win short of its first World Series appearance since 2002. Yelich gets a $100,000 bonus for winning, and the price of the 2022 team option in his contract increased by $1 million to $16 million. Yelich celebrated in Southern California with family and friends, including Heisman Trophy winner and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Yelich is from Westlake Village, California, near the site of a recent mass shooting and the Southern California wildfires. He wore a Los Angeles Fire Department cap during TV interviews. "Almost everyone had to be evacuated, just from the Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Malibu area," he said. "We were fortunate enough to make it with no damage, A lot of people, unfortunately, were not able to say the same." One Jacob deGrom vote away from unanimous for @ChristianYelich! #MVP pic.twitter.com/CGHKjSj0JH -- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 15, 2018 The @RedSox slugger received 28-of-30 first-place votes for AL #MVP! pic.twitter.com/Vfp9l9XpOa -- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 15, 2018</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-sports, christian-yelich, mookie-betts, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
  1031.  
  1035.  
  1036.  
  1037.  
  1039.  
  1040.  
  1041.  
  1042. <item>
  1043. <title><![CDATA[Comerica Park worker who spit in pizza receives probation sentence]]></title>
  1044. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Michigan News]]></source>
  1045. <description>
  1048. <![CDATA[
  1052. <p>
  1053. He was originally charged with a felony food law violation that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.
  1055. </p>
  1058. <p>DETROIT -- An employee at Comerica Park who was filmed spitting in a pizza that was served to a customer was sentenced Thursday morning to 18 months probation, <a href="http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/food-service-worker-gets-probation-after-spitting-on-pizza-at-comerica-park">according to Fox 2 Detroit. </a></p>
  1059. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/09/video_shows_comerica_park_empl.html" data-enhanced="small">Video shows Comerica Park employee spitting in customer's pizza</a></p>
  1060. <p>Jaylon Kerley, 20, avoided any jail time after he admitted last month to spitting in the pizza that was eventually served to a customer at the stadium. Kerley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of food law violations.</p>
  1061. <p>He was originally charged with a felony food law violation that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.</p>
  1062. <p>Video of Kerley spitting in the pizza went viral after it was posted in September. He was ordered to undergo screening for Hepatitis, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, all of which came back negative.</p>
  1064. ]]>
  1067. </description>
  1068. <link>http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/11/comerica_park_worker_who_spit.html</link>
  1071. <author><![CDATA[
  1075. <span class="author vcard">
  1077. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/mattdurr/posts.html">
  1084. Matt Durr | mattdurr@mlive.com
  1085. </a>
  1087. </span>
  1090. ]]></author>
  1091. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/11/comerica_park_worker_who_spit.html</guid>
  1098. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@aa-app</category>
  1100. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@aa-news</category>
  1102. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@aa-river</category>
  1104. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-news</category>
  1106. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  1108. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  1110. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@tigers</category>
  1112. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">trending</category>
  1117. <pubDate>Thu, 15 Nov 2018 15:43:00 UTC</pubDate>
  1118. <updated>2018-11-15T15:43:49Z</updated>
  1124. <enclosure length="327789" type="image/png" url="http://media.mlive.com/news/detroit_impact/photo/24900958-large.png"/>
  1126.  
  1130.  
  1131.                    
  1132.                      <advance:original>
  1133.                        
  1134.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  1135.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Gus Burns | fburns@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  1136.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Screen shot of man accused of spitting in pizza inside Comerica Park restaurant.</advance:originalimagecaption>
  1137.                      </advance:original>
  1138.                    
  1139.  
  1140.                
  1143. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>He was originally charged with a felony food law violation that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison. DETROIT -- An employee at Comerica Park who was filmed spitting in a pizza that was served to a customer was sentenced Thursday morning to 18 months probation, according to Fox 2 Detroit. Video shows Comerica Park employee spitting in customer's pizza Jaylon Kerley, 20, avoided any jail time after he admitted last month to spitting in the pizza that was eventually served to a customer at the stadium. Kerley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of food law violations. He was originally charged with a felony food law violation that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison. Video of Kerley spitting in the pizza went viral after it was posted in September. He was ordered to undergo screening for Hepatitis, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, all of which came back negative.</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  1147. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  1149. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/mattdurr/posts.html"&gt;
  1156. Matt Durr | mattdurr@mlive.com
  1157. &lt;/a&gt;
  1159. &lt;/span&gt;
  1162. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>He was originally charged with a felony food law violation that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison. DETROIT -- An employee at Comerica Park who was filmed spitting in a pizza that was served to a customer was sentenced Thursday morning to 18 months probation, according to Fox 2 Detroit. Video shows Comerica Park employee spitting in customer's pizza Jaylon Kerley, 20, avoided any jail time after he admitted last month to spitting in the pizza that was eventually served to a customer at the stadium. Kerley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of food law violations. He was originally charged with a felony food law violation that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison. Video of Kerley spitting in the pizza went viral after it was posted in September. He was ordered to undergo screening for Hepatitis, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, all of which came back negative.</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@aa-app, @aa-news, @aa-river, @mlive-news, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, @tigers, trending</itunes:keywords></item>
  1163.  
  1167.  
  1168.  
  1169.  
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  1172.  
  1173.  
  1174. <item>
  1175. <title><![CDATA[To Kate Upton's chagrin, Justin Verlander is Cy Young runner-up again]]></title>
  1176. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  1177. <description>
  1180. <![CDATA[
  1184. <p>
  1185. Verlander finish second in the voting for a third time.
  1187. </p>
  1190. <p>The joys of <a href="https://www.mlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/11/kate_upton_justin_verlander_sh.html">motherhood</a> should help ease Kate Upton's pain this time around. Maybe.</p>
  1191.  
  1192. <p>But there was her husband, Justin Verlander, finishing runner-up again for the American League Cy Young award Wednesday night, in a close vote with Tampa Bay's Blake Snell. </p>
  1193.  
  1194. <p>It was the third time Verlander has come in second. He won it in 2011. In the past, Upton has lashed out on social media in his defense, <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2016/11/kate_upton_furious_about_fianc.html">especially over Rick Porcello in 2016</a>.</p>
  1195.  
  1196. <p>This time was a little more tongue in cheek.</p>
  1197.  
  1198. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Let's just say I won't be going to Tampa any time soon <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tampastrikesagain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tampastrikesagain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CyYoung?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CyYoung</a> ... Justin wants everyone to know I'm "joking"</p>&mdash; Kate Upton (@KateUpton) <a href="https://twitter.com/KateUpton/status/1062859033651146754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
  1199. <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  1200.  
  1201. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I walk away for TWO SECONDS and she puts quotes on "joking".  [?] [?]  <a href="https://t.co/7w3hIykZtm">https://t.co/7w3hIykZtm</a></p>&mdash; Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinVerlander/status/1062859543540101120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
  1202. <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  1203.  
  1204. <p>Snell received 17 of 30 first-place votes. The first-time All-Star was 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA.</p>
  1205.  
  1206. <p>The 35-year-old Verlander got the other 13 after a terrific season with the Houston Astros, going 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA and leading the American League with 290 strikeouts.</p>
  1207.  
  1208. <p>Tampa Bay's David Price won the award in 2012 the other time Verlander was second.</p>
  1209.  
  1210. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">Final Results. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CyYoung?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CyYoung</a> <a href="https://t.co/JyeY77Ohlo">pic.twitter.com/JyeY77Ohlo</a></p>&mdash; Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmilyCWaldon/status/1062849237166288897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
  1211. <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  1212.  
  1213. <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqLg-ORh4dW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqLg-ORh4dW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqLg-ORh4dW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Daddy daughter snuggles beat everything [?]  #Repost @justinverlander  Didn't win #cyyoungaward , but I can't be too upset when I have this little girl waiting for her daddy off camera!</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kateupton/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Kate Upton</a> (@kateupton) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-11-14T23:54:34+00:00">Nov 14, 2018 at 3:54pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
  1215. ]]>
  1218. </description>
  1219. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/to_kate_uptons_chagrin_justin.html</link>
  1222. <author><![CDATA[
  1226. <span class="author vcard">
  1228. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/jslagter/posts.html">
  1235. Josh Slagter | jslagter@mlive.com
  1236. </a>
  1238. </span>
  1241. ]]></author>
  1242. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/to_kate_uptons_chagrin_justin.html</guid>
  1249. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  1251. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  1253. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">trending</category>
  1258. <pubDate>Thu, 15 Nov 2018 13:35:53 UTC</pubDate>
  1259. <updated>2018-11-15T13:36:50Z</updated>
  1265. <enclosure length="293873" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25024989-large.jpg"/>
  1267.  
  1271.  
  1272.                    
  1273.                      <advance:original>
  1274.                        
  1275.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  1276.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Josh Slagter | jslagter@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  1277.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Justin Verlander and Kate Upton recently welcomed their first child. (Michael Wyke | AP Photo)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  1278.                      </advance:original>
  1279.                    
  1280.  
  1281.                
  1284. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Verlander finish second in the voting for a third time. The joys of motherhood should help ease Kate Upton's pain this time around. Maybe. But there was her husband, Justin Verlander, finishing runner-up again for the American League Cy Young award Wednesday night, in a close vote with Tampa Bay's Blake Snell. It was the third time Verlander has come in second. He won it in 2011. In the past, Upton has lashed out on social media in his defense, especially over Rick Porcello in 2016. This time was a little more tongue in cheek. Let's just say I won't be going to Tampa any time soon #Tampastrikesagain #CyYoung ... Justin wants everyone to know I'm "joking"&amp;mdash; Kate Upton (@KateUpton) November 15, 2018 I walk away for TWO SECONDS and she puts quotes on "joking". [?] [?] https://t.co/7w3hIykZtm&amp;mdash; Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) November 15, 2018 Snell received 17 of 30 first-place votes. The first-time All-Star was 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA. The 35-year-old Verlander got the other 13 after a terrific season with the Houston Astros, going 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA and leading the American League with 290 strikeouts. Tampa Bay's David Price won the award in 2012 the other time Verlander was second. Final Results. #CyYoung pic.twitter.com/JyeY77Ohlo&amp;mdash; Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) November 14, 2018 View this post on Instagram Daddy daughter snuggles beat everything [?] #Repost @justinverlander Didn't win #cyyoungaward , but I can't be too upset when I have this little girl waiting for her daddy off camera! A post shared by Kate Upton (@kateupton) on Nov 14, 2018 at 3:54pm PST</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  1288. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  1290. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/jslagter/posts.html"&gt;
  1297. Josh Slagter | jslagter@mlive.com
  1298. &lt;/a&gt;
  1300. &lt;/span&gt;
  1303. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>Verlander finish second in the voting for a third time. The joys of motherhood should help ease Kate Upton's pain this time around. Maybe. But there was her husband, Justin Verlander, finishing runner-up again for the American League Cy Young award Wednesday night, in a close vote with Tampa Bay's Blake Snell. It was the third time Verlander has come in second. He won it in 2011. In the past, Upton has lashed out on social media in his defense, especially over Rick Porcello in 2016. This time was a little more tongue in cheek. Let's just say I won't be going to Tampa any time soon #Tampastrikesagain #CyYoung ... Justin wants everyone to know I'm "joking"&amp;mdash; Kate Upton (@KateUpton) November 15, 2018 I walk away for TWO SECONDS and she puts quotes on "joking". [?] [?] https://t.co/7w3hIykZtm&amp;mdash; Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) November 15, 2018 Snell received 17 of 30 first-place votes. The first-time All-Star was 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA. The 35-year-old Verlander got the other 13 after a terrific season with the Houston Astros, going 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA and leading the American League with 290 strikeouts. Tampa Bay's David Price won the award in 2012 the other time Verlander was second. Final Results. #CyYoung pic.twitter.com/JyeY77Ohlo&amp;mdash; Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) November 14, 2018 View this post on Instagram Daddy daughter snuggles beat everything [?] #Repost @justinverlander Didn't win #cyyoungaward , but I can't be too upset when I have this little girl waiting for her daddy off camera! A post shared by Kate Upton (@kateupton) on Nov 14, 2018 at 3:54pm PST</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@mlive-river, @mlive-sports, trending</itunes:keywords></item>
  1304.  
  1308.  
  1309.  
  1310.  
  1312.  
  1313.  
  1314.  
  1315. <item>
  1316. <title><![CDATA[Nicholas Castellanos is 2018 Tiger of the Year]]></title>
  1317. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  1318. <description>
  1321. <![CDATA[
  1325. <p>
  1326. Castellanos was selected by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
  1328. </p>
  1331. <p>CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Right fielder Nicholas Castellanos has been selected the Tiger of the Year for 2018.</p>
  1332. <p>Castellanos was selected by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He earned 19 of 20 first-place votes. Reliever Joe Jimenez received the other vote.</p>
  1333. <p id="27c9">Castellanos, 26, hit .298/.354/.500 with 88 runs scored, 46 doubles, five triples, 23 home runs, 89 RBI and 49 walks in 157 games this year. He had a career-high 185 hits, third-best in the American League.&nbsp;</p>
  1334. <p>His&nbsp;56 multi-hit games were also third-best in the AL. He was ranked fourth with 46 doubles and 10 outfield assists. He hit .381 against left-handed pitchers, best among qualified players in the major leagues.&nbsp;</p>
  1335. <p>This is Castellanos' first Tiger of the Year award. Previous recipients are listed below.</p>
  1336. <p id="8611">1965 -- Don Wert</p>
  1337. <p id="7500">1966 -- Al Kaline</p>
  1338. <p id="5d35">1967 -- Bill Freehan</p>
  1339. <p id="1e0f">1968 -- Denny McLain</p>
  1340. <p id="058c">1969 -- Denny McLain</p>
  1341. <p id="e893">1970 -- Tom Timmerman</p>
  1342. <p id="3def">1971 -- Mickey Lolich</p>
  1343. <p id="f799">1972 -- Ed Brinkman</p>
  1344. <p id="6c9b">1973 -- John Hiller</p>
  1345. <p id="aa41">1974 -- Al Kaline</p>
  1346. <p id="814e">1975 -- Willie Horton</p>
  1347. <p id="f71e">1976 -- Mark Fidrych</p>
  1348. <p id="8ad9">1977 -- Ron LeFlore</p>
  1349. <p id="e653">1978 -- Ron LeFlore</p>
  1350. <p id="5b19">1979 -- Steve Kemp</p>
  1351. <p id="55f6">1980 -- Alan Trammell</p>
  1352. <p id="c7fa">1981 -- Kirk Gibson</p>
  1353. <p id="b7a6">1982 -- Lance Parrish</p>
  1354. <p id="2fb8">1983 -- Lou Whitaker</p>
  1355. <p id="a8bd">1984 -- Willie Hernandez</p>
  1356. <p id="ed16">1985 -- Darrell Evans</p>
  1357. <p id="1ee7">1986 -- Jack Morris</p>
  1358. <p id="175f">1987 -- Alan Trammell</p>
  1359. <p id="c817">1988 -- Alan Trammell</p>
  1360. <p id="d64d">1989 -- Lou Whitaker</p>
  1361. <p id="77ac">1990 -- Cecil Fielder</p>
  1362. <p id="3b61">1991 -- Cecil Fielder</p>
  1363. <p id="a498">1992 -- Cecil Fielder</p>
  1364. <p id="659f">1993 -- Tony Phillips</p>
  1365. <p id="0b92">1994 -- Kirk Gibson</p>
  1366. <p id="58a5">1995 -- Travis Fryman</p>
  1367. <p id="acc3">1996 -- Travis Fryman</p>
  1368. <p id="d9a5">1997 -- Tony Clark and Bobby Higginson (tie)</p>
  1369. <p id="2236">1998 -- Damion Easley</p>
  1370. <p id="7838">1999 -- Dean Palmer</p>
  1371. <p id="ef80">2000 -- Bobby Higginson</p>
  1372. <p id="79ae">2001 -- Steve Sparks</p>
  1373. <p id="1e59">2002 -- Randall Simon</p>
  1374. <p id="153c">2003 -- Dmitri Young</p>
  1375. <p id="f60b">2004 -- Ivan Rodriguez</p>
  1376. <p id="4800">2005 -- Placido Polanco</p>
  1377. <p id="49a5">2006 -- Carlos Guillen</p>
  1378. <p id="6917">2007 -- Magglio Ordonez</p>
  1379. <p id="feda">2008 -- Miguel Cabrera</p>
  1380. <p id="ea56">2009 -- Justin Verlander</p>
  1381. <p id="cecd">2010 -- Miguel Cabrera</p>
  1382. <p id="8c2c">2011 -- Justin Verlander</p>
  1383. <p id="0837">2012 -- Miguel Cabrera</p>
  1384. <p id="4a2e">2013 -- Miguel Cabrera</p>
  1385. <p id="3519">2014 -- Victor Martinez</p>
  1386. <p id="e9fe">2015 -- J.D. Martinez</p>
  1387. <p id="9252">2016 -- Justin Verlander</p>
  1388. <p id="c35f">2017 -- Justin Upton</p>
  1389. <p id="a3d7">2018 -- Nicholas Castellanos</p>
  1391. ]]>
  1394. </description>
  1395. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/nicholas_castellanos_tiger_of.html</link>
  1398. <author><![CDATA[
  1402. <span class="author vcard">
  1404. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  1411. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  1412. </a>
  1414. </span>
  1417. ]]></author>
  1418. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/nicholas_castellanos_tiger_of.html</guid>
  1425. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  1427. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  1429. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  1431. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@tigers</category>
  1433. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">nicholas-castellanos</category>
  1435. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  1440. <pubDate>Thu, 08 Nov 2018 20:27:30 UTC</pubDate>
  1441. <updated>2018-11-13T15:29:13Z</updated>
  1447. <enclosure length="329715" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25012690-large.jpg"/>
  1449.  
  1453.  
  1454.                    
  1455.                      <advance:original>
  1456.                        
  1457.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  1458.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  1459.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Detroit Tigers' Nicholas Castellanos hits a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox in the seventh inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  1460.                      </advance:original>
  1461.                    
  1462.  
  1463.                
  1466. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Castellanos was selected by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Right fielder Nicholas Castellanos has been selected the Tiger of the Year for 2018. Castellanos was selected by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He earned 19 of 20 first-place votes. Reliever Joe Jimenez received the other vote. Castellanos, 26, hit .298/.354/.500 with 88 runs scored, 46 doubles, five triples, 23 home runs, 89 RBI and 49 walks in 157 games this year. He had a career-high 185 hits, third-best in the American League.&amp;nbsp; His&amp;nbsp;56 multi-hit games were also third-best in the AL. He was ranked fourth with 46 doubles and 10 outfield assists. He hit .381 against left-handed pitchers, best among qualified players in the major leagues.&amp;nbsp; This is Castellanos' first Tiger of the Year award. Previous recipients are listed below. 1965 -- Don Wert 1966 -- Al Kaline 1967 -- Bill Freehan 1968 -- Denny McLain 1969 -- Denny McLain 1970 -- Tom Timmerman 1971 -- Mickey Lolich 1972 -- Ed Brinkman 1973 -- John Hiller 1974 -- Al Kaline 1975 -- Willie Horton 1976 -- Mark Fidrych 1977 -- Ron LeFlore 1978 -- Ron LeFlore 1979 -- Steve Kemp 1980 -- Alan Trammell 1981 -- Kirk Gibson 1982 -- Lance Parrish 1983 -- Lou Whitaker 1984 -- Willie Hernandez 1985 -- Darrell Evans 1986 -- Jack Morris 1987 -- Alan Trammell 1988 -- Alan Trammell 1989 -- Lou Whitaker 1990 -- Cecil Fielder 1991 -- Cecil Fielder 1992 -- Cecil Fielder 1993 -- Tony Phillips 1994 -- Kirk Gibson 1995 -- Travis Fryman 1996 -- Travis Fryman 1997 -- Tony Clark and Bobby Higginson (tie) 1998 -- Damion Easley 1999 -- Dean Palmer 2000 -- Bobby Higginson 2001 -- Steve Sparks 2002 -- Randall Simon 2003 -- Dmitri Young 2004 -- Ivan Rodriguez 2005 -- Placido Polanco 2006 -- Carlos Guillen 2007 -- Magglio Ordonez 2008 -- Miguel Cabrera 2009 -- Justin Verlander 2010 -- Miguel Cabrera 2011 -- Justin Verlander 2012 -- Miguel Cabrera 2013 -- Miguel Cabrera 2014 -- Victor Martinez 2015 -- J.D. Martinez 2016 -- Justin Verlander 2017 -- Justin Upton 2018 -- Nicholas Castellanos</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  1470. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  1472. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  1479. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  1480. &lt;/a&gt;
  1482. &lt;/span&gt;
  1485. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>Castellanos was selected by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Right fielder Nicholas Castellanos has been selected the Tiger of the Year for 2018. Castellanos was selected by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He earned 19 of 20 first-place votes. Reliever Joe Jimenez received the other vote. Castellanos, 26, hit .298/.354/.500 with 88 runs scored, 46 doubles, five triples, 23 home runs, 89 RBI and 49 walks in 157 games this year. He had a career-high 185 hits, third-best in the American League.&amp;nbsp; His&amp;nbsp;56 multi-hit games were also third-best in the AL. He was ranked fourth with 46 doubles and 10 outfield assists. He hit .381 against left-handed pitchers, best among qualified players in the major leagues.&amp;nbsp; This is Castellanos' first Tiger of the Year award. Previous recipients are listed below. 1965 -- Don Wert 1966 -- Al Kaline 1967 -- Bill Freehan 1968 -- Denny McLain 1969 -- Denny McLain 1970 -- Tom Timmerman 1971 -- Mickey Lolich 1972 -- Ed Brinkman 1973 -- John Hiller 1974 -- Al Kaline 1975 -- Willie Horton 1976 -- Mark Fidrych 1977 -- Ron LeFlore 1978 -- Ron LeFlore 1979 -- Steve Kemp 1980 -- Alan Trammell 1981 -- Kirk Gibson 1982 -- Lance Parrish 1983 -- Lou Whitaker 1984 -- Willie Hernandez 1985 -- Darrell Evans 1986 -- Jack Morris 1987 -- Alan Trammell 1988 -- Alan Trammell 1989 -- Lou Whitaker 1990 -- Cecil Fielder 1991 -- Cecil Fielder 1992 -- Cecil Fielder 1993 -- Tony Phillips 1994 -- Kirk Gibson 1995 -- Travis Fryman 1996 -- Travis Fryman 1997 -- Tony Clark and Bobby Higginson (tie) 1998 -- Damion Easley 1999 -- Dean Palmer 2000 -- Bobby Higginson 2001 -- Steve Sparks 2002 -- Randall Simon 2003 -- Dmitri Young 2004 -- Ivan Rodriguez 2005 -- Placido Polanco 2006 -- Carlos Guillen 2007 -- Magglio Ordonez 2008 -- Miguel Cabrera 2009 -- Justin Verlander 2010 -- Miguel Cabrera 2011 -- Justin Verlander 2012 -- Miguel Cabrera 2013 -- Miguel Cabrera 2014 -- Victor Martinez 2015 -- J.D. Martinez 2016 -- Justin Verlander 2017 -- Justin Upton 2018 -- Nicholas Castellanos</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, @tigers, nicholas-castellanos, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
  1486.  
  1490.  
  1491.  
  1492.  
  1494.  
  1495.  
  1496.  
  1497. <item>
  1498. <title><![CDATA[Tim Tebow's Triple-A bound, at least, says Mets GM (his former agent)]]></title>
  1499. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/sports/"><![CDATA[Michigan Sports]]></source>
  1500. <description>
  1503. <![CDATA[
  1507. <p>
  1508. Tebow had last season cut short due to a hand injury.
  1510. </p>
  1513. <p>Tim Tebow will enter the 2019 season knowing he has at least one huge fan in the New York Mets' front office.</p>
  1514.  
  1515. <p>His former agent.</p>
  1516.  
  1517. <p>New Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said his former client likely will begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse, but didn't dismiss the possibility of an opening day roster spot in the big leagues.</p>
  1518.  
  1519. <p>"Timmy is not a guy you want to put restraints on," <a href="http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25210871/new-york-mets-gm-says-tim-tebow-earned-promotion-triple-a">Van Wagenen said Wednesday</a>. "If he sees a block, he's going to work that much harder to go overcome whatever somebody places on him. I believe in him."</p>
  1520.  
  1521. <p>In 2018, Tebow hit .301 in June and .340 in 15 games in July for Double-A Binghampton and talk of a potential September callup had started. But the a broken hamate bone cut Tebow's season short, and surgery was required.</p>
  1522.  
  1523. <p>"The goal is if he can pick that up in spring training and hopefully get off to a good start in Syracuse, then we'll evaluate it when he's ready," Van Wagenen said.</p>
  1524.  
  1525. <p>The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner at Florida signed with the Mets in 2016, and has spent the past two years in the minors.</p>
  1526.  
  1527. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tim Tebow is fully recovered from his broken hamate bone and has been hitting multiple times per week, Brodie Van Wagenen said on <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLBNetwork</a>, &quot;earlier than any player I&#39;ve ever been around ... with a real mission to play in the big leagues next year.&quot;</p>&mdash; Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnthonyDiComo/status/1059970748280922119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
  1528. <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  1529.  
  1530. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I get the issues raised by a former agent/GM pumping his client, but I find it hard not to root for Tim Tebow, who has gone from FB icon to not being afraid of the risk of public humiliation, which takes something most do not have</p>&mdash; Peter Gammons (@pgammo) <a href="https://twitter.com/pgammo/status/1060521621084143616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
  1531. <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  1532.  
  1534. ]]>
  1537. </description>
  1538. <link>http://www.mlive.com/sports/2018/11/tim_tebows_triple-a_bound_at_l.html</link>
  1541. <author><![CDATA[
  1545. <span class="author vcard">
  1547. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/jslagter/posts.html">
  1554. Josh Slagter | jslagter@mlive.com
  1555. </a>
  1557. </span>
  1560. ]]></author>
  1561. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/sports/2018/11/tim_tebows_triple-a_bound_at_l.html</guid>
  1568. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  1570. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@tigers</category>
  1572. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">trending</category>
  1577. <pubDate>Thu, 08 Nov 2018 14:00:28 UTC</pubDate>
  1578. <updated>2018-11-08T14:07:58Z</updated>
  1584. <enclosure length="414012" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/sports_impact/photo/25012132-large.jpg"/>
  1586.  
  1590.  
  1591.                    
  1592.                      <advance:original>
  1593.                        
  1594.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  1595.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Josh Slagter | jslagter@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  1596.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Could Tim Tebow make the Mets' opening day roster? (Julio Cortez | AP Photo)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  1597.                      </advance:original>
  1598.                    
  1599.  
  1600.                
  1603. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Tebow had last season cut short due to a hand injury. Tim Tebow will enter the 2019 season knowing he has at least one huge fan in the New York Mets' front office. His former agent. New Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said his former client likely will begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse, but didn't dismiss the possibility of an opening day roster spot in the big leagues. "Timmy is not a guy you want to put restraints on," Van Wagenen said Wednesday. "If he sees a block, he's going to work that much harder to go overcome whatever somebody places on him. I believe in him." In 2018, Tebow hit .301 in June and .340 in 15 games in July for Double-A Binghampton and talk of a potential September callup had started. But the a broken hamate bone cut Tebow's season short, and surgery was required. "The goal is if he can pick that up in spring training and hopefully get off to a good start in Syracuse, then we'll evaluate it when he's ready," Van Wagenen said. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner at Florida signed with the Mets in 2016, and has spent the past two years in the minors. Tim Tebow is fully recovered from his broken hamate bone and has been hitting multiple times per week, Brodie Van Wagenen said on @MLBNetwork, &amp;quot;earlier than any player I&amp;#39;ve ever been around ... with a real mission to play in the big leagues next year.&amp;quot;&amp;mdash; Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) November 7, 2018 I get the issues raised by a former agent/GM pumping his client, but I find it hard not to root for Tim Tebow, who has gone from FB icon to not being afraid of the risk of public humiliation, which takes something most do not have&amp;mdash; Peter Gammons (@pgammo) November 8, 2018</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  1607. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  1609. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/jslagter/posts.html"&gt;
  1616. Josh Slagter | jslagter@mlive.com
  1617. &lt;/a&gt;
  1619. &lt;/span&gt;
  1622. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>Tebow had last season cut short due to a hand injury. Tim Tebow will enter the 2019 season knowing he has at least one huge fan in the New York Mets' front office. His former agent. New Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said his former client likely will begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse, but didn't dismiss the possibility of an opening day roster spot in the big leagues. "Timmy is not a guy you want to put restraints on," Van Wagenen said Wednesday. "If he sees a block, he's going to work that much harder to go overcome whatever somebody places on him. I believe in him." In 2018, Tebow hit .301 in June and .340 in 15 games in July for Double-A Binghampton and talk of a potential September callup had started. But the a broken hamate bone cut Tebow's season short, and surgery was required. "The goal is if he can pick that up in spring training and hopefully get off to a good start in Syracuse, then we'll evaluate it when he's ready," Van Wagenen said. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner at Florida signed with the Mets in 2016, and has spent the past two years in the minors. Tim Tebow is fully recovered from his broken hamate bone and has been hitting multiple times per week, Brodie Van Wagenen said on @MLBNetwork, &amp;quot;earlier than any player I&amp;#39;ve ever been around ... with a real mission to play in the big leagues next year.&amp;quot;&amp;mdash; Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) November 7, 2018 I get the issues raised by a former agent/GM pumping his client, but I find it hard not to root for Tim Tebow, who has gone from FB icon to not being afraid of the risk of public humiliation, which takes something most do not have&amp;mdash; Peter Gammons (@pgammo) November 8, 2018</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@mlive-river, @tigers, trending</itunes:keywords></item>
  1623.  
  1627.  
  1628.  
  1629.  
  1631.  
  1632.  
  1633.  
  1634. <item>
  1635. <title><![CDATA[Despite JaCoby Jones' offensive woes, Tigers not in market for new center fielder]]></title>
  1636. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  1637. <description>
  1640. <![CDATA[
  1644. <p>
  1645. &quot;I don&apos;t think that&apos;s a priority for us right now,&quot; Avila said Wednesday at the Major League Baseball General Manager meetings.
  1646.  
  1647.  
  1649. </p>
  1652. <p>CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The winter shopping list for Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila might be shorter than previously anticipated.</p>
  1653. <p>1. A middle infielder (probably a shortstop).</p>
  1654. <p>2. A starting pitcher.</p>
  1655. <p>3. A&nbsp;whole lot of minor-league free agents.</p>
  1656. <p>Beyond that, the Tigers will be judicious about how they dole out money.</p>
  1657. <p>That's one reason Avila said finding a center fielder wasn't high on his to-do list, even though JaCoby Jones has a .199 batting average and .597 OPS in 649 career plate appearances.</p>
  1658. <p>"I don't think that's a priority for us right now," Avila said Wednesday at the Major League Baseball General Manager meetings.&nbsp;</p>
  1659. <p>Jones won't be handed the job, Avila said, and will have to compete with Mikie Mahtook and possibly others.&nbsp;</p>
  1660. <p>But if the Tigers add an external candidate to the competition -- say, a left-handed bat in the mold of Leonys Martin -- it will probably be on a minor-league deal.&nbsp;</p>
  1661. <p>Jones' biggest asset is his defense, particularly playing in&nbsp;expansive&nbsp;Comerica Park between two corner outfielders -- Christin Stewart in left and Nicholas Castellanos in right -- with limited range.&nbsp;</p>
  1662. <p>Avila said he believes Stewart's defense has improved and he'll get every opportunity to make the club.</p>
  1663. <p>"Nothing is handed. Nobody's guaranteed anything," Avila said. "I'm not guaranteeing JaCoby Jones or Mikie Mahtook or Christin Stewart.</p>
  1664. <p>"Let's just that, going into this season, those are the guys that will go into spring training competing for a job."</p>
  1665. <p>Other outfielders on the 40-man roster are Brandon Dixon, Mike Gerber, Victor Reyes and Dustin Peterson, although not all of those players may make it to March and others are long shots to be considered for a big-league job.</p>
  1666. <p>"I'm sure there will be other people competing for jobs too," Avila said. "We're&nbsp;always trying to get the team better."</p>
  1668. ]]>
  1671. </description>
  1672. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_jacoby_jones_2.html</link>
  1675. <author><![CDATA[
  1679. <span class="author vcard">
  1681. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  1688. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  1689. </a>
  1691. </span>
  1694. ]]></author>
  1695. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_jacoby_jones_2.html</guid>
  1702. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  1704. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  1706. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  1708. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@tigers</category>
  1710. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">al-avila</category>
  1712. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">jacoby-jones</category>
  1714. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">mikie-mahtook</category>
  1716. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  1721. <pubDate>Thu, 08 Nov 2018 04:30:40 UTC</pubDate>
  1722. <updated>2018-11-13T15:31:07Z</updated>
  1728. <enclosure length="443076" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25011878-large.jpg"/>
  1730.  
  1734.  
  1735.                    
  1736.                      <advance:original>
  1737.                        
  1738.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  1739.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  1740.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Detroit Tigers left fielder JaCoby Jones climbs the outfield wall but can't reach a Houston Astros' Tyler White two-run home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  1741.                      </advance:original>
  1742.                    
  1743.  
  1744.                
  1747. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>&amp;quot;I don&amp;apos;t think that&amp;apos;s a priority for us right now,&amp;quot; Avila said Wednesday at the Major League Baseball General Manager meetings. CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The winter shopping list for Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila might be shorter than previously anticipated. 1. A middle infielder (probably a shortstop). 2. A starting pitcher. 3. A&amp;nbsp;whole lot of minor-league free agents. Beyond that, the Tigers will be judicious about how they dole out money. That's one reason Avila said finding a center fielder wasn't high on his to-do list, even though JaCoby Jones has a .199 batting average and .597 OPS in 649 career plate appearances. "I don't think that's a priority for us right now," Avila said Wednesday at the Major League Baseball General Manager meetings.&amp;nbsp; Jones won't be handed the job, Avila said, and will have to compete with Mikie Mahtook and possibly others.&amp;nbsp; But if the Tigers add an external candidate to the competition -- say, a left-handed bat in the mold of Leonys Martin -- it will probably be on a minor-league deal.&amp;nbsp; Jones' biggest asset is his defense, particularly playing in&amp;nbsp;expansive&amp;nbsp;Comerica Park between two corner outfielders -- Christin Stewart in left and Nicholas Castellanos in right -- with limited range.&amp;nbsp; Avila said he believes Stewart's defense has improved and he'll get every opportunity to make the club. "Nothing is handed. Nobody's guaranteed anything," Avila said. "I'm not guaranteeing JaCoby Jones or Mikie Mahtook or Christin Stewart. "Let's just that, going into this season, those are the guys that will go into spring training competing for a job." Other outfielders on the 40-man roster are Brandon Dixon, Mike Gerber, Victor Reyes and Dustin Peterson, although not all of those players may make it to March and others are long shots to be considered for a big-league job. "I'm sure there will be other people competing for jobs too," Avila said. "We're&amp;nbsp;always trying to get the team better."</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  1751. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  1753. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  1760. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  1761. &lt;/a&gt;
  1763. &lt;/span&gt;
  1766. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>&amp;quot;I don&amp;apos;t think that&amp;apos;s a priority for us right now,&amp;quot; Avila said Wednesday at the Major League Baseball General Manager meetings. CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The winter shopping list for Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila might be shorter than previously anticipated. 1. A middle infielder (probably a shortstop). 2. A starting pitcher. 3. A&amp;nbsp;whole lot of minor-league free agents. Beyond that, the Tigers will be judicious about how they dole out money. That's one reason Avila said finding a center fielder wasn't high on his to-do list, even though JaCoby Jones has a .199 batting average and .597 OPS in 649 career plate appearances. "I don't think that's a priority for us right now," Avila said Wednesday at the Major League Baseball General Manager meetings.&amp;nbsp; Jones won't be handed the job, Avila said, and will have to compete with Mikie Mahtook and possibly others.&amp;nbsp; But if the Tigers add an external candidate to the competition -- say, a left-handed bat in the mold of Leonys Martin -- it will probably be on a minor-league deal.&amp;nbsp; Jones' biggest asset is his defense, particularly playing in&amp;nbsp;expansive&amp;nbsp;Comerica Park between two corner outfielders -- Christin Stewart in left and Nicholas Castellanos in right -- with limited range.&amp;nbsp; Avila said he believes Stewart's defense has improved and he'll get every opportunity to make the club. "Nothing is handed. Nobody's guaranteed anything," Avila said. "I'm not guaranteeing JaCoby Jones or Mikie Mahtook or Christin Stewart. "Let's just that, going into this season, those are the guys that will go into spring training competing for a job." Other outfielders on the 40-man roster are Brandon Dixon, Mike Gerber, Victor Reyes and Dustin Peterson, although not all of those players may make it to March and others are long shots to be considered for a big-league job. "I'm sure there will be other people competing for jobs too," Avila said. "We're&amp;nbsp;always trying to get the team better."</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, @tigers, al-avila, jacoby-jones, mikie-mahtook, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
  1767.  
  1771.  
  1772.  
  1773.  
  1775.  
  1776.  
  1777.  
  1778. <item>
  1779. <title><![CDATA[At GM meetings, Tigers casting 'wide net' but not expecting big haul]]></title>
  1780. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  1781. <description>
  1784. <![CDATA[
  1788. <p>
  1789. GM Al Avila said Miguel Cabrera was open to playing more at DH In 2019.
  1791. </p>
  1794. <p>CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila spent Monday night socializing with his colleagues and Tuesday morning stuck in meetings.</p>
  1795. <p>So when he emerged to talk with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, he paused to admire the views from the Omni La Costa luxury resort, where the league is holding its annual meetings for top baseball executives.</p>
  1796. <p>Anything to report?</p>
  1797. <p>"No, nothing at all, really," he said.</p>
  1798. <p>Then he joked, "I don't know what you guys are here for."</p>
  1799. <p>Big trades rarely happen at the GM Meetings, which are a prelude to next month's Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, and blockbuster free-agent signings are equally unlikely.</p>
  1800. <p>But like last year, Avila and the Tigers are starting to lay the groundwork for the rest of the winter.&nbsp;</p>
  1801. <p>"We've reached out to some agents," he said. "As you guys know, we're in the market for a shortstop and starting pitcher, so we've got a wide net out there as far as that's concerned, letting people know what we need so they include us in all of their possibilities as far as free agents are concerned.</p>
  1802. <p>"There hasn't been a lot of talking trade-wise, but we're trying to always get the message out there, we're willing to listen to however we can make our team better as we move forward."</p>
  1803. <p>Avila didn't rule out signing a second baseman as well, but it appears that finding a shortstop to replace Jose Iglesias is the middle infield priority for the moment.</p>
  1804. <p>The Tigers' other major loss this winter -- the retirement of designated hitter Victor Martinez -- could be filled by a committee approach.</p>
  1805. <p>Avila said he and manager Ron Gardenhire approached Cabrera last year to see if he would be receptive to playing more at DH and less at first base. He was.</p>
  1806. <p>"Miggy said he'll do whatever we want him to do," Avila said.</p>
  1807. <p>How Cabrera's duties are split between first and DH could depend on "what else we bring to the table," Avila said.</p>
  1808. <p>Catcher John Hicks and second baseman Niko Goodrum can also play first base, although perhaps not with the defensive prowress the Tigers would prefer.</p>
  1809. <p>Avila said it was unlikely the Tigers would sign a "pure first baseman," but they'd be open to adding someone who could play first base along with other roles.&nbsp;</p>
  1810. <p>"The truth of the matter is we want a little bit better defense at first base," he said. "You've got to find that combination of a guy that can hit and a guy that can play some decent first base."</p>
  1811. <p>That part of the equation helps rule out Nicholas Castellanos, who has struggled defensively at third base and right field. He won't add first base to the list.</p>
  1812. <p>"The idea was thrown around earlier in the summer, but it never took root, so he's our right fielder," Avila said.&nbsp;</p>
  1814. ]]>
  1817. </description>
  1818. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_gm_meetings_day_1.html</link>
  1821. <author><![CDATA[
  1825. <span class="author vcard">
  1827. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  1834. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  1835. </a>
  1837. </span>
  1840. ]]></author>
  1841. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_gm_meetings_day_1.html</guid>
  1848. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  1850. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  1852. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  1854. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@tigers</category>
  1856. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  1861. <pubDate>Wed, 07 Nov 2018 02:20:23 UTC</pubDate>
  1862. <updated>2018-11-13T15:30:29Z</updated>
  1868. <enclosure length="373010" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25009063-large.jpg"/>
  1870.  
  1874.  
  1875.                    
  1876.                      <advance:original>
  1877.                        
  1878.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  1879.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  1880.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Miguel Cabrera is open to playing more at DH in 2019 (Melanie Maxwell, MLive)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  1881.                      </advance:original>
  1882.                    
  1883.  
  1884.                
  1887. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>GM Al Avila said Miguel Cabrera was open to playing more at DH In 2019. CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila spent Monday night socializing with his colleagues and Tuesday morning stuck in meetings. So when he emerged to talk with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, he paused to admire the views from the Omni La Costa luxury resort, where the league is holding its annual meetings for top baseball executives. Anything to report? "No, nothing at all, really," he said. Then he joked, "I don't know what you guys are here for." Big trades rarely happen at the GM Meetings, which are a prelude to next month's Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, and blockbuster free-agent signings are equally unlikely. But like last year, Avila and the Tigers are starting to lay the groundwork for the rest of the winter.&amp;nbsp; "We've reached out to some agents," he said. "As you guys know, we're in the market for a shortstop and starting pitcher, so we've got a wide net out there as far as that's concerned, letting people know what we need so they include us in all of their possibilities as far as free agents are concerned. "There hasn't been a lot of talking trade-wise, but we're trying to always get the message out there, we're willing to listen to however we can make our team better as we move forward." Avila didn't rule out signing a second baseman as well, but it appears that finding a shortstop to replace Jose Iglesias is the middle infield priority for the moment. The Tigers' other major loss this winter -- the retirement of designated hitter Victor Martinez -- could be filled by a committee approach. Avila said he and manager Ron Gardenhire approached Cabrera last year to see if he would be receptive to playing more at DH and less at first base. He was. "Miggy said he'll do whatever we want him to do," Avila said. How Cabrera's duties are split between first and DH could depend on "what else we bring to the table," Avila said. Catcher John Hicks and second baseman Niko Goodrum can also play first base, although perhaps not with the defensive prowress the Tigers would prefer. Avila said it was unlikely the Tigers would sign a "pure first baseman," but they'd be open to adding someone who could play first base along with other roles.&amp;nbsp; "The truth of the matter is we want a little bit better defense at first base," he said. "You've got to find that combination of a guy that can hit and a guy that can play some decent first base." That part of the equation helps rule out Nicholas Castellanos, who has struggled defensively at third base and right field. He won't add first base to the list. "The idea was thrown around earlier in the summer, but it never took root, so he's our right fielder," Avila said.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  1891. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  1893. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  1900. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  1901. &lt;/a&gt;
  1903. &lt;/span&gt;
  1906. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>GM Al Avila said Miguel Cabrera was open to playing more at DH In 2019. CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila spent Monday night socializing with his colleagues and Tuesday morning stuck in meetings. So when he emerged to talk with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, he paused to admire the views from the Omni La Costa luxury resort, where the league is holding its annual meetings for top baseball executives. Anything to report? "No, nothing at all, really," he said. Then he joked, "I don't know what you guys are here for." Big trades rarely happen at the GM Meetings, which are a prelude to next month's Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, and blockbuster free-agent signings are equally unlikely. But like last year, Avila and the Tigers are starting to lay the groundwork for the rest of the winter.&amp;nbsp; "We've reached out to some agents," he said. "As you guys know, we're in the market for a shortstop and starting pitcher, so we've got a wide net out there as far as that's concerned, letting people know what we need so they include us in all of their possibilities as far as free agents are concerned. "There hasn't been a lot of talking trade-wise, but we're trying to always get the message out there, we're willing to listen to however we can make our team better as we move forward." Avila didn't rule out signing a second baseman as well, but it appears that finding a shortstop to replace Jose Iglesias is the middle infield priority for the moment. The Tigers' other major loss this winter -- the retirement of designated hitter Victor Martinez -- could be filled by a committee approach. Avila said he and manager Ron Gardenhire approached Cabrera last year to see if he would be receptive to playing more at DH and less at first base. He was. "Miggy said he'll do whatever we want him to do," Avila said. How Cabrera's duties are split between first and DH could depend on "what else we bring to the table," Avila said. Catcher John Hicks and second baseman Niko Goodrum can also play first base, although perhaps not with the defensive prowress the Tigers would prefer. Avila said it was unlikely the Tigers would sign a "pure first baseman," but they'd be open to adding someone who could play first base along with other roles.&amp;nbsp; "The truth of the matter is we want a little bit better defense at first base," he said. "You've got to find that combination of a guy that can hit and a guy that can play some decent first base." That part of the equation helps rule out Nicholas Castellanos, who has struggled defensively at third base and right field. He won't add first base to the list. "The idea was thrown around earlier in the summer, but it never took root, so he's our right fielder," Avila said.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, @tigers, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
  1907.  
  1911.  
  1912.  
  1913.  
  1915.  
  1916.  
  1917.  
  1918. <item>
  1919. <title><![CDATA[Tigers in winter ball: Harold Castro, Willi Castro on hot streaks]]></title>
  1920. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  1921. <description>
  1924. <![CDATA[
  1928. <p>
  1929. A look at how the roughly two dozen Tigers playing winter ball are doing so far.
  1931. </p>
  1934. <p>Detroit Tigers infielder Harold Castro, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/09/tigers_harold_castro.html" target="_blank">got a surprise call-up to the big leagues in September</a> while he was preparing for&nbsp;the offseason in Venezuela, has kept the good vibes going in winter ball.</p>
  1935. <p>He already has 26 hits for the Leones in his hometown of Caracas.</p>
  1936. <p>Here's a look at how the roughly two dozen Tigers playing winter ball are doing so far:</p>
  1937. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_minor_league_free_agent_4.html#incart_river_index" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small"></a></p>
  1938. <p><strong>ARIZONA</strong><br><strong><em>Arizona Fall League</em></strong></p>
  1939. <p><strong>Dates</strong>:&nbsp;Oct. 9-Nov. 17</p>
  1940. <p><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/afl/index.jsp" target="_blank">Website</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/scoreboard.jsp?sid=l119&amp;t=l_sco&amp;lid=119" target="_blank">Scores</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/standings.jsp?y=2018&amp;sid=l119&amp;lid=119&amp;t=l_sta" target="_blank">Standings</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/schedule/tentative.jsp?y=2018" target="_blank">Schedule</a></p>
  1941. <p><strong>Stats</strong>:&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&amp;sid=l119&amp;cid=555" target="_blank">Mesa Solar Sox</a></p>
  1942. <p><strong>Tigers represented</strong>:&nbsp;OF Daz Cameron, OF Daniel Woodrow, IF Danny Pinero, C Jake Rogers, RHP Sandy Baez, RHP Eduardo Jimenez, RHP John Schreiber, LHP Gregory Soto (all with Mesa).</p>
  1943. <p><strong>Notable</strong>: Cameron (16-for-51, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 6 stolen bases) is the only Tiger hitting well. Soto has a 3.00 ERA in a team-high 21 innings. Jimenez has struck out nine in 9 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs.&nbsp;</p>
  1944. <p><strong>DOMINICAN REPUBLIC</strong><br><em><strong>Liga de Beisbol Profesional de la Republica Dominicana</strong> (LIDOM)</em></p>
  1945. <p><strong>Dates</strong>:&nbsp;Oct. 13-Dec. 17. Playoff phase of the season runs through the end of January. The Caribbean&nbsp;Series is in February</p>
  1946. <p><a href="http://www.lidom.com/home/" target="_blank">Website</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.lidom.com/home/" target="_blank">Scores</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Inicio" target="_blank">Standings</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.lidom.com/home/calendario/" target="_blank">Schedule</a></p>
  1947. <p><strong>Stats</strong>:&nbsp;<a href="http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Equipo/Equipo?__IdEquipo=02" target="_blank">Tigres de Licey</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Equipo/Equipo?__IdEquipo=03" target="_blank">Leones del Escogido</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Equipo/Equipo?__IdEquipo=04" target="_blank">Gigantes del Cibao</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Equipo/Equipo?__IdEquipo=05" target="_blank">Toros del Este</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Equipo/Equipo?__IdEquipo=01" target="_blank">Aguilas Cibaenas</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Equipo/Equipo?__IdEquipo=06" target="_blank">Estrellas Orientales</a></p>
  1948. <p><strong>Tigers represented</strong>: IF Willi Castro (Escogido), IF Ronny Rodriguez (Cibaenas), IF Sergio Alcantara (Licey), IF Dawel Lugo (Licey) are playing now. Catcher Grayson Greiner (Escogido), OF Jacob Robson (Orientales) and LHP Daniel Norris (Cibaenas) played earlier in the season.</p>
  1949. <p>Third baseman Jeimer Candelario (Toros Del Este) could play later this winter.</p>
  1950. <p>Infielder Edwin Espinal (Cibaenas) played for the Mud Hens in 2018 and is a free agent this winter.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1951. <p>Right-handed pitcher Elvin Rodriguez was drafted by Licey but is not currently pitching for them.</p>
  1952. <p><strong>Notable</strong>:&nbsp;Willi Castro has three doubles, two triples and two home runs in 71 at-bats.&nbsp;</p>
  1953. <p><strong>VENEZUELA</strong><br><em><strong>Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional</strong> (LVBP)</em></p>
  1954. <p><strong>Dates</strong>:&nbsp;Oct. 12-Dec. 29. Playoffs are in January. The Caribbean&nbsp;Series is in February.</p>
  1955. <p><a href="https://www.lvbp.com/" target="_blank">Website</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lvbp.com/resultados.php" target="_blank">Scores</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/standings.jsp?sid=l135&amp;lid=135&amp;t=l_sta" target="_blank">Standings</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lvbp.com/calendario.php" target="_blank">Schedule</a></p>
  1956. <p><strong>Stats</strong>:&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&amp;sid=l135&amp;cid=692" target="_blank">Aguilas de Zulia</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/roster.jsp?sid=l135&amp;t=t_ros&amp;cid=696" target="_blank">Navegantes de Magallanes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/roster.jsp?sid=l135&amp;t=t_ros&amp;cid=693" target="_blank">Cardenales de Lara</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/roster.jsp?sid=l135&amp;t=t_ros&amp;cid=695" target="_blank">Leones del Caracas</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/roster.jsp?sid=l135&amp;t=t_ros&amp;cid=697" target="_blank">Bravos de Margarita</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/roster.jsp?sid=l135&amp;t=t_ros&amp;cid=698" target="_blank">Tiburones de La Guaira</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/roster.jsp?sid=l135&amp;t=t_ros&amp;cid=694" target="_blank">Caribes de Anzoategui</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/roster.jsp?sid=l135&amp;t=t_ros&amp;cid=699" target="_blank">Tigres de Aragua</a>.</p>
  1957. <p><strong>Tigers represented</strong>: Infielder Harold Castro and outfielder Victor Reyes (Caracas) are both playing for the Leones after making their big-league debuts in 2018.</p>
  1958. <p>Tigers minor-league shortstop Anthony Pereira (Magallanes) and left-handed pitchers Eudis Idrogo (La Guaira) and Liarvis Breto&nbsp;(Anzoategui) are currently active.</p>
  1959. <p>Right-handed pitcher Alfred Gutierrez (Margarita), outfielder Herlis Rodriguez (Zulia) and catcher Arvicent Perez (La Guaira) all played in the Tigers system in 2018 and will be minor-league free agents this winter.</p>
  1960. <p><strong>Notable</strong>: Harold Castro is hitting .338 (26-for-77) with a home run and nine RBIs.</p>
  1961. <p><strong>MEXICO</strong><br><em><strong>Liga Mexicana del Pacifico</strong> (LMP)</em></p>
  1962. <p><strong>Dates</strong>:&nbsp;Oct. 12-Dec. 30. Playoffs in January, Caribbean&nbsp;Series in February.&nbsp;</p>
  1963. <p><a href="https://www.lmp.mx/index.php" target="_blank">Website</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/scoreboard.jsp?sid=l132&amp;t=l_sco&amp;lid=132" target="_blank">Scores</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lmp.mx/index.php" target="_blank">Standings</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/schedule/?sid=l132" target="_blank">Schedule</a></p>
  1964. <p><strong>Stats</strong>:&nbsp;<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&amp;sid=l132&amp;cid=680" target="_blank">Yaquis de Obregon</a></p>
  1965. <p><strong>Tigers represented</strong>: Infield prospect Isaac Paredes just joined the Yaquis and is off to a 1-for-13 start with five strikeouts.&nbsp;</p>
  1967. ]]>
  1970. </description>
  1971. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_winter_leagues.html</link>
  1974. <author><![CDATA[
  1978. <span class="author vcard">
  1980. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  1987. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  1988. </a>
  1990. </span>
  1993. ]]></author>
  1994. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_winter_leagues.html</guid>
  2001. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  2003. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  2005. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  2007. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  2012. <pubDate>Mon, 05 Nov 2018 19:19:53 UTC</pubDate>
  2013. <updated>2018-11-05T19:22:39Z</updated>
  2019. <enclosure length="124742" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25006306-large.jpg"/>
  2021.  
  2025.  
  2026.                    
  2027.                      <advance:original>
  2028.                        
  2029.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  2030.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  2031.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Infielder Harold Castro is off to a hot start in Venezuela. (Evan Woodbery, MLive)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  2032.                      </advance:original>
  2033.                    
  2034.  
  2035.                
  2038. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>A look at how the roughly two dozen Tigers playing winter ball are doing so far. Detroit Tigers infielder Harold Castro, who&amp;nbsp;got a surprise call-up to the big leagues in September while he was preparing for&amp;nbsp;the offseason in Venezuela, has kept the good vibes going in winter ball. He already has 26 hits for the Leones in his hometown of Caracas. Here's a look at how the roughly two dozen Tigers playing winter ball are doing so far: ARIZONA Arizona Fall League Dates:&amp;nbsp;Oct. 9-Nov. 17 Website,&amp;nbsp;Scores,&amp;nbsp;Standings,&amp;nbsp;Schedule Stats:&amp;nbsp;Mesa Solar Sox Tigers represented:&amp;nbsp;OF Daz Cameron, OF Daniel Woodrow, IF Danny Pinero, C Jake Rogers, RHP Sandy Baez, RHP Eduardo Jimenez, RHP John Schreiber, LHP Gregory Soto (all with Mesa). Notable: Cameron (16-for-51, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 6 stolen bases) is the only Tiger hitting well. Soto has a 3.00 ERA in a team-high 21 innings. Jimenez has struck out nine in 9 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs.&amp;nbsp; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Liga de Beisbol Profesional de la Republica Dominicana (LIDOM) Dates:&amp;nbsp;Oct. 13-Dec. 17. Playoff phase of the season runs through the end of January. The Caribbean&amp;nbsp;Series is in February Website,&amp;nbsp;Scores,&amp;nbsp;Standings,&amp;nbsp;Schedule Stats:&amp;nbsp;Tigres de Licey,&amp;nbsp;Leones del Escogido,&amp;nbsp;Gigantes del Cibao,&amp;nbsp;Toros del Este,&amp;nbsp;Aguilas Cibaenas,&amp;nbsp;Estrellas Orientales Tigers represented: IF Willi Castro (Escogido), IF Ronny Rodriguez (Cibaenas), IF Sergio Alcantara (Licey), IF Dawel Lugo (Licey) are playing now. Catcher Grayson Greiner (Escogido), OF Jacob Robson (Orientales) and LHP Daniel Norris (Cibaenas) played earlier in the season. Third baseman Jeimer Candelario (Toros Del Este) could play later this winter. Infielder Edwin Espinal (Cibaenas) played for the Mud Hens in 2018 and is a free agent this winter.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Right-handed pitcher Elvin Rodriguez was drafted by Licey but is not currently pitching for them. Notable:&amp;nbsp;Willi Castro has three doubles, two triples and two home runs in 71 at-bats.&amp;nbsp; VENEZUELA Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional (LVBP) Dates:&amp;nbsp;Oct. 12-Dec. 29. Playoffs are in January. The Caribbean&amp;nbsp;Series is in February. Website,&amp;nbsp;Scores,&amp;nbsp;Standings,&amp;nbsp;Schedule Stats:&amp;nbsp;Aguilas de Zulia,&amp;nbsp;Navegantes de Magallanes,&amp;nbsp;Cardenales de Lara,&amp;nbsp;Leones del Caracas,&amp;nbsp;Bravos de Margarita,&amp;nbsp;Tiburones de La Guaira,&amp;nbsp;Caribes de Anzoategui,&amp;nbsp;Tigres de Aragua. Tigers represented: Infielder Harold Castro and outfielder Victor Reyes (Caracas) are both playing for the Leones after making their big-league debuts in 2018. Tigers minor-league shortstop Anthony Pereira (Magallanes) and left-handed pitchers Eudis Idrogo (La Guaira) and Liarvis Breto&amp;nbsp;(Anzoategui) are currently active. Right-handed pitcher Alfred Gutierrez (Margarita), outfielder Herlis Rodriguez (Zulia) and catcher Arvicent Perez (La Guaira) all played in the Tigers system in 2018 and will be minor-league free agents this winter. Notable: Harold Castro is hitting .338 (26-for-77) with a home run and nine RBIs. MEXICO Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (LMP) Dates:&amp;nbsp;Oct. 12-Dec. 30. Playoffs in January, Caribbean&amp;nbsp;Series in February.&amp;nbsp; Website,&amp;nbsp;Scores,&amp;nbsp;Standings,&amp;nbsp;Schedule Stats:&amp;nbsp;Yaquis de Obregon Tigers represented: Infield prospect Isaac Paredes just joined the Yaquis and is off to a 1-for-13 start with five strikeouts.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  2042. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  2044. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  2051. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  2052. &lt;/a&gt;
  2054. &lt;/span&gt;
  2057. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>A look at how the roughly two dozen Tigers playing winter ball are doing so far. Detroit Tigers infielder Harold Castro, who&amp;nbsp;got a surprise call-up to the big leagues in September while he was preparing for&amp;nbsp;the offseason in Venezuela, has kept the good vibes going in winter ball. He already has 26 hits for the Leones in his hometown of Caracas. Here's a look at how the roughly two dozen Tigers playing winter ball are doing so far: ARIZONA Arizona Fall League Dates:&amp;nbsp;Oct. 9-Nov. 17 Website,&amp;nbsp;Scores,&amp;nbsp;Standings,&amp;nbsp;Schedule Stats:&amp;nbsp;Mesa Solar Sox Tigers represented:&amp;nbsp;OF Daz Cameron, OF Daniel Woodrow, IF Danny Pinero, C Jake Rogers, RHP Sandy Baez, RHP Eduardo Jimenez, RHP John Schreiber, LHP Gregory Soto (all with Mesa). Notable: Cameron (16-for-51, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 6 stolen bases) is the only Tiger hitting well. Soto has a 3.00 ERA in a team-high 21 innings. Jimenez has struck out nine in 9 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs.&amp;nbsp; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Liga de Beisbol Profesional de la Republica Dominicana (LIDOM) Dates:&amp;nbsp;Oct. 13-Dec. 17. Playoff phase of the season runs through the end of January. The Caribbean&amp;nbsp;Series is in February Website,&amp;nbsp;Scores,&amp;nbsp;Standings,&amp;nbsp;Schedule Stats:&amp;nbsp;Tigres de Licey,&amp;nbsp;Leones del Escogido,&amp;nbsp;Gigantes del Cibao,&amp;nbsp;Toros del Este,&amp;nbsp;Aguilas Cibaenas,&amp;nbsp;Estrellas Orientales Tigers represented: IF Willi Castro (Escogido), IF Ronny Rodriguez (Cibaenas), IF Sergio Alcantara (Licey), IF Dawel Lugo (Licey) are playing now. Catcher Grayson Greiner (Escogido), OF Jacob Robson (Orientales) and LHP Daniel Norris (Cibaenas) played earlier in the season. Third baseman Jeimer Candelario (Toros Del Este) could play later this winter. Infielder Edwin Espinal (Cibaenas) played for the Mud Hens in 2018 and is a free agent this winter.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Right-handed pitcher Elvin Rodriguez was drafted by Licey but is not currently pitching for them. Notable:&amp;nbsp;Willi Castro has three doubles, two triples and two home runs in 71 at-bats.&amp;nbsp; VENEZUELA Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional (LVBP) Dates:&amp;nbsp;Oct. 12-Dec. 29. Playoffs are in January. The Caribbean&amp;nbsp;Series is in February. Website,&amp;nbsp;Scores,&amp;nbsp;Standings,&amp;nbsp;Schedule Stats:&amp;nbsp;Aguilas de Zulia,&amp;nbsp;Navegantes de Magallanes,&amp;nbsp;Cardenales de Lara,&amp;nbsp;Leones del Caracas,&amp;nbsp;Bravos de Margarita,&amp;nbsp;Tiburones de La Guaira,&amp;nbsp;Caribes de Anzoategui,&amp;nbsp;Tigres de Aragua. Tigers represented: Infielder Harold Castro and outfielder Victor Reyes (Caracas) are both playing for the Leones after making their big-league debuts in 2018. Tigers minor-league shortstop Anthony Pereira (Magallanes) and left-handed pitchers Eudis Idrogo (La Guaira) and Liarvis Breto&amp;nbsp;(Anzoategui) are currently active. Right-handed pitcher Alfred Gutierrez (Margarita), outfielder Herlis Rodriguez (Zulia) and catcher Arvicent Perez (La Guaira) all played in the Tigers system in 2018 and will be minor-league free agents this winter. Notable: Harold Castro is hitting .338 (26-for-77) with a home run and nine RBIs. MEXICO Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (LMP) Dates:&amp;nbsp;Oct. 12-Dec. 30. Playoffs in January, Caribbean&amp;nbsp;Series in February.&amp;nbsp; Website,&amp;nbsp;Scores,&amp;nbsp;Standings,&amp;nbsp;Schedule Stats:&amp;nbsp;Yaquis de Obregon Tigers represented: Infield prospect Isaac Paredes just joined the Yaquis and is off to a 1-for-13 start with five strikeouts.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
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  2070. <title><![CDATA[At 2018 MLB GM meetings, Tigers ready to build roster (and maybe talk trade)]]></title>
  2071. <source url="http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/"><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></source>
  2072. <description>
  2075. <![CDATA[
  2079. <p>
  2080. The GM meetings get under way on Monday in Carlsbad, Calif.
  2082. </p>
  2085. <p>CARLSBAD, Calif. -- A year ago, Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2017/11/general_manager_meetings.html" target="_blank">came to&nbsp;the league's annual GM meetings ready to listen</a>.&nbsp;</p>
  2086. <p>He was shopping second baseman Ian Kinsler, shortstop Jose Iglesias and maybe, just maybe, a talented young pitcher named Michael Fulmer.</p>
  2087. <p><a href="https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/10/536b3b32f73948/what-if-the-tigers-really-want.html#incart_river_index" target="_blank" data-enhanced="small"></a></p>
  2088. <p>This year, as the 2018 GM Meetings get under way at the Omni La Costa Resort, Avila is still willing to listen, but his list of players to shop isn't nearly as plentiful.</p>
  2089. <p>The Tigers eventually <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2017/12/tigers_say_ian_kinsler_trade_w.html" target="_blank">dealt Kinsler last December at the Winter Meetings</a>, but <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/08/jose_iglesias_tigers_4.html" target="_blank">failed to find any takers for Iglesias</a>, who is now a free agent. Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/07/tigers_michael_fulmer_injury.html" target="_blank">Fulmer's trade value has cratered</a> after a shaky season and it's hard to imagine the Tigers would have any interest in selling him until his value is repaired.&nbsp;</p>
  2090. <p>There are other tantalizing, if far-fetched, trade chips like right fielder Nicholas Castellanos and left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd. But for the most part, Avila's task for the next two months will&nbsp;be more about the mundane tasks of roster building than flashy deal-making.&nbsp;</p>
  2091. <p>"All you're trying to do is make your club better a little bit at a time," Avila said when he met with media in Milwaukee during the final series of the season. "You can't look at every trade as the next big trade. It doesn't work that way."</p>
  2092. <p>At a minimum, the Tigers need a second baseman or a shortstop (or both) and a starting pitcher. They need to determine catcher <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/08/tigers_catcher_2019.html" target="_blank">James McCann's future with the club</a>. They need to decide whether center fielder JaCoby Jones' defensive contributions outweigh his offensive struggles.&nbsp;</p>
  2093. <p>On&nbsp;the margins of the roster, they'll have to decide which players are worth keeping around and which are expendable.</p>
  2094. <p>They'll need to prune the 40-man roster in preparation for the&nbsp;Rule 5&nbsp;Draft and be on the lookout for players who are being dropped off other teams' rosters. (The Tigers have <a href="https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/tigers_claim_2_players.html#incart_river_index" target="_blank">already snatched players from the Reds and Blue Jays</a>).</p>
  2095. <p>That's not to say the Tigers couldn't make an unexpected trade -- whether this week or next month at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas -- but the urgency to do so that existed last winter is no longer there.</p>
  2096. <p>And many of the general managers here this week have bigger fish to fry. Sure, most will be watching from the sidelines as a few teams <a href="https://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2018/11/mlb_free_agent_tracker_bryce_harper_manny_machado.html" target="_blank">try to land Bryce Harper or Manny Machado</a>. But the rest of the free-agent market below Harper and Machado is expected to move faster this winter than it did a year ago, when several <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article204507449.html" target="_blank">players got burned by waiting too long to sign</a>.&nbsp;</p>
  2097. <p>Of course, the 2018 season only ended a few days ago and there's still five weeks until the Winter Meetings -- which is when the offseason action really gets started. And general managers won't spend all their time in California discussing deals. There will be plenty of administrative meetings, debates about rule changes and discussions with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.&nbsp;</p>
  2098. <p>There will also be a newcomer in the 30-man fraternity of general managers: <a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/10/31/new-york-mets-brodie-van-wagenen-general-manager" target="_blank">New Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen is a former agent</a>&nbsp;now working on the other side.&nbsp;</p>
  2100. ]]>
  2103. </description>
  2104. <link>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/mlb_gm_meetings_tigers_preview.html</link>
  2107. <author><![CDATA[
  2111. <span class="author vcard">
  2113. <a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html">
  2120. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  2121. </a>
  2123. </span>
  2126. ]]></author>
  2127. <guid>http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/11/mlb_gm_meetings_tigers_preview.html</guid>
  2134. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@dt-sports</category>
  2136. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-river</category>
  2138. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">@mlive-sports</category>
  2140. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">al-avila</category>
  2142. <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag">tigers-2018</category>
  2147. <pubDate>Mon, 05 Nov 2018 14:00:24 UTC</pubDate>
  2148. <updated>2018-11-05T14:04:32Z</updated>
  2154. <enclosure length="558157" type="image/jpg" url="http://media.mlive.com/tigers_impact/photo/25005346-large.jpg"/>
  2156.  
  2160.  
  2161.                    
  2162.                      <advance:original>
  2163.                        
  2164.                        <advance:originalimageid>NO VALUE</advance:originalimageid>
  2165.                        <advance:originalimagecredit>Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com</advance:originalimagecredit>
  2166.                        <advance:originalimagecaption>Al Avila chats with reporters during last November's GM Meetings in Orlando, Fla. This year's event begins in Carlsbad, Calif., on Monday. (AP Photo/John Raoux)</advance:originalimagecaption>
  2167.                      </advance:original>
  2168.                    
  2169.  
  2170.                
  2173. <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>The GM meetings get under way on Monday in Carlsbad, Calif. CARLSBAD, Calif. -- A year ago, Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila came to&amp;nbsp;the league's annual GM meetings ready to listen.&amp;nbsp; He was shopping second baseman Ian Kinsler, shortstop Jose Iglesias and maybe, just maybe, a talented young pitcher named Michael Fulmer. This year, as the 2018 GM Meetings get under way at the Omni La Costa Resort, Avila is still willing to listen, but his list of players to shop isn't nearly as plentiful. The Tigers eventually dealt Kinsler last December at the Winter Meetings, but failed to find any takers for Iglesias, who is now a free agent. Meanwhile,&amp;nbsp;Fulmer's trade value has cratered after a shaky season and it's hard to imagine the Tigers would have any interest in selling him until his value is repaired.&amp;nbsp; There are other tantalizing, if far-fetched, trade chips like right fielder Nicholas Castellanos and left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd. But for the most part, Avila's task for the next two months will&amp;nbsp;be more about the mundane tasks of roster building than flashy deal-making.&amp;nbsp; "All you're trying to do is make your club better a little bit at a time," Avila said when he met with media in Milwaukee during the final series of the season. "You can't look at every trade as the next big trade. It doesn't work that way." At a minimum, the Tigers need a second baseman or a shortstop (or both) and a starting pitcher. They need to determine catcher James McCann's future with the club. They need to decide whether center fielder JaCoby Jones' defensive contributions outweigh his offensive struggles.&amp;nbsp; On&amp;nbsp;the margins of the roster, they'll have to decide which players are worth keeping around and which are expendable. They'll need to prune the 40-man roster in preparation for the&amp;nbsp;Rule 5&amp;nbsp;Draft and be on the lookout for players who are being dropped off other teams' rosters. (The Tigers have already snatched players from the Reds and Blue Jays). That's not to say the Tigers couldn't make an unexpected trade -- whether this week or next month at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas -- but the urgency to do so that existed last winter is no longer there. And many of the general managers here this week have bigger fish to fry. Sure, most will be watching from the sidelines as a few teams try to land Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. But the rest of the free-agent market below Harper and Machado is expected to move faster this winter than it did a year ago, when several players got burned by waiting too long to sign.&amp;nbsp; Of course, the 2018 season only ended a few days ago and there's still five weeks until the Winter Meetings -- which is when the offseason action really gets started. And general managers won't spend all their time in California discussing deals. There will be plenty of administrative meetings, debates about rule changes and discussions with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.&amp;nbsp; There will also be a newcomer in the 30-man fraternity of general managers: New Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen is a former agent&amp;nbsp;now working on the other side.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>
  2177. &lt;span class="author vcard"&gt;
  2179. &lt;a class="bl" id="name_author" href="http://connect.mlive.com/staff/evanwoodbery/posts.html"&gt;
  2186. Evan Woodbery | ewoodber@mlive.com
  2187. &lt;/a&gt;
  2189. &lt;/span&gt;
  2192. </itunes:author><itunes:summary>The GM meetings get under way on Monday in Carlsbad, Calif. CARLSBAD, Calif. -- A year ago, Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila came to&amp;nbsp;the league's annual GM meetings ready to listen.&amp;nbsp; He was shopping second baseman Ian Kinsler, shortstop Jose Iglesias and maybe, just maybe, a talented young pitcher named Michael Fulmer. This year, as the 2018 GM Meetings get under way at the Omni La Costa Resort, Avila is still willing to listen, but his list of players to shop isn't nearly as plentiful. The Tigers eventually dealt Kinsler last December at the Winter Meetings, but failed to find any takers for Iglesias, who is now a free agent. Meanwhile,&amp;nbsp;Fulmer's trade value has cratered after a shaky season and it's hard to imagine the Tigers would have any interest in selling him until his value is repaired.&amp;nbsp; There are other tantalizing, if far-fetched, trade chips like right fielder Nicholas Castellanos and left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd. But for the most part, Avila's task for the next two months will&amp;nbsp;be more about the mundane tasks of roster building than flashy deal-making.&amp;nbsp; "All you're trying to do is make your club better a little bit at a time," Avila said when he met with media in Milwaukee during the final series of the season. "You can't look at every trade as the next big trade. It doesn't work that way." At a minimum, the Tigers need a second baseman or a shortstop (or both) and a starting pitcher. They need to determine catcher James McCann's future with the club. They need to decide whether center fielder JaCoby Jones' defensive contributions outweigh his offensive struggles.&amp;nbsp; On&amp;nbsp;the margins of the roster, they'll have to decide which players are worth keeping around and which are expendable. They'll need to prune the 40-man roster in preparation for the&amp;nbsp;Rule 5&amp;nbsp;Draft and be on the lookout for players who are being dropped off other teams' rosters. (The Tigers have already snatched players from the Reds and Blue Jays). That's not to say the Tigers couldn't make an unexpected trade -- whether this week or next month at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas -- but the urgency to do so that existed last winter is no longer there. And many of the general managers here this week have bigger fish to fry. Sure, most will be watching from the sidelines as a few teams try to land Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. But the rest of the free-agent market below Harper and Machado is expected to move faster this winter than it did a year ago, when several players got burned by waiting too long to sign.&amp;nbsp; Of course, the 2018 season only ended a few days ago and there's still five weeks until the Winter Meetings -- which is when the offseason action really gets started. And general managers won't spend all their time in California discussing deals. There will be plenty of administrative meetings, debates about rule changes and discussions with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.&amp;nbsp; There will also be a newcomer in the 30-man fraternity of general managers: New Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen is a former agent&amp;nbsp;now working on the other side.&amp;nbsp;</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>@dt-sports, @mlive-river, @mlive-sports, al-avila, tigers-2018</itunes:keywords></item>
  2193.  
  2197. </channel>
  2198. </rss>

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