DETROIT – Baseball is back! Well, kind of.
Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Lakeland on Tuesday, signalling the next step in the long road back to the regular season.
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The Tigers are coming off a 64-98 season that saw them finish in third place in the American League Central Division and 26th out of 30 MLB teams.
While the team has improved the talent in the minor league system, the MLB roster will largely look the same. The team did add a couple of starting pitchers in Tyson Ross and Matt Moore and replaced Jose Iglesias at shortstop with Jordy Mercer.
It's expected to be another down year for the Tigers as they build toward being competitive again in a weakened AL Central.
The Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins haven't improved greatly this offseason, and the Cleveland Indians have lost key pieces such as Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.
The outlook of the AL Central could certainly change if any major signings are announced, but the Tigers aren't expected to make a splash.
Here are some videos the Tigers' Twitter account posted of Tuesday's spring training workouts.
All together now:
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) February 12, 2019
Press play.
Close your eyes.
Deep breath.
BASEBALL IS BACK pic.twitter.com/pJukVGkrbw
.@caseymize04 is already bringing 🔥.#TigersST pic.twitter.com/gx2dlDr3Co
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) February 12, 2019
🎵 Guess who's back, back again
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) February 12, 2019
Baseball's back, tell a friend 🎵 pic.twitter.com/RjiV1G0ULz