GM Avila: Vets give Tigers 'totally different' feel
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Tigers sent a contingent to catch their two-game stretch at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches for Grapefruit League action against last year's World Series teams.
Executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager Al Avila spoke with MLB.com on Monday about the Tigers' spring so far and what they hope to learn leading up to Opening Day on March 26.
On what has impressed him
"This spring has felt totally different than last year just because of the veteran guys we signed. We signed veteran guys that are not old. They're in their prime. C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop are in their prime. [Austin] Romine himself, he's ready to take that role of leadership, which he has shown so far in Spring Training with our young pitchers. All that is a positive. The addition of Cameron Maybin, who can play all the outfield positions. The addition of those guys already has made us better. Now you put that together with the competition of the young guys that should bring out the best of them. At the end of the day, you put this team together and it looks like a much better team than last year for sure. We have a totally different feeling in camp that these guys have confidence that they can win some games."
On Miguel Cabrera
"This winter, he said he was going to go on a different program, and he did. He's lost a ton of weight, but he's also gained muscle, too. He's walking around with a T-shirt and cutoffs where he's flexing his muscles. That tells you right there that he's feeling pretty good about himself. In Spring Training so far, he's showing good bat speed, he's showing good power. He's well on his way to hopefully having a good season."
On what needs to be settled with the roster
"There still are some competitions here. At third base, there's competition with [Dawel] Lugo and [Jeimer] Candelario. There's competition of the utility players. There's competition in the outfield. We have obviously Cameron Maybin on the team, but Victor Reyes has done very well. JaCoby Jones has been hurt most of camp, so we have to see where that is going to end up. In left field, there's a lot of competition, too. Right now, that's what we're looking at. Who's going to be the final guys in the outfield? The final guys in the infield? Utility role and third base, and we have the backup catching job. There's still competition, there's still decisions to be made and who makes it. And obviously the bullpen."
On spring competition philosophy
"We don't come into Spring Training and say, 'This guy's going to make it and these guys are not.' We're waiting to see. It's going to be a combination of how they look here in Spring Training, past history and future projections. You've got to put that all together and then make your final decisions. We also know after 30 years of experience that when you start the season -- and this year it's going to be 26 guys and not 25 -- a month into it, it could be totally different. We've already gone through that before."
On the organization's stage of build
"I think we're making really good steps, and particularly this year, obviously we're going to win a lot more games than last year, and I think we're not too far away. But it's hard to put a timeline on things, but I think right now we're at a place where we feel good, but there's still a lot of work to do ahead."
On promise of pitching prospects
"Obviously that's the strength of our organization is all of that young pitching. I'm from the school that you can never have enough pitching, so we're never satisfied and we're always very cautious about that. That is the strength of the organization. Our hope is these guys continue to develop and get to the next level, and then eventually get here at the big league level and then surround them with other players."