Detroit Tigers Newsletter: Ready to fall in 'glove' with catcher Tucker Barnhart?

Amid the myriad signs last season the Detroit Tigers were back to being a real, all-grown-up Major League Baseball franchise (on the field, at least) — AJ Hinch! Casey Mize! Robbie Grossman! BAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!* — there was this: For the first time in four seasons, the catcher position did not appear to be a, well, for lack of a better term … a massive, gaping wound.

*Your spelling may vary.

In 2021, Eric Haase, Jake Rogers, Wilson Ramos, Grayson Greiner and, yes, Dustin Garneau combined to produce 2.5 Wins Above Replacement (according to baseball-reference.com). That may not sound like much, but it was good for eighth in the majors. Not only that, but it was light-years better than the Tigers catchers of the three previous years, who combined for minus-3.2 WAR. That number likely would be worse if not for the abbreviated 2020 season, in which Tigers catchers had a minus-0.4 WAR in 58 games; a minus-1.1 WAR pace over 162 games.

OK, yeah, that’s a lot of math to back up what your eyes told you: The 2021 Tigers’ catchers were … not bad.

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Of course, Rogers is likely out for the season after Tommy John surgery, Ramos is a Cleveland Guardian and Greiner is an Arizona Diamondback. So much for the status quo. Haase and Garneau are still around, and general manager Al Avila wasn’t content to leave it at that.

Hello, and welcome to the TigersTucker Barnhart Newsletter ...

We mentioned Barnhart last week among Avila’s flurry of moves on either side of the MLB lockout, but trading for a guy (and then picking up his $7.5 million option) isn’t nearly as interesting as, say, handing out $77 million to a left-handed pitcher, $140 million to a shortstop, or NOT handing out $105.3 million to a different shortstop.

NEXT BIG THING: Tigers reveal plan, first assignment for top prospect Jackson Jobe in 2022 season

RELATED: Tucker Barnhart may be the Tigers' most important offseason addition

To make up for our oversight, here are three things to know about Barnhart:

• He’s a multiple Gold Glove Award winner: Barnhart was named the NL’s top defensive catcher in 2017 and 2020. That puts him in an elite club; just four active catchers have won multiple Gold Gloves — Barnhart, Yadier Molina (2008-15, 2018, and yes, he's still active), Roberto Perez (2019-20) and Salvador Perez (2013-16, 2018). That’s it.

• He’s a switch-hitter (again): After spending all of 2020-21 hitting exclusively from the left side, with a .683 OPS to show for it, Barnhart is returning to hitting from both sides of the plate. It should boost his performance against lefties, at least a little: In 85 plate appearances against lefties as a lefty, he has a .542 OPS. As a righty against lefties, that jumps up to .591 in 504 plate appearances. (Hitting lefty against righties, that OPS soars to .722.)

• He’s Mr. Indiana: OK, not exactly. But the Indianapolis native did win that state’s Mr. Baseball in 2009, which makes him a good pairing with Haase, who was Michigan’s Mr. Baseball while playing for Dearborn Divine Child in 2011.

Of course, none of those things are why the Tigers traded for him. (Well, maybe the Gold Glove thing…) So why DID they? The Freep’s Shawn Windsor caught up with Barnhart on Sunday during the Tigers’ trip to Sarasota and has a few ideas of his own. Check them out here.

Living La Vida Lakeland

Another new addition to Tigers camp this spring: right-hander Jackson Jobe, the team’s top pick in 2021, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft and the No. 40 prospect in all of baseball (according to MLB Pipeline). Actually, Jobe has been in TigerTown since February, but it sounds like he’ll be departing soon for … Lakeland. That’s not really a departure, but Jobe appears likely to start the season with the Flying Tigers in Low-A ball. The Freep’s Evan Petzold has the scoop on the Tigers’ thinking here.

22 (Tigers) Special

You may be picking up on an air of positivity surrounding this Tigers season by now. The Freep’s Jeff Seidel spent the better part of a month down in Lakeland, soaking in the sights, sounds and sanguineness of camp, both mini- and major-league. Before he departed sunny Florida for whatever Michigan’s weather can be described as right now, he jotted down 22 reasons to be encouraged. Click here for those, including a potential Opening Day batting order.

Spenny for your thoughts

A big reason for that optimism is the spring performance of Spencer Torkelson — aka @spennyt on Twitter — who has already quintupled his hit total from last spring in just eight games this month. Not that it was hard, after going 1-for-27 in 2021, but his 5-for-18 go-round so far (and his .825 OPS) suggests he won’t be stopping in Toledo on his way north next month. Our Man Petzold sat down with Torkelson to find out what’s different this year. Click here to find out why he says, “I know I can play at this level.”

School of Baez

Even veterans such as Javier Baez are still learning in spring training. The 29-year-old has been crushing the ball this spring, with a .500 slugging percentage … when he gets ahold of it. With strikeout issues in his not-so-distant past, the ex-Cub/Met is using his change of uniforms to work on his plate discipline and taking inspiration from Miguel Cabrera. Is it working? Through six games, Baez has only struck out twice — but he hasn’t walked at all. Our Man Petzold looked into, here, what Baez is working on, and what the Tigers are hoping to fix, this spring.

Moving Miggy down

With the influx of hitting talent such as Torkelson and Baez, the competition for at-bats at the top of the lineup is fierce. That could have Cabrera moving down to fifth — or lower — sooner rather than later, even as the 39-year-old starts the season just 13 hits shy of 3,000. Is the slugger upset? Not according to Our Man Petzold, who reports here that manager AJ Hinch and Cabrera have already discussed the move.

Three to watch

Keep an eye on this trio during this week's slate of games:

MICHAEL FULMER: Last season’s veteran relief ace isn’t quite in midseason form – but he’s not worried, either.

RONY GARCIA: The former Rule 5 draft pick found a groove on the mound in the Dominican Republic.

ISAAC PAREDES: He’s 2-for-11 this spring, which isn’t exactly helping his quest for a reserve role in the bigs.

Blinding us with science

Part of the Tigers’ new approach to "winning on the cheap sustainably" is an increased emphasis on analytics and, more specifically, biomechanics at all levels of the organization. From pitch design to preventing injuries, the Tigers are attempting to use science to improve player development. Our Man Petzold talked with the team’s director of performance science, Dr. Georgia Giblin, to find out how all the new tech will be implemented. Click here to find out how pitching coach Chris Fetter, in particular, is getting involved in the push.

Happy birthday, Bally Sports Detroit!

Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of “Fox Sports Detroit” becoming “Bally Sports Detroit.” What do you get a 1-year-old TV network for its birthday, anyway? Maybe a few more wins: Since the change, Detroit’s four major pro teams are a combined 150-223-1 — ah, the Lions, always messing up our nice clean math — for a combined winning percentage of .402.

Tigers birthdays this week: Denny McLain (78 on Tuesday), Rusty Staub (would have been 78 on Friday; died in 2018); Gary Pettis (64 on Sunday).

Mark your calendar

Sunday’s loss to the Orioles (you can read about it here, if you must) marked the halfway point in the Tigers’ spring training schedule — just nine games remaining, against the New York Yankees (3), Philadelphia Phillies (2), Toronto Blue Jays (2) and Baltimore Orioles (2) with an off-day Tuesday. Today’s matchup with the Yankees is the lone televised game of the week, with Bally Sports Detroit on the broadcast starting at (when else?) 1:05 p.m.

TL;DR

While we’re on the subject of Indiana natives succeeding in the majors … the state has produced 10 Baseball Hall of Famers, but none with more WAR than third baseman (and Evansville native) Scott Rolen, at 70.1. Rolen is still waiting for his Hall call — he received 63.2% of the vote in January — but he shares one trophy with Barnhart: Rolen was Mr. Baseball in Indiana in 1993.

Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers Newsletter: Fall in glove with catcher Tucker Barnhart